How weekly planning gave me my life back

As a mom, wife, and business owner, my life is busy.  Today I want to share how weekly planning gave me my life back. Now you might think that you don't have time to plan.  But taking a little bit of time out each week is going to help give you the structure that you need to have the kind of life that you want.

What is weekly planning?

When I talk about planning, I'm usually referring to my weekly plan. Every single week, I put together a plan for what I want the next week to look like. And the great thing with that is that I'm super intentional about what we're going to do, where we're going to go, what we're going to eat. So when I get into the week and things are really busy, I'm just following the plan.

When I do my weekly plan, I'll usually do it either Friday afternoons or Sunday afternoons, depending on what we have going on that week. And I always said that the week before I close out the next week. So that means that if you don't book an appointment with me by Friday afternoon for the next week, my week is closed. And you have to book into the next week.

You could do that too. Let people know that to book with you they need to give you at least 48-72 hours in advance. Or whatever time frame you need. This way you have an idea of what's coming next.

Questions for weekly planning

As I am planning for the next week, I ask myself these questions:

What's happening next week?

I like to be able to sit down on Friday and look at what's happening next week. And I know exactly what next week is going to look like. Now as a mom, I know that things come up, people get sick, kids get sick, and stuff happens. But I like to know that my business appointments are set. That gives me peace of mind going into the weekend, knowing what to expect next week.

What am I planning?

As I sit down to figure out what I'm planning, I look at my week.  I go through my paper planner and open up my Google calendar.  

Then, I look at all the appointments I have. These could be doctor, car, or client appointments.  I see if there are any courses that I need to attend or speaking engagements that I'm doing.

Also, I look to see what commitments I have with my coaching clients and my Bookkeeper Training School students, as well as meetings. And Everything goes on my schedule.

This helps me see how hectic next week looks. And I'm also looking to see what my blocks look like. I'll then determine what open time do I have left. 

What do I need to plan for dinner and lunch?

Doing this gives me lots of information.  For example, if Monday night I'm doing a New Member meet and greet for my students in Bookkeeper Training School, then I know that I need a quick dinner that night.

Having all this information helps me craft out dinner and lunch plans. 

What other things do I need to include in my weekly planning?

Doing the above first gives me a nice roadmap for what the rest of the week is going to look like. Then I sit down and see if any cool events are happening that we might want to go to.

And I'll make sure that I put all that stuff in my schedule for the week. Then I look to see what my team has assigned to me. We use Click Up to look at my to-do list. Then I figure out what is a priority this week. This helps determine what are things I have to get done.

Set your big goals for the week

That helps you decide what your big goals for the week will be. And when you start pulling all of these pieces together, it gives you structure for the week.

Start filling up those empty blocks with the things you need and want to get done.

Way too often you don't have a plan for where you want to go. Nor do you have a plan for the things you want to do.  You have a general idea of what you want to do, like homeschool, cook more, or do other things. But if you don't have a plan for all the things, and you're just hoping they're going to happen, it won't.

What do I want to do with my family? 

And what planning does for me is it allows me to figure out what I want to do with Erik. This morning I went to the park with Erik. Because it was mom and Erik time. So we went to the park and we had a blast. The reason we did that was that it was on my schedule to bring him to the park today. Otherwise, I wouldn't have thought of it. I probably would have just hung out and watched an episode of Paw Patrol with him.

So as I'm sitting down with my planner and figuring out what I want to do with my week next week. I ask myself, "What do I want to do with my son and with  my husband."

Weekly planning allows you to craft the life you want

When you figure out what you want to do during your weekly planning, it allows you to craft the life you want to have. It's interesting because, in budgeting, you create a budget to spend your income on paper before the month begins. And with your planner, you get to spend your time on paper before it actually happens.

When you get to craft the life that you want, it allows you to be intentional with your time. Life slips away so fast if you're not intentional with it.

Spend some time on weekly planning

You'll need about 1 to 1.5 hours to plan your week.  Typically if you do this on a Friday afternoon when you're not feeling productive anyways, it will give you much hope for the coming week. Or you can do this on Sunday night. Whatever works best for you.

Knowing what's going to happen next week, will fill you with hope. You will feel joy and anticipation because you know what is coming up. It will decrease your stress levels, because you aren't sitting there trying to figure out what you're going to have for dinner. When you plan everything together, it will all sync.

Weekly planning helps you know in advance what's going on

When you plan your week in advance, you know what appointments you have and what you have committed to. You then get to decide what you are going to do, what your downtime is going to be, when you're going to work out. You get to decide. And it's empowering to be able to take control of this piece.

And so of you just feel like you're spinning and you don't know where the time or priorities are going. Then I encourage you to sit down and try this. All you need to do is sit down and plan your week. You can do it on a blank piece of paper, a paper planner, your Google calendar. Whatever feels comfortable for you.

You don't need a complex system for weekly planning 

You don't need a complex system. You just need something where you can write it down.  Get it down somewhere. Whether it's on the screen or paper, have a plan. Because as Brendon Burchard says, "what makes it on your calendar gets done." And I'm a huge believer of that.

So if you're in Bookkeeper Training School and you're struggling to get the work done, schedule blocks with yourself on your calendar.

Planning gave me my life back. It gave me structure, and it gave me fun.  I have a better relationship with my family. Because if it was up to me, I would probably be sitting behind this desk a lot more than I do.

Planning makes me get up and go and be with my family and do the things that we want to do. I hope this is helpful. I would love to know how planning has helped you. So please leave me a comment below.