How to plan for a productive week and get things done

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a little commission if you purchase through my link at no extra cost to you. Please read the full disclosure here

Do you desire to accomplish more than you do at the moment? Achieve your goals with this guide on how to plan for a productive week.

Everyone is constantly looking for something, a hack, or a tip that makes them a little more productive than they already are.

Oftentimes, a single action doesn’t transform our ability to get things done, but changes we make and little actions we repeatedly take that cumulatively create a bigger impact.

There is a quote that I have heard reiterated so many times by a lot of famous speakers, and that is: “the secret of success is found in your daily routine.”

Little habit changes you practice daily would have a bigger impact in a month, a couple of months, or a year.

So if we want to improve our ability to achieve all the things we desire, we have to work on doing the things we need to do daily to accomplish our goals.

This is where planning comes in.

I love this quote we have all heard a million times and take for granted and maybe even find it a little cheesy.

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

This quote has always reminded me that an inaction is still a form of action in the opposite direction of where you want to go.

Planning for your day gives you an expectation for that day. A purpose it is meant to accomplish.

I find that planning for your week before you begin gives you a better picture of what you want to accomplish at the end of the week and also gives you the flexibility to take advantage of the differences in your commitments for each day of the week.

Weekly planning is a good practice to incorporate.

It is great to have an objective for your week and have plans laid out. It makes you feel more in control and less overwhelmed.

You can also check this post I wrote on how to set goals and what to do to achieve them.

So, hoping that I have, at this point, convinced you to start weekly planning, I’ll show you below how to plan ahead for your week and get things done efficiently.

Set a convenient time during your weekend to plan

When planning, pick a day in your weekend that is most convenient and more relaxed. It would be difficult to concentrate and focus on planning when you have a lot of chores and errands to attend to.

Sundays are my rest days. It is the day of the week I set aside to unwind and replenish myself before facing the new week squarely on the next day, making it the most convenient time for me to plan.

Yours could be Friday or Saturday, whichever day it is. Make sure it is the least busy of your weekends.

Planning on a relaxed day makes it less daunting.

Use a planner

This is very obvious, but I’ll still mention it for the formality.

You need a planner to plan your week. What you use will depend on your preferences.

You could use pen and paper or a digital planner.

Digital planners have a disadvantage which is that using them means you have to pull out your device any time you need to look at your schedule or make an entry, and you could easily get distracted.

My personal favorites are bullet journals, hard-copy planners, and printables. I am biased towards these because I think nothing beats writing with an actual pen and paper.

You can find an option for any budget range. Amazon has really cute planners for different lifestyles and occupations.

A regular yearly planner will do just fine.

Printables are also a great option because you only pay for them once, and all you have to do is print new copies whenever you need new ones.

This step can be a really fun process, have fun shopping for the planner that is just right for you.

Be wary of planners that have too many entries that you don’t need. This could make the planner bulky and more difficult to carry around.

Bullet journals are very economical and allow you to customize however you like. I believe they get the job done too.

So, take your time finding the best suitable option for you

Be realistic

You have to be realistic about the time it would take to accomplish each task when planning.

An unrealistic time allocation increases your chances of not accomplishing those tasks, which can be very disappointing and discouraging.

Try not to bite more than you can chew.

Review every day

At the end of each day, make sure to review how you are doing so far with following the plans you’ve made and getting things done.

If you are on top of things, it means you are on track, but if you are falling behind, it’s time to make a few changes and twerk things a little to help you catch up.

That could mean making more time for something that is taking longer than you expected or delegating some tasks to others if that option is available for you so you can free up some time.

Reviewing your plan each day can also help you move things up or down the list when they become less of a priority as your week progresses.

Make rest a priority.

A well-rested body helps us focus and concentrate more.

So, when planning your week, make sure you allocate enough time to rest and spend with loved ones.

It should be a priority.

Rest helps us feel replenished, and time with loved ones fills us with love and happiness.

These two combinations will make a huge difference in your productivity.

Make it flexible.

A good point to bear in mind when planning is to make it a little flexible.

Plan to complete tasks ahead of deadlines. This allows room for errors and inconveniences.

Major projects should not be planned too closely together as a little error could offset everything into chaos; adequate task spacing makes you more efficient.

Give yourself a limited amount of tasks to accomplish each week with enough room to make adjustments.

Make a streak or tracker for motivation.

Seeing how far we’ve come and what we have accomplished is a great way to motivate ourselves.

A streak is a documentation of how often you accomplish a task using signs or symbols. The pattern is a good way to motivate yourself to keep going.

There are productivity apps that can help you create streaks and track your progress. Check out this post on ten apps that will help you be more organized and productive.

You can also use a calendar and just cross out every day you get that specific task done to create a pattern.

Make room for some self-care

As you prioritize all the tasks you need to get done for the week, make sure to prioritize setting some quality time aside for self-care.

This is important for your mental health and efficiency for the rest of the week.

Tailor your self-care time to your routine depending on your lifestyle and work hours.

As much as the hustle culture’s “rise and grind” sounds exciting, it is just as important for your overall productivity to take some time for yourself and just breathe.

Find new hobbies and ways to pamper yourself. It could be something you do every night before bed, every morning, or during your weekends.

Figure out your peak productive time

To optimize your time, try figuring out what times you are more productive and schedule your most difficult and demanding tasks for those times.

It could mean waking up earlier and going to bed earlier if your peak productive time is in the mornings.

Working with your most productive times would help you work smarter, not harder, and reduce stress and overwhelm.

Make a list of all you need

Before the start of your week, ideally the weekend prior, while you make your plan for the week, take some time also to make a list of all the things you will be needing.

That includes the things you will need to get your tasks for the week done.

This would reduce the number of times you have to run to the store for supplies and prepare things that need to be prepared in time.

This is the time also to make a list of all the groceries and food supplies you would need. To save even more time, I recommend meal planning for the week.

Here’s a post I wrote on meal planning to help make the process easier for you.

Ready to have a more productive week?

There you have it! This is my guide on how to plan for a productive week and achieve your goals.

To summarise, the points listed in this post are:

• Set a convenient time during your weekend to plan.
• Use a planner.
• Be realistic.
• Review every day.
• Make rest a priority.
• Make it flexible.
• Make a streak or tracker for motivation.
• Make room for some self-care.
• Figure out your peak productive time.
• Make a list of all you need for the week.

Just remember not to be too hard on yourself when you accomplish less than you anticipated. It would be a good reason to re-evaluate until you find a system that works.

Now go on and crush your week!