Elements of an Effective Weekly Schedule (March Focus Digest)
Welcome to March friends!
This is the Focus Digest. Our monthly newsletter for folks who want to create a more ideal schedule, get organized, and stay in control of the things that matter.
If you are new to the digest… here's what to look forward to around the first of every month:
- A short article about living a more focused life and running a more focused business
- A couple quotes that we've enjoyed thinking on
- Links to interesting or related articles from our corner of the internet
- Upcoming events and resource spotlights for members of the Focus Club
If this sparks any ideas I’d love to hear from you!
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Here are the next few upcoming events for members inside our Focus Club community:
- Next Week: Automation, Elimination, Delegation Workshop (March 11)
- Q2 Strategic Planning and Review (Club Pro on March 20)
- Calendar Audit (Tuesday, April 1)
If you’d like to join us for these live-online workshops (or get access to the replays), you can start your membership now for just $1.
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Elements of an Effective Weekly Schedule
Ever finish the week feeling like your to-do list was longer…?
Even though each day is a flurry of activity, it might feel as if no matter how hard you try it’s a struggle to make any real progress.
The struggle here is real. And the goal is to make sure that the ever-growing to-do list doesn’t pull you away from the few things that truly matter most.
That’s why, at the start of every week, I spend about a half-hour to plan my week ahead.
For me, this has been my single greatest productivity routine. Before being sucked in to the myriad of inboxes and notifications, I take a brief moment to identify and plan what is truly important for the week ahead.
Because: Clarity Cures Busywork
Part of this planning process includes accounting for the unmovable rocks in my schedule. Coaching calls, errands, workouts, family time, etc. There are always a few things I know are going to happen on a specific day and time, and they often act as guardrails in my schedule.
With a framework of my week in place, I get clear about what it looks like to win the week.
- First: What two or three projects do I need to push forward?
- Second: What are the few tasks associated with getting started on each project?
Targets
In every sport, there is a clear objective — get the ball into the net, get to home base, etc. Strategy and tactics may differ, but ultimately there is clarity on what it means to win. That clarity allows for an endless number of ways to achieve success. The rules and boundaries actually cause creativity to thrive within their confines.
Moreover, when we give ourselves clear objectives (targets) to aim for through planning, we increase our ability to be creative. A lack of clarity leads to confusion, inefficiency, and ultimately, frustration.
Again, Clarity Cures Busywork.
You’ve got to know what it looks like to win the week.
^ This way you can stay focused on the vital few things that matter and you can feel free to ignore everything else.
The planning process gives you time and space to identify what is truly important.This results in clarity.
Winning Each Day
Once the week is outlined, I plan the day ahead.
I do get more granular with the daily plan, but the same core framework that guides my weekly plan is also true for daily planning.
Over the years, my recommendation is that you limit yourself to three Most Important Tasks (MITs) for each day. With only one or two of them being deep work tasks (things that require a large chunk of un-interrupted focus and creativity).
Now, as I wrote about nearly 10 years ago in regards to The Note…
The real secret to winning each day has been planning my three MITs the day before.
I don’t always do this, to be honest. But at the end of most days, I try to review what I accomplished and compare that to my plan for the week. Then, I look at my schedule for the next day and plan the two to three tasks I need to do.
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All of this leads to a remarkable level of calm in work week, rather than feeling frantic, anxious, and reactive.
And it’s a big part of the structure that allows me to run my full-time business on more of a part-time schedule.
The more I lean into the 4-Focus Method, the more I find it working for me.
IDENTIFY → PLAN → ACT → CELEBRATE
My half-hour planning sessions on Monday mornings change the way I get work done. And, as a result, it’s rare to find myself buried in work on Friday. In fact, usually the opposite is true. Most Fridays are wide open for me.
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SALE: Get the Full Breakdown of Exactly How to Manage Your Tasks and Your Time
This month, my most-popular course ever, All The Things, is on sale. You’ll get in-depth look at the simple systems I use for a more calm approach to productivity and easier task management.
- The Hybrid Productivity Method (combining digital and analog tools)
- How to Schedule Your Day (to maintain focus and margin)
- Weekly Planning for Your Ideal Week
- Weekly Review
- The 4 Failures of Productivity (and how to avoid them)
- Custom productivity templates
Right now, All the Things is on sale for half-price. Get instant access here.