Having a weekly rhythm can eliminate distractions, keep you focused, and bring EASE to your days. Here is my plan now .. there is a weekly refinement process that I go through, but this is about what my weeks look like right now.
MONDAY
create content
grocery run
TUESDAY
12pm team call
connect with my people
library
hot yoga
date with the boys
WEDNESDAY
class design
2 hour clean prep + listen to podcast
THURSDAY
follow up
set up appointments
allergy shots + dog park + good will
clean car
date night
FRIDAY
reflection + creating
writing
visioning + planning
2 hour clean + listen to podcast
family movie night
SATURDAY
skype call with family
laundry
family adventure time
time with friends
SUNDAY
attend church
hot yoga
family meeting
weekly review
weekly plan + meal plan
Create themes and batch tasks.
Plan your week with your seasonal actions in mind (or in front of you - see seasons)
Review your week every Sunday for what needs adjusting.
Review. Refine. Automate. Delegate. Eliminate
What went well? What didn’t go well?
What could be done differently, more efficiently?
What could be automated?
What could be delegated or eliminated all together?
What am I grateful for?
Where did I grow?
What could I release or forgive?
The Parking Lot
I learned of this idea from Ange Peters when I went through her Beautiful Life Lab in 2018-2019. The parking lot is where you put allll of your ideas. Do you have a lot of ideas? I have a lot of ideas. ALOT. So much so that I can overwhelm myself with all the things that I want to do. What happens, then, is overwhelm. I see my huge list and like a large pile of laundry, can turn around and walk away. The Parking Lot is a nice place to store all of my ideas and thoughts about what to do and why come into my consciousness. I take a regular look at the Parking Lot to determine what needs to stay there in that parking lot and what needs to keep moving into the next week. Personally, I have trouble letting go of my ideas and my tasks … somewhere in my brain I want to do it all. Psychologically, I see that I try to prove … '“see look at all the things” … "look at all the things I have to do .. I couldn’t possibility make headway on my dreams today!” Well, I’ve called Bullshit on that. The weekly review helped me to change that thinking.
Now the hard work.
Mapping your week so that you are working towards the things that are most important to you. Honestly, this is where I get a little nervous, I see the resistance wanting to creep in a run the show. Here is a good place to note the importance of enlisting a good therapist, coach, or spiritual director - or all 3. We all have stuff that holds us back, that wants to keep us small and compliant with the current status quo. If you notice a block, talk it out, change it up, get some perspective. Utilize your journal and then review it for patterns. Friends, we get a short amount of time to live our precious lives - don’t waste it on creating ruts for yourself. If you want to do something - do it. You may need help clearing the path.
Moving the needle.
No one gets anywhere without a little effort. I think, though, that many of us overstrive and perhaps over do in an unconscious attempt to sabotage. If we are “so busy” how could we ever follow through on our dreams?; how could we possibly with all the things on our plate? Each week, I take time to review (see above for some questions I ask myself regularly), then conscious plan out my week utilizing the structure I created for myself. I do just 3 things each day that allow me to move in the direction of my dreams. Please know that there will always be a gap, always, always, between where you are and your ideals, but moving the needle just a small amount everyday makes an impact that is bigger than you can imagine overtime.