Yes even though I'm officially retired I still have to manage my time, otherwise I would most probably sit around looking at Facebook all day!
So today's thought or question. Do you plan your week at the beginning of the week or do you plan each day at the start of the day or a combination of both or something else all together?
Please share your tips in the comments below.
My 'Planning Slot' tends to be with my morning coffee (while the computer is still off, although I can still get distracted by the phone). After this I plan periodically through the day as when I need to. This works because I have the time to plan then. Previously when I used to have a very early 4.30 start to simply get to work on time I did my planning for the next day in the evening.
ReplyDeleteMy monday planning routine tends to be busier as I try to do a week overview then as well.
Other than appointments and occasions, I don't use my main planner for time management. When I first retired I was a slug; no schedule, no urgency to cram chores into weekends. To Do lists failed me; they're like a gratuitous, nagging boss. Now I do some things every day and list them in Wo2P pages in a decrepit Coach LeFax. This is like the billable hours system I kept when I was working but I don't time each task. I review it each evening and make a mental note of what I'll do the next day. My other planners are not dusty! Each has a special function and is full of project info, because I finally am doing all the things I always said I would do when I retired. I review them and think about next steps, but that's pure pleasure. Having the planners sitting on my desk waiting to be filled is my incentive to be active. And I became much more productive when I banned the word "should" from my retirement vocabulary.
ReplyDeleteIf I'm being good (i.e. not lazy), I plan on a Sunday night for the upcoming week. Then I look at the next day's plans the night before, so I know what's happening and whether I need to prepare anything before I go to bed!
ReplyDeleteOver the weekend, I would sit with my Moleskine planner (Holborn personal is still in the U.S. until it gets sent) and my Wunderlist account open on the laptop - the better to coordinate between planners - then plan the week ahead.
ReplyDeleteTasks per day are listed, so are the sub-tasks needed to accomplish the daily tasks. Then, using a sticky pad, I will list down the to-do things that don't have specific day deadline, as long as they get done over the week.
Over the course of the week, lists are made on a post-it, whenever it is needed (e.g. a previously unplanned for coffee or dinner with friends).
I usually plan out the week on Saturday or Sunday. Usually this means going over schedules for the family. I'm a SAHM who works at home so my time schedule isn't as structured like it was when I worked outside the home.
ReplyDeleteI also do a brain dump of all the things I need to get done or accomplish for the week then slot them into the days on my WO2P. Each morning I glance over the schedule/tasks for the day and add/remove items as needed.
I plan by day, usually at the end of each day. Big events, appointments, and routines are usually written mid week when I do my decorating for the next week. Then, I fill each day as I go. I feel things always change so this is why I do things that way. Also, I sort of use my planner as a record for things I did that day, which is why I plan at night. If I didn't do something that day I can transfer it to the next day. I feel it also gives me a reason to constantly look into my planner as a reminder of what needs to be done.
ReplyDeleteI plan by day, usually at the end of each day. Big events, appointments, and routines are usually written mid week when I do my decorating for the next week. Then, I fill each day as I go. I feel things always change so this is why I do things that way. Also, I sort of use my planner as a record for things I did that day, which is why I plan at night. If I didn't do something that day I can transfer it to the next day. I feel it also gives me a reason to constantly look into my planner as a reminder of what needs to be done.
ReplyDeleteI plan my upcoming week every Sunday.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of every day I plan tomorrows of this life. I´ve jotted notes to every day and I use another page to map it all into a Chronodex and there I plan my time- management. There are days when I need a minute-by-minute plan and to those days I really need to know what goes on and where. To each day I have a to do-list divided in two. The one part to what absolutely needs to be done and the other part to what I want to achieve that day. The more I have things to juggle, the more important it is to note the difference between "need" and "want". I also have started to plan my time to hit the sack just so that I get some time to sleep. I also have planned half an hour each morning to write. I used to never have "me" time and even a half an hour makes a big difference.
The more I write things down, the more everything seems to fall in their place.
On Sunday I sketch out the week. I record on my daily sheets everything I know I'm doing and then make a to-do list for sometime during the week. Then each evening between 9:00 and bedtime, I plan the next day. I've been doing it that way for years!
ReplyDeleteOnce in a while I get overwhelmed or have an unusual day and then I might re-do my plan in the morning or afternoon. That doesn't happen very often, though.
I plan as I go and usually on Sundays. I ordered the Sunday-Saturday WO2P for 2014 to see if that would suit since I like seeing the whole week that way on Sundays. I obviously review as I go, but I like the downtime to plan the week and think of things I need to consider and do. It also gives me a chance to look at the following week.
ReplyDeleteI plan the week on Sundays and then each evening I add in more detail to the next day right before bed. Or IN bed somenights!
ReplyDeleteMy natural inclination is to do day-by-day planning which generally works well but I lose track of larger goals and longer term projects. I keep up with those with extensive use of ticklers. I've been trying to adopt a more deliberate weekly review/weekly plan to help me keep progressing on big picture items and sorting through the various stuff that needs to get done, develop some foci for the week and generally adopt a more planned existence. I tend to look at my planner late evening or first thing in the morning to plan out my day; I often work an evening shift so I will do another quick planning session right before or right after I arrive at work in the afternoon.
ReplyDeleteOn Sundays I plan out my weekly task list for work - I go through my master to do list and figure out what projects need to be done as well as repetitive weekly tasks. I also transfer appointments from my monthly calendar to my daily pages for the upcoming week. Then each evening I will pick which work tasks to schedule for the next day taking into account appointments and personal to do's as well. Anything I didn't get done from the day's to do list I will reschedule for the following day. Also a couple of times a week I will flip through the previous days pages just to make sure nothing was missed or overlooked.
ReplyDeleteI also tend to do my planning on a Sunday. However, sometimes this just doesn't happen so then I'll get my filo out at breakfast & work out what my most important tasks are for the day.
ReplyDeleteI plan my week on Sunday evening.
ReplyDeleteTo keep on track I use Getting Things Done and with this system you need to do a week review. Checking all your lists, looking for next actions and make sure your inbox is empty.
So that's the moment a plan my next week. I look what to do's are on a special day and checking my appointments and wright them down.
I do this on Sunday so I can start 'fresh' on the new week :)
Hi I do the same as The Perpetual Student. I often have to make changes throughout the week but some tasks stay the same but the day or group might change.
ReplyDeleteA weekly planning session with kids on Sunday, then I review my past week and move anything up that did not get done. I then look at the upcoming week and put in my recurring items, then take items from my master task list and poke them in my week. Evenings I flip to the next day and just review my appointments so I have no surprises. Early mornings I review my appointments and tasks, then attack!
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