I’ve been spending a lot of time this week working on my Perfect Week, rethinking how I want to spend my days. Have you ever done this exercise?
It’s great to use with your mastermind groups, your private coaching/consulting clients, and for your own personal use.
You map out what you want to do during the week in big chunks of time, by category, making sure the high-priority items get on your schedule first. It helps you set priorities and creates more productivity in your days.
Make sure you include rest time, administrative time, and any other time that you often “squeeze in whenever it fits” instead of planning time for it. I include a “must never miss” one-hour lunch break every single day to relax and recharge for the afternoon.
See below for links to a blank Excel spreadsheet and PDF of the Perfect Week Template, so you can create your own.
In the future when you need to schedule something, you see how it fits into your “perfect” week instead of letting your schedule get away from you.
- Someone want a bit of your time? Check your Perfect Week to see when it’s appropriate to schedule it.
- Planning a big project? Look at your Perfect Week to figure out when to schedule it while still maintaining work/life balance and avoiding burnout.
Some people balk at the idea of structuring their days so completely. That’s okay — just as long as you’re clear on what you want to accomplish each week and you have a plan in place for getting it all done.
It’s important to have a plan for saying “no” to tasks and people that will divert you. The Perfect Week keeps you focused on actions that achieve your goals.
For me, the structure is necessary; if I leave it up to “I’ll do whichever task I feel like doing in the moment,” I don’t get all my tasks done. There are simply too many shiny objects out there! 🙂
I created mine in an Excel spreadsheet, but you can use any word processor or a paper calendar to map out yours.
Here’s a blank copy of my Excel spreadsheet so you can try this exercise for yourself. If you don’t have Excel, you can still download the spreadsheet, then open it in the Google Sheets app (part of Google Drive).
Here’s a blank copy in PDF format if you prefer.
I hope you find it helpful…or at least eye-opening. Let me know what you think. Share this with your mastermind group or client in your next meeting! Feel free to share it with your colleagues or add it to a workshop. The more you help your clients manage their time and tasks, the faster they’ll move toward creating the life of their dreams.
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Great article Karyn! It’s a great format to use. I’ll definitely share it.
I’m glad you found it helpful, Nicole. 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing Karyn! I always love to see how successful people make space for the important things!Also found the color coding very helpful!
You’re welcome, Dominique. 🙂
At first I did it without the color coding, but I found when I “grouped” things visually, I could easily see if I was spending my time on the most important things. Some blocks of time will change…you know how life goes! But I’m enjoying having discrete slots for everything. I live by my calendar!
For the same reasons as mind mapping, your time map idea is very powerful. You can’t get anywhere without knowing where you want to go; when you want to get there; and exactly how you are going to get there on a timely basis. Thanks for reinforcing this idea.
It’s the truth, Gary…we have to know exactly how we’re going to get to our goals within a period of time. Otherwise we “wander.”
Thanks so much, Karyn! I need all the help I can get to get myself organized. This looks very doable, especially since this will help organize the tasks leading up to the end result.
What I like about this concept, Carol, is that it puts similar tasks into chunks of time. I’m always more productive when I can work on one project at a time.
I just came across your site while searching for productivity for the new year. Great stuff…I’ll be back!
Welcome, Beth, glad you found us!!
I love this idea. I have tried with my phone calendar, notepads, and alarms. This go round, I may use my phone calendar but used vibration because the notification sounds drive me to a point where i sometimes don’t read the task and regret it later. Thank you!
Karyn,
This fits perfectly with the productivity plan I share with my clients. I will include this in our productivity sessions. After filling in my “perfect” week, I spend a few minutes before bed each night entering events with alarms in my calendar so that my phone buzzes at me and keeps me on track throughout the day. Thank you for a great template!
Rebecca
You’re welcome, Rebecca! I’m glad you can use it with your clients.
Thanks. I’ve been trying to get organized around my business so this came exactly at the right time.
Thanks. Your information and classes are always right on.
Great, Maribeth, I can’t wait to hear what you’re creating!
Thanks so much for sharing, Karyn! I love how simple you made it, yet absolutely detailed. The colouring is a nice touch as well.
The colors help me to see if my week is “balanced” with all the different things I want to do and focus on. I find it’s a quick snapshot to see if life is by design. 🙂
This is exactly what I needed! Thank you so much for generously sharing, Karyn!
I’m happy to hear you found it helpful, Laura. 🙂
Hi Karyn! Thanks for sharing your format!I really appreciate your research. Hope to read more articles on your blog…!!! Keep it up.
Thanks, Michael, glad to hear it was helpful for you!
Thanks Karyn,
The colours especially help me stay focused as you shared how it immediately highlights any imbalance. This is great and I am enjoying creating mine. What I also like is the power it gives to saying “No” to distractions, as your time has been allocated.
Yes, the color coding really helped me to “see” the blocks of time, Diane. I’m glad you found it helpful!
Hi Karyn,
Thank you so much for sharing. I LOVE this kind of structured approach. And it reminded me of one of your YouTube interviews when you talked about how we entrepreneurs should have daily disciplines (e.g. not doing laundries or any housework during your ‘work days’). It resonated me so much.
I learned the hard way, Shoko! 🙂 I’ve been working from my home office since 2001. In the beginning, I’d get distracted by every household chore during my work hours — mostly as an avoidance technique when the work was complicated or I really had to stretch and grow. Once I blocked out “work time” from “home time” things got easier. Then the business grew and I was juggling too many work tasks during the day, so again I had to block time for everyday tasks and major projects so they wouldn’t seep into each other’s hours. It’s not a perfect system and sometimes priorities change, so conscious flexibility is key. But for the most part, this “perfect week” schedule seems to work for me.