Plan your week like a boss
The best time to decide what you'll do on Tuesday is not Tuesday. Here's how planning your week in advance changes everything.
Most productivity advice focuses on the day: what to do first, how to protect your morning, which tasks to tackle when your energy peaks. That advice assumes you already know your priorities. But on Monday morning, most of us are still figuring them out — scanning the list, weighing trade-offs, negotiating with ourselves about what can wait. That's your sharpest energy spent on logistics instead of the work itself.
The best time to decide what you'll do on Tuesday is not Tuesday — the same applies to any workday. It's the end of the previous week, whenever you sit down to look at the days ahead and think: what actually needs to happen, and when? For me, that's early afternoon on Friday. Some people prefer Sunday evening. Either works, as long as you make the decision before the week begins.
This is how I've been planning my weeks for the last couple of years. It's the reason I can take on varied responsibilities simultaneously without constantly falling behind (or losing my mind). The system is simple, but it changed how my weeks feel — and I think it can do the same for you.
The hidden cost of deciding in the moment
Every decision you make (even the smallest ones) uses energy. When you plan in the moment, you’re burning energy on choices that could have been made days ago.
By mid-afternoon, your brain is tired of choosing, which is why answering emails, scrolling on socials, or doing whatever feels easiest becomes so tempting.
Instead of spending each morning planning your day, plan your week in one sitting, before Monday morning.
How to plan your week
At the end of the week, take 10 minutes to look at what didn't get done this week, what's already scheduled for next week, and spread the weight across the days.
Here's a checklist to guide your weekly planning:
Start with fixed commitments: Meetings and deadlines are the commitments you can’t move, so plan around them first.
Check calendar gaps: If there’s only 30 minutes between two calls, that’s not focus time, that’s quick-task time (or tea time if you need a break). For work that needs an hour or more of uninterrupted attention, look for open stretches on your calendar.
Spread heavy tasks across the week: Don’t fill a single day with high-effort work; balance keeps you from burning out mid-week.
Theme your days: Batching all your writing or admin tasks on the same day keeps you in one mode and allows you to gain momentum throughout the day instead of constantly switching mindsets.
Leave room for last-minute additions: Something always comes up in the last minute. Build in flexibility rather than hoping for a week without surprises.
Take 5 minutes for daily review: At the end of each day, reschedule incomplete tasks while keeping an eye on the balance.
Ask “Do I still need to do this?”: Tasks you added weeks ago may no longer be relevant. Make sure everything on your list is a promised deliverable or something that serves your current goals.
Besides following all these rules of thumb, I also keep Mondays free of meetings to guarantee focus time every week. And most of the time, I get to schedule my favourite work for that day, which makes Monday a day I actually look forward to.
When you've planned your week in advance, Monday morning feels different. You're not negotiating with yourself about where to start. The answer is already there, decided days ago, when you had the clarity to think it through.
This week, set aside 15 minutes to plan next week. Look at your fixed commitments (meetings and events), decide which tasks need to get done and by when, and place them with intention. Then on Monday, notice how at ease you feel: ready to act without heavy thinking.
I design task management systems built around how you think and work. If you’d like to explore whether that’s what you need, book a call or drop me a DM.