Are you interested in learning how to plan your week, manage your home better AND get things done on time without stress and overwhelm? Use my Ultimate Weekly Planning Worksheet. Download it for free!
For years I used a clipboard and legal pad to write my to-dos and things I didn’t want to forget when they bounced around in my head. It was a great system because I recorded everything in one spot – on the clipboard. It wasn’t on scraps of paper and it wasn’t forgotten.
One thing I always did on my pad of paper was separate the to-dos into phone calls, computer tasks, errands, and other to-dos.
Then, when I had a quiet moment, I could see all the calls I needed to make and I could immediately start dialing. When I was on my computer, I knew exactly what I needed to do. When I was out running errands, I could see all the stops I needed to make and create the most efficient path.
In Organized Life Academy I help women organize and manage their home and life with confidence. Planning for the week and getting things done are an essential part of a productive life.
Along with work and home to do’s there are three tasks that are foundational. They never end.
Laundry.
Meal Planning.
Cleaning.
Developing a routine with these three tasks would ease your stress and overwhelm, for sure!
When you have a plan for what you are going to do each day, before the day starts, you’ll be more successful. It’s amazing how much planning sets you up for success.
That’s why I created the ULTIMATE Weekly Planning Worksheet.
It combines the format of my to-do list WITH a plan to manage the top three: meal planning, laundry, and cleaning.
Here’s how it works:
Pick a day to plan your week. I like to plan on Sunday.
First, write all your activities down.
I glance at my digital calendar and write down the things I must do like doctor’s appointments, kid’s activities, client appointments, etc.
I do this so I have a visual of what days I will be home and which days I’ll be out of the house. On days I’ll be gone, for instance, I need fast meals or crockpot meals and know I won’t be doing much laundry or cleaning.
Plan your meals for the week.
I pick out my meals for the week. There is room if you want to plan for more than dinner. I usually have the same things for the other meals and just write what I need on my grocery list.
After I finish this planning sheet, I make my grocery list.
Schedule what loads of laundry you will do on each day.
Some people only do laundry twice a week. Some people do a load each day. And lots of people are WAY behind on laundry! If you are behind on laundry, look at your schedule and plan a day JUST for doing laundry…the whole day.
Write what you will do each day of the week.
Write what you will clean on each day.
There are lots of you that are very routine about cleaning. You do a specific task each day of the week. If that is you, write those tasks in this column.
If you are trying to establish a routine, write down what you will commit to clean each day. Use this as your accountability and put a checkmark when you complete it. Once it is written down you HAVE to do it.
On Monday, I had written “mop dining room floor.” Finally, at 10:00 PM, I got up and did it. I wasn’t about to let myself down. I finished it in 15 minutes and just kept going through the kitchen, entry and bar area!
Now, if you want to work on creating a morning routine, you know exactly what to do. You can start your load of laundry, prep for dinner, and do a cleaning task all before 8:00 AM.
Don’t break the chain.
Draw a line through your tasks or put a check mark next to them on your weekly planner worksheet. Don’t break the chain. Keep your checkmarks consistent.
But, if you miss a day, don’t beat yourself up. Just do better the next day.
Write your to-dos in one of the bottom 4 categories.
Get everything you need to do onto the sheet. Write all phone calls in the first column and tasks you would do on the computer in the second column. The “to-do tasks” column is for all other tasks. This might be filling out an application, sending a card, etc. The last column is for errands.
Commit to using the Weekly Planning Worksheet for one month.
Try this out for one month. Commit to using it for the whole month, 4 weeks in a row. Schedule when you will sit down to fill it out each week. Set a reminder so you don’t forget.
Finally, send me an email and let me know how it is working for you.
