It’s a new year and many of us will be taking the opportunity to get a little bit organised and put some kind of plan in place for the coming weeks and months. However, this can translate into lengthy to-do lists which we then become a slave to, never feeling like we have actually ticked everything off the list. And all too often we find that important aspects of our lives, such as our own wellbeing, seem to get pushed to the bottom of the list.

But what if you could turn this process on its head and design an ideal schedule that works for you and ensures that you not only set aside the time for the things that you need to achieve but also enables you to create time for yourself?

Follow my simple 5-step structure below to design your ideal week and you will be able to do just that.

Step 1

Review how things are right now: what’s working?  What isn’t? What do you never seem to have time for?

Step 2

List all of the tasks you need to do on a weekly basis

• Create a column for “Want to Do” and a column for “Need to Do”

• Think of everything: work, family, R&R, exercise, wellbeing, learning, time in nature, meditation, journaling, gratitude, and fun – all of your top priorities

• Don’t forget to include alone time and time with others

• You will also need to build in time for daily and weekly reflection – where are you against your objectives and goals? Would should you start doing? Stop doing?

Step 3

Categorise your tasks in a way that makes sense for you, like “Morning Routine” or “Downtime” and colour code for the next step

Step 4

Create a weekly timetable (you can use a program like Excel, or simply draw it out - whatever works for you!) and block out your time

• Colour code it

• Consider a theme or a word that inspires you for each day, such as “Family Time”, “Clients” or “Creating”

• Think about when works for you each day and at the end of every week to reflect on life and business

Step 5

Look at your Ideal Week and reality check it

• What could get in the way? What has stopped you in the past?

• Develop a contingency plan by using the simple “When, then” tool: “When X happens I will do Y…”

• Make sure that you are kind to yourself and that you approach your ideal week with flexibility – be prepared to adapt it rather than to rip it up – it’s about you and your ideal week, so design what works for you!

• Consider your boundaries (who are you saying “yes” to when you should be saying “no”?)

• Think about who you will need to involve to a) keep you accountable and b) support you (who do you need to involve to ensure your ideal week goes to plan?)

You can download my example “Ideal Week” template here: Ideal Week Template

So there we have my simple 5-step process of how to design your “Ideal Week”:

1. Think about where you are now

2. List all of your want to do and need to do tasks

3. Categorise the tasks and decide on your top priorities

4. Create your timetable and map out your activities

5. Reality check and build-in a contingency plan

You can also use this process to design your ideal month and ideal year, you would simply need to factor in more reflection time per month and for the year, and also consider seasonal shifts, holidays, etc.

So, get creating and take control of your time! And above all, enjoy the process.

Vicki Messenger helps empower aspiring and early-stage female founders to confidently create, launch and grow purpose-driven businesses in harmony with their ideal lifestyles.  You can find out more about how Vicki can support you, along with further articles and heaps of complimentary resources at: www.vickimessenger.com.

You can also find heaps of insight and inspiration by grabbing a FREE copy of her e-book: ‘“What I wish I knew…” - Pearls of Wisdom from 10 Incredible Women in Business’ right here.

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