Last week, I talked about FULL weekly time tracking – accounting for all 168 hours. I learned so much just from seeing where my time went.
The next step was PLANNING a full week in advance, using the same tools. Doing this has been a revelation.
But I know – at first blush it seems both incredibly onerous and highly limiting. Let me address some of the key objections I typically get when I mention this approach:
“It must take forever!” It doesn’t. The first time, it took about 2 hours. But now I typically finish in about 45 minutes, which includes setting weekly goals, doing a full calendar review of the upcoming week (and a quick scan of the week after that, in case there’s anything lurking that requires significant prep), and then allocating the full 168 hours. I have a standing time slot on Sunday morning, but find what works for you. I wouldn’t recommend Monday, though, because the whole point is to offload the mental effort required for planning to a time before the week actually starts.
“How can you know on Sunday what you’ll need to do on Friday?” Let me turn that around: how can you NOT know? We create business strategies and roadmaps that often span years into the future, but we aren’t willing to commit to a time slot 5 days out? But to provide a more helpful answer, I start with weekly goals (decomposed from monthly goals), and I have a pretty good idea of how long it’ll take to get each of them done. At that point it’s just a matter of allocating enough blocks to each.
“Won’t this just lead to working all the time?” Quite the opposite actually. I recommend starting with hours for sleep (and other non-negotiables like house chores), and then following with the stuff you always WANT to do but end up skipping because you run out of time and energy. Often that’s exercise, sometimes hobbies, sometimes going out with friends, and so on.
THEN you start to fill in the work blocks, with a much better sense of what’s realistic to accomplish given the time – and energy – you have to spend. I prioritize “deep work” blocks for projects that directly contribute to goals. Then the time that remains, and there often isn’t much, is allocated to meetings, minor tasks, and follow-ups – you know, the stuff that actually DRIVES most people’s schedules.
“You can’t be spontaneous!” Well, that depends on your definition. I don’t want to be “spontaneous” on Wednesday morning, I want to execute my plan and GSD. On Saturday afternoon, though? By that point I’ve accomplished (almost) all of my weekly goals already, and my templated schedule is pretty much a big block of hobby / leisure time. That actually promotes more spontaneity – and certainly less guilt – than the old way, where I’d probably be catching up on work I missed because I didn’t plan the earlier part of the week very well.
I’d love to hear from anyone else who has tried this, or is willing to give it a shot!