Every Sunday for the few months I’ve started a weekly planning and reflection habit. It’s one of my favourite productivity hacks.

During the practice I reflect on the week past and plan for the week ahead.

Reflection follows a simple structure - what went well, what didn’t and what changes I want to consider for next week. I typically set a goal for the week so I use this as a chance to evaluate that too.

During planning for the following week, I set a weekly goal and create a todo list for every day of the week. A week follows familiar patterns and it’s helpful to consider that in planning. Thinking about the week holistically also avoids packing a single day with too many commitments. Certain tasks are batched for days they are best suited (e.g. home tasks happen only on Saturday).

After the exercise is complete I can see what the week is going to look like. The preparation is helpful and keeps me focused on any given day.

I update the daily lists every morning, and move things to different days if needed.

All of this happens in one Simplenote post.

The act of weekly planning is a great way to start off the week, and has helped me take more control of my time. I hope you find it helpful too.