How do you plan your day? Do you pretty much ‘wing it’ and tackle things as they present themselves? Do you have a general plan but get sidetracked by the tyranny of the urgent? For many, this describes their daily lives and the reason for the constant underlying anxiety. If this describes you, would you like a suggestion on how to get better control of your day, week, month and year?
Weekly Planner
I have a routine I started five years ago that has proven very effective to keep me focused on the most important things (‘big rocks’) in my business and life. I call it my Weekly Planner. It is a simple one-page plan that I fill out at the start of each week. It is a combination of several tools I have seen over the years and has evolved over time. I added a new component just last year.
Every Monday Morning
Each Monday morning (or Sunday night if I want to be ready to hit the ground running the next day) I take a new printout of the spreadsheet. The top line has a place for the date and places for me to remind myself of who I am. This knowledge stems from quite a bit of work done around my core Why, personal identity and a personal mission statement. While these truths never change, there are spaces to write each of these out as tactile reminders not only of who I am but also what I am to be about. This foundation keeps me grounded and encourages me when I am struggling.
Top 3 Goals
The next section has places to write out my top three goals for the year. Our minds tend to fight against holding onto more than three things at once, so my focus is on the three most important things I need to accomplish for this to be a successful year. Next are my top three goals for the month needed to accomplish my annual goals. Next are my top three goals for the week needed to accomplish my monthly goals.
The third section has a listing for each workday of the week with places to list my top three daily goals needed to accomplish my weekly goals. So, each daily goal can be traced back to an annual goal.
There are four more sections that I quickly fill in each day to help me stay on track and intentionally choose activities that are the most effective in reaching what I have made as the biggest priorities for my life at work and home. I would be happy to share the document and go over these additional sections if you would click the link below.
Missing A Day/Week
I will admit that I do not do this perfectly every week. There are some days when life happens, and nothing gets input onto the planner. There are even some weeks that are blank. But I do not throw the whole thing out when that happens. I just begin again the next day. This is not a sprint but a marathon. My annual goals are still in place even I miss a day here or there. I am still in training.
Just click the link below to receive the spreadsheet and more information on how I stay focused on the most important things and goals I have set.
https://ballingerexecutivecoaching.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Weekly-Planner.pdf
