Why I Recommend Planning by the Week

Julia Galindo
Nov 19, 2024
3 min read

As someone who is interested in learning and productivity, I have tried out a lot of planning systems, and it's taken me a long time to find one that I like.

If you're struggling to get organized, I recommend two things:

Keeping a paper planner
Organizing your to-do list by the week rather than the day.

There are a few reasons for this: First, there is just something helpful about writing down what you have to do by hand. I'm not against also using a digital system. I know some people will warn you against keeping information in two different places, but I actually think it's helpful to record what you have to do multiple times. I keep an online Google calendar with all of my major appointments and due dates, but I also write the appointments and due dates in my paper planner at the beginning of each week. Writing it out by hand, and seeing it all there on one sheet of paper helps me visualize the flow of my week and wrap my head around what needs to get done. I also find it really helpful to record all of the little, nagging tasks I need to get done on a weekly, rather than daily, time-scale. It generates less frustration, because I'm not copying over unfinished things from day-to-day; instead, I'm going back to one master list and steadily checking things off as the week progresses. On any given day, your schedule can get thrown off by little things but, over the course of a week, you can get a lot done.

If you've never tried this before, or if you don't have a planner that is organized the way you like, I've created a helpful weekly plan sheet you can access for free (scroll to bottom). Download the colorful, rainbow pizzazz version. Or, if you'd like to save ink (or if your personality doesn't spark in response to the phrase "rainbow pizzazz," download the soft pink version.

How to Use:

Print out the one-page Weekly Plan sheet.
Sit down with your favorite warm beverage, and make sure you have access to your calendar, learning management system dashboard (Canvas, Blackboard, etc.), and any other planning tools you need.
Fill out the start and end dates of the current week.
How do you want to feel this week? Less rushed? Confident? Choose a goal for yourself and write that in.
Your next step is to write in all of the "non-negotiables" for your week. This would include everything that happens at a set time, like classes, meetings with other people, appointments, etc., but it should also include any commitments to yourself, like a promise to work out on a certain day.
Under "To-Do This Week," start recording all of the little tasks that aren't assigned to a particular day, but that you'd like to get done this week. You'll likely come back to this and add on tasks as the week progresses.
Last, if the entire week falls apart, and you get way less done than you'd intended to, what are your top 3 priorities for this week? Record them in the lower right box and use these to guide how you prioritize your time throughout the week.

And, Finally, about the Turtles:

Martha Beck has a great phrase to inspire anyone who is working on a long, multi-step project: Turtle steps. I think I've written before how, when I was writing my dissertation, I saved a file of a cute cartoon image of a turtle, and I used to open it alongside whatever other files I was working on to keep me focused and inspired. I eventually finished my dissertation, and I've gone on to finish many other things too—and so can you!

Little steps add up to big progress!

Image by jcob nasyr via Unsplash.

Alt text: A baby turtle makes slow but steady progress toward the ocean.