In my last newsletter, I explained that if I look like I have a lot going on it’s not because I’m so organized but because I have a few priorities that I make sure happen each week and I do those things well.

Sidenote: Several of you asked which books I had read on this topic to reach this conclusion and there are several! A few great ones to put high in your list are: Atomic Habits, Free to Focus, 4,000 Weeks, and Digital Minimalism.

One of the things that I do well is planning my week. I would argue that that half hour of planning is what makes my week. Whether I take that hour to plan decides what kind of week I will have: scattered and disjointed or productive and peaceful. While I’m constantly tweaking things, over the years I’ve settled on a process that works well, and I’m happy to share it with you this week!

Use an hourly planner

As I mentioned last week, I use a planner. I’m not going to try to convince you of why you should use a planner (you can read any of the books I listed above, many of them make very strong cases for planners. And by that I mean most of them sell their own version of a planner. Hint: it’s a big deal.)

I use an hourly planner because it allows me to block my time, that is, chunk it apart in hours so I can actually see how long I have to do each part of my day.

Here’s how I do that.

Make a list

At some point on Sunday I set aside about 30 minutes to plan my week. First, I list out everything that I need to get done during the week. Then I pause, and think some more. Here are some great questions to ask:

• what appointments do I have this week?
• what sports practices am I taking kids to/from?
• which carpools am I driving?
• am I going grocery shopping?
• what have I said that I am going to do?

Everything goes on my list. Then I consult our shared family Google Calendar and add those things to the list. If something is a three step task (like making a birthday cake for a child), I list out each step: shopping for cake supplies, baking the cake, and frosting the cake. I do this for all my daily tasks. When you think of it, you have hundreds of things you need to get done each week. It’s incredibly helpful to write them down so that they each get the attention they deserve.

Start filling things in

After I’ve made my to-do list, I turn to the next seven days. Using an erasable pen, I add in each of my tasks that are tied to a specific time. These would be things like appointments, sports lessons, work meetings, work hours, homeschool hours, drop off/pickup for school, etc. These are the commitments I’ve made that I can’t break to others. Next I use erasable highlighters to block plan my time.

There’s a method to my madness with using colors! When I see the color in my planner I can mentally switch roles: I can see which role I’m stepping into. It also helps me see at a glance how much time I’m spending on each area of my life. My brain can trick me into thinking I’m spending “so much time” doing “that one thing,” but in reality the color blocking helps me quickly see that things are much more balanced than I would assume.

Here’s what it looks like practically speaking. The color that I use for “responsible for kids” is hot pink. If I write in a scheduled orthodontist appointment for 2PM on Wednesday, I know I need to leave 15 minutes before the appointment and I need to get kids ready 15 minutes before we leave. The pink block that I make around the appointment can’t start at 2PM on Wednesday, or we will be late or something else will get crunched. It needs to start at 1:30PM.

The same is true for carpools, errands, etc. I write everything that’s tied to a specific time and assign a color for each category. (My categories are: kids, family time, personal time, work time - each has a different color when I block plan my time.)

As I add it to my schedule I cross it off of my Sunday “master list.” I can trust that I will get to it later in the week because it’s now part of my schedule.

Schedule in family time

Next I add the times that we’ve committed to doing things as a family. Generally, this is most evenings a week when we eat dinner together. If we are having a family movie night, going on a day trip to the desert, or playing a board game together this is where I would schedule that time.

Schedule in time for me

After I’ve scheduled the commitments that I’ve made to others, I schedule time for me. This is also where I schedule fun. I realize that the phrase, “scheduled fun” doesn’t sound all that fun, but in my experience the things that I don’t schedule don’t happen. So, if I want time for recreation, I have to plan for it.

I schedule date nights and my weekly hiking outings. I schedule my morning routine of waking up, journaling, devotion, strength training, and walking the dog. I also like to take baths two or three times per week so I schedule those as well. If I’m meeting a friend for coffee, an evening walk, or an afternoon hike I put those on the schedule too.

Schedule all the other things

After I’ve gotten this far, my planner is already pretty full. Each day is full of big blocks of scheduled time, but there are still pockets of time left here and there. That’s where I add all of those “extras” that I have to do.

In those pockets of time I like to group similar activities. For example, if I have to call to make an appointment for the orthodontist, and have to schedule a haircut for a child, and call the vet, I block out 30 minutes on one of the days for “phone calls.” I knock out all of those phone calls in one chunk. If I know that I have to run to the Costco near school, I schedule one afternoon where I pick kids up and then head to Costco. Tying activities together like this saves me time and brain space in the long run.

As I add each task to my schedule I continue to cross it off of my Sunday “master list”.

Work my schedule

All of the above takes me about 30 minutes each Sunday. But that work that I put in on Sunday means that I am ready to hit the ground running each morning. I have already planned out what my day will look like and the things that I need to get done.

Because unexpected things do come up, I keep either a Post-It note or a running checklist each day. If something comes up that is one week or two weeks out, I page ahead in my planner and add it to the Sunday “master list” for the correct week.

I also write everything in my planner in something that is completely erasable. While I have a really great schedule in place on Sunday afternoon, things are never set in stone. Practices get canceled, appointments get moved, and things come up. Using erasable highlighters and pens allows me to move things around if I need to, but also ensures that I’m not just winging it my entire week.

If you’ve been hesitant to plan your week, give it a try! I bet you’ll be surprised at how much time you are able to give to your priorities!

Breathe Easy Challenge

In the spring of 2014 I bought a little kit of oils. Included in that kit were three staples that our home is never without: Lemon, Peppermint, and Lavender. My kit came with eleven bottles of oil, but Lemon, Peppermint, and Lavender were the first ones that I ran out of.

There are dozens of ways that I use these oils in our home each month, but one of the biggest ways is as the seasons change. That’s why I love this challenge that our community of oilers is doing in April.

During the month of April our community wants to introduce you to the habit of diffusing daily by giving you all kinds of ideas and tips around this trio of oils, and also showcasing just how versatile they are. During springtime, this trio of oils is especially great if any of these are things you struggle with:

If you have these oils in your home and aren’t sure how to use them, or if you want to breathe a little easier this spring, then reply to this email and I’ll get you added to the challenge!

If you need to grab them before the challenge starts, you can order them right here. A starter bundle comes with a diffuser and is an exceptionally good savings at over 50% off.

Snippet from my week

I have lost count of how many atmospheric rivers we’ve had this winter! (If you’ve never heard the term before, you can learn about it here.) We have a little nature preserve that is close to our neighborhood and all of our rain has made it lush, green, with pops of wildflowers blooming. I snapped this picture last week during a rainy day through the preserve.

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Thanks for reading! Do you plan your week each Sunday? Any tips to share? I’d love to hear it and be encouraged/inspired by you if you do! Just hit reply if you’d like to respond. (When you hit reply, your message goes directly to my email. It’s a private conversation between just us.) I read all your messages and try to respond, but not always in a timely manner. Sorry! And if you enjoyed this email, you’d be doing me a favor by forwarding it to someone else who might like it.