Sundays: Time to Conquer the Week Ahead

Stop dreading Monday mornings and start getting excited for what you can accomplish!  I love the beginning of a new week with all those opportunities just waiting to be conquered. Interested in sharing my excitement? Then set your week up for success by sitting down, breathing, and pre-planning on Sundays.   

With over 20 years of experience as a celebrity personal assistant, I’ve had the opportunity to perfect the art of time management helping celebrities such as Mick Jagger, Lady Gaga and Sandra Bullock.  The best part of my job is that I help all my clients turn their dreams into actionable goals so their dreams become reality.

1. Set Actionable Goals

To ultimately conquer your week and goals, you need to break them into manageable steps – steps you can plan each month, each week and each day.  Break your goals into three daily steps that will move your ultimate goal forward & make sure those are the tasks you are checking off your to-do list every single day!

2. Time block

My favourite time management tip comes from President Barack Obama. He broke his daily schedule down into five-minute segments. This is a bit extreme, but we can learn from his approach.

Write out all of the commitments that can’t change: work, appointments, lessons, meetings and events. Now work around these immovable items. This will show you exactly how much time you have left in the day to work on your goal or where you can edit out some items on your weekly To Do lists.  Areas you should focus on should be:

1. 1. “Outside” Tasks – Know those “must do” errands and appointments.  These should be marked on your schedule first.  This step will guide you in planning the rest of the week and will show you where you may be overextending yourself.
   2. Menus – Planning what you are going to eat every night and exactly when you will go to, and what you will buy at, the grocery store will save you multiple trips, unnecessary nightly stress and money!
   3. “Inside” Tasks – Organize your finances, cleaning, general household projects.  These tasks can be easily accomplished when they fit into your calendar.  Checking these usually procrastinated items off your to-do list is most satisfying!
   4. Personal Time – We all need to recharge.  Having your family, friends, and “me time” set aside weekly is probably one of the most important parts of your Sunday planning.  When well rested you will be more likely be able to achieve those actionable goals.   

3. Prepare, Prepare, Prepare

Now that your week is nicely organized on paper, let’s take a closer look at what you need to master it.  Do you need a birthday gift, dry cleaning finished, school paperwork signed, a potluck meal for your book club or new basketball shoes for your daughter’s game?  Organize every item you need to successfully accomplish each task on your weekly list. Put them in the car. Lay them out by the front door.  You are now extremely prepared to conquer the week ahead. Congratulations!