Have you heard of planning an “Ideal Week”? This exercise can be both eye-opening and fulfilling if we use it to plan our days with intention! If you feel that your weeks are often chaotic and lacking direction because of unknown schedules and plans, this is for you!

Just like we budget our income and plan out our grocery lists, we should all be budgeting our hours throughout the week. Now, this doesn’t need to be planned to-the-minute. Of course that’s not realistic! However, thinking through a few key categories each week can be incredibly effective in restoring order and meaning to your days.

We like to go through the following list at the beginning of each week. The suggestions are just that – suggestions. Choose one of them or use them to spark ideas that fit your current pace of life.

Community:

What friend do I want to meet up with for lunch or coffee? What family can we invite over for dinner? It’s helpful to choose a specific day of the week and block it off for time with a friend!

Work:

What are my top three MUST-DO’s for this week, either at the office or inside the home? What do I want the focus of this work week to be (a current project, my team, future planning, etc.)?

Exercise:

How can I move my body three or more times this week? (Neighborhood walks, a lunch hour yoga class, early morning strength training, whatever fits your lifestyle best!)

Self-Growth/Mental Health:

What evening can I take for myself to recharge and inspire? (This could be reading, journaling, cooking a fun meal, taking a bike ride, whatever will fill your cup!)

Margin Time:

And finally, we make sure we have several hours of margin time blocked out throughout the week. We all know that unexpected issues can arise and stress will inevitably follow if we don’t have any time to resolve the problem or pivot our plans. If we have preemptively planned for these moments, we can approach them confidently and calmly.

Click here for a simple template you can use to begin planning your ideal week.

Here’s to balanced and thoughtful days!