The Ideal Week: A Proactive Approach to Time Management
Life presents us with a choice. We can either live on purpose, according to a plan we’ve set, or we can live by accident, reacting to the demands of others. The first approach is proactive; the second is reactive. Sure, we can’t plan for everything. Things happen that we can’t anticipate. But it is a whole lot easier to accomplish what really matters when we are proactive and begin with the end in mind.
One of the ways I do this is by creating your Ideal Week. I was first introduced to this concept by author Todd Duncan in a series of audio recordings he made that eventually became the book Time Traps: Proven Strategies for Swamped Salespeople.
This concept again appeared in other books like Living Forward by authors Michael Hyatt and Daniel Harkavy and The 12 Week Year by Authors Brian P Moran and Michael Lennington.
The idea is similar to a financial budget. The only difference is that you plan how you will spend your time rather than your money. And, like a financial budget, you spend it on paper first.
How Does It Work?
Start by imagining your ideal week. What activities would you make time for? Work, exercise, family time, hobbies - the choice is yours.
Next, create a new blank Calendar Using Outlook or Google Calendar, and block out times for your top priorities. For instance, you might set aside 8-9 am every Tuesday and Thursday for exercise, reserve 6-8 pm daily for family time, and dedicate 30 minutes each night to reading, with lights off at 11 pm.
The result? A fairly full calendar that reflects your ideal week. Here is an example using our spreadsheet template:
Two Phases of Drafting Your Ideal Week
I recommend drafting your ideal week in two phases:
Phase 1 – Ideal Week Right Now: This phase involves imagining your ideal week as it stands, taking into account the constraints of your current life. Once you’ve done this, move those blocks to your real calendar and set them as recurring events. This helps ensure you make time for what truly matters.
Phase 2 – Ideal Ordinary Week in the Future: Fast forward to a year or three from now. What would you love a normal week to look like then? This phase is more of a goal-setting activity, helping you understand what you’re working towards.
Here’s when my real Outlook Calander look like for the 1st - 7th January:
Tip: have fun with in and add Emojies using Windows key + > ( 🪟+ > )
The Benefits
Adopting the Ideal Week method has benefited me in three main ways:
Thinking Intentionally: Constructing my ideal week has encouraged me to think more intentionally about life and how I want to spend my time.
Useful Nudges: The events on my calendar serve as useful nudges. For example, at 10 pm, I get a calendar notification saying, ‘No more devices, bed and Sleep.’ It’s a gentle suggestion from my intentional self that works most days.
Protecting My Time: The calendar acts as a gatekeeper for my time. If I want to take on a new thing, I look at my calendar and see that most of the space is blocked out. This stops me from taking on too many tasks and getting annoyed at myself for not having enough time.
Creating your Ideal Week is as easy as creating a new calendar (Outlook, Google, iCal, or even a piece of paper), spending 15 minutes brainstorming your ideal week, then trialling your system and making tweaks along the way.
Give it a try, and have a great (and possibly ideal) week!