Monday Planning: How To Get The Most Out Of Your Week, Keep Focus, And Drive Goals Forward

How you start your week sets the tone and energy.

I’ve found book-ending my weeks with Monday Planning and Friday Recap to be extremely valuable to keep focus and achieve goals faster. On Monday morning, set aside 30 minutes to plan for the week ahead.

Here’s my approach for Monday Planning:

1: Become laser focused on the 3 things you must deliver this week.

Review your quarterly goals, and identify the next set of milestones you want to hit.

Every step you take gets you one step closer. Focus on progress each week instead of the daunting big picture. Make sure the milestones are achievable this week or there’s a way to have measurable progress against them.

Don’t pick 7 things, just pick 3.

2: Audit your schedule to align activities to outcomes.

Make sure every meeting, workshop, and 1:1 is getting you closer to achieving the outcomes you require.

Don’t give time to anything that isn’t aligned to your quarterly goals / ruthless priorities. Use time boxing to avoid massive context switching. Batch process emails and slack messages.

Don’t say yes to meetings just because you’re invited.

3: Be intentional with your time.

What outcomes are you looking for?

What do you want to get out of that work session? What is your role in the meeting? How can you get the most out of 1:1s? What questions can you send in advance to focus the discussion and gain alignment faster?

Expect agendas and clear outcomes from meetings, otherwise decline them.

Meetings should only be to debate, decide, discuss, or develop your people. Go async for everything else. You never have more time, just ways to be more intentional with it.

30 minutes on Monday morning will save you hours of time and help you achieve your goals faster.