Plan every week

Effective people plan every week, and you can too. Take 30 minutes, before the week begins, and go through these three steps:

1. Connect with mission, roles, and goals.

2. Schedule the Big Rocks.

• • • • • • • Ask the Big Rocks Question: “What are the one or two most important things I can
              do in this role this week?”

3. Organize the rest. Schedule your other activities, tasks, and appointments around your Big Rocks.

Do you plan every week? If not, how can you make this a regular practice?

Try this:

As you plan your week, make sure you:

• • • • • • • Make weekly planning part of your regular schedule.
            • Review your personal mission statement.
            • Review progress on your long-term goals.
            • Keep the big rocks to one or two per role.
            • Schedule the big rocks first, before organizing the rest.

Stephen R. Covey said, “Organizing on a weekly basis provides much greater balance and context than daily much greater balance and context than daily planning... the key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities. And this can best be done in the context of the week.”

If you're like most hard-working professionals, you probably spend too much time putting out fires and not enough time pursuing your long-term goals. Manage your time with these 7 tips for doing what matters most - powered by The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People®.