Planning your week can seem overwhelming, but if you're anything like me and ultra Type-A, it will give you some peace of mind and lessen your stress because you know you've optimized your week and organized it well. Keep reading to figure out exactly how I organized my week to optimize it!
1. I sit down and time block my whole week at once.
Pick a day/time every week to plan your upcoming week, and when you do this repeatedly, it will become a habit that will help optimize your time. Sunday nights are what work best for me!
I spend about 30 minutes going through my to-do lists (whether it's what didn't get done last week or what needs to be done this week) and take a few steps to ensure I'm optimizing my time. For example...
- Are there tasks you can stack? (EX: Walking on the treadmill and studying.)
- Is there anything on your list that isn't truly necessary or can be delegated to someone else?
Block out your time for everything you do, including working out, club meetings, volunteering, hanging out with friends, free time, studying, and appointments. I will make a detailed post on EXACTLY how I do that soon, so make sure you've joined the email list!
2. I Keep separate to-do lists on my phone for each day of the week.
Keeping separate to-do lists for each day helps minimize the overwhelm of a single, large master list of things to do. It breaks that list down into actionable, less intimidating steps.
Additionally, it helps you when you are doing your weekly planning/time-blocking because you will be able to optimize your tasks according to which day is best for them & keep track of it easily.
I adore Google Keep for this! It keeps me sane!
3. I plan downtime, events with friends, & self-care.
Planning time to enjoy yourself and rest can seem silly, but if y'all are anything like me, making yourself rest is a hard feat to accomplish! Especially if I feel like I have stuff looming over my head, so planning it into my schedule helps me to prioritize rest.
I highly recommend making this an intentional time for rest, self-care, or hobbies!
4. I keep a separate to-do List of tasks that are not time sensitive.
The simple act of separating this list from my everyday to-do lists completely changed my stress and overwhelm. When you keep everything you may possibly need to do on one list, it can quickly cause you to be so overwhelmed that you don't want to do any of it.
The best way I found to solve this is to make separate lists! I have an example above of what kind of tasks would be on my "loose/no deadline" list.
5. I start my days intentionally with faith & self-care.
Staring my morning in quiet time with God helps me reset my priorities each morning and remember how fortunate I am to have a full to-do list of opportunities and obligations.
Get up, spend time with the Lord, get ready, and take care of your body & mind! Try that for just a week and see how greatly your daily life improves!! Truly!
I truly hope this post helped give you some peace of mind on how in the world to balance everything that college throws at you. Just take it one step at a time and remember not to let your to-do list rule your life. This can be difficult, but make it a priority to find the balance that works for your life!
With Love,
Isabella XO
