You Need a Time Budget
Creating your ideal week
Imagine you could create a perfect week—a week where everything fits in your schedule, everything gets done, and you have margin left over.
Sound too good to be true?
Well, you're only half right.
Believe it or not, you can have such a week, at least on paper. It's not just a dream; it's a goal within your reach.
I encourage you to create your Ideal Week today.
What is an "ideal week," you may ask.
It’s a lot like a budget. You know that a budget is a plan that directs where your money goes. An ideal week is like that, except instead of telling your money where to go, you tell your time.
As your life changes, so will your ideal week. It's not a rigid plan, but a flexible tool that adapts to your needs. Much like your finances, you have the power to make adjustments as the seasons of life change.
The concept is simple - you begin with a blank week in blocks. We've created a free one for you here:
You then lay out your week by time-blocking your schedule.
Some items remain consistent from day to day like devotions, prayer, and exercise. Other items may appear once, or many times in your plan.
I suggest that you consider theming your days for maximum impact. For example, Mondays could be your “Meetings” days while Tuesday and Thursday are “Study” days.
Here is a sample of one pastor's week laid out as an ideal week.
Here is another example of how a pastor lays out his week.
As you're thinking through what should go into your ideal week, you might want to check out this article.
WARNING: Don't be discouraged if your schedule doesn't work exactly like you planned. I don't think I have ever had an ideal week that worked that way. But that's okay. The point is not to nail your schedule perfectly. The point is to have a guide to ensure that you get your most important items accomplished.
Don't be afraid to tweak your ideal week like you do your budget.
Now, go and plan out that perfect week!
Hat tip: I’m indebted to Michael Hyatt, who years ago introduced me to the concept of designing an ideal week.