5 Questions for Planning a Productive Week
A simple weekly check-in that will enhance your focus and flow
Successful people approach their work proactively rather than reactively. They recognize the power of zooming out momentarily and taking the time to think through the best approach before jumping into action. One of the simplest routines that supports this, is a quick Monday morning check-in.
Answering these five questions weekly will ensure that you put your effort where it most needs to go, and give you a sense of what is ahead of you.
1. What are my top 3 priorities this week, that align with my long-term goals?
The noisy tasks that demand our attention are often not the most important tasks that deserve our attention.
This addresses the good old tension between the urgent vs important (see the Einshower Matrix for more on this).
Prioritize your higher-level focus areas first. Connecting with our more strategic priorities is easiest before we bring in the noise of all of the niggly little tasks that make up our to-do lists.
Neglecting this step leads to reactive busyness. If we jump right into the work we’re likely to have our attention pulled toward whatever is the most demanding, but this could be in conflict with what really matters most. Checking in with long-term goals ensures our energy goes into the vital tasks that will move the needle and lead to success.
2. List it out. What are all the things on my to-do list this week?
Our stress builds when we carry a lingering mental weight from holding things in the back of our minds. Getting things out on paper reduces that low-level anxiety that can leave you feeling consistently on edge, and like there is something that you’re forgetting.
This part of the check-in is the ultimate mind dump. I encourage my clients to do this on paper. Glance through your emails, look at your calendar, dig into the back of your brain, and jot down all the task-based activities that need to be done this week. Get it out of your brain and onto a page.
3. What tasks can I eliminate, delegate, or outsource?
Once you have the list, you can sort it out. Rather than simply dealing with whatever tasks appear in front of you next, this step also allows you to assess—am I the best person to do this?
Wherever you reasonably can, look to eliminate, delegate, or outsource. We can’t do everything well, so discernment and prioritization are essential, and the most successful people master this habit.
Eliminating tasks requires discretion and ensures that you are led by your goals. Just because it could be done, doesn’t mean it should be done. Not everything deserves your attention. Elimination might also look like reducing task lift through automating tasks (i.e., email templates for standard responses, F&Q pages you can link to for frequent questions, calendar booking links, etc.).
Any to-do list will likely also include tasks that need to be done but don’t necessarily require your particular skill or knowledge level. This is where delegation or outsourcing can make all the difference. We reach a point where our success doesn’t come from our own excellence but from our ability to empower others, and knowing when to handover responsibility is essential.
4. What might stress me out or distract me this week?
And, how would my best self deal with this?
This question is inspired by Brendan Burchard’s Morning Mindset questions, in his High Performance Planner.
We all face challenges, but most of us don’t take the time to plan for them. Instead, we somehow assume that a stressed-out version of us will be able to think clearly enough to come up with a well-reasoned response . I hate to break it to you, but it’s typically not your “best self” coming to the fore in those moments. This question allows you to think rationally and clearly, and get a plan before you’re flooded by emotion.
In psychology this is referred to as an implementation intention. When we can get ahead of a challenge, we can work through the best way to deal with it without the temptation right in front of us to chose something else. Once we have that plan decided ahead of time, we’re that much more likely to default to it when we actually face that particular challenge.
5. What is one thing I could do this week that would demonstrate excellence?
This one goes right along with the name of this Substack, so well, of course it needs to be here!
Not all of our tasks are equal in the amount of impact they can or will have. It’s easy to get sucked into the trap of doing what is needed, but forgetting the power of wowing and surprising.
We don’t remember a job done adequately, we remember a job done outstandingly.
Taking a moment weekly to consider how you can kick butt and really wow your customers, stakeholders, or team will ensure that you’re consistently keeping an eye on how you can not just succeed, but excel at what you do.
While the tasks might get done, how you approach your work impacts how you feel and how others perceive you. Having clarity and a plan breeds focus and decisiveness, both of which will add significantly to your executive presence.
It doesn’t have to be hard, it just needs to be consistent. These five simple questions completed every Monday morning will set you up to play from your front foot for the remainder of the week.
As a quick screen-grab summary:
What are my top 3 priorities this week, that align with my long-term goals?
List it out. What are all the things on my to-do list this week?
What tasks can I eliminate, delegate, or outsource?
What might stress me out or distract me this week? . . . And how would my best self deal with this?
What is one thing I could do this week that would demonstrate excellence?
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Kate Snowise trained as an Industrial & Organizational Psychologist in New Zealand, before moving to the US over a decade ago, where she has since established herself as an Executive Coach, Speaker, and Facilitator. She is dedicated to guiding leaders to deepen their self-awareness, grow into their potential, and have a positive impact on those around them. Recognized as a top Executive Coach by the Coach Federation and Culture Amp, she has also been listed among the Top 15 Coaches in St Paul, MN by Influence Digest. Kate’s thoughts and insights have been featured in well-known platforms including FastCompany, Forbes, MindBodyGreen, and HuffPost.
To learn more about Kate, connect with her on LinkedIn or reach out www.thrive.how.