How to Plan for a Productive Week - Life with Grace and Heart

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Planning for a productive week doesn’t have to be confusing or overwhelming. Here are my simple tips for how to plan for a productive week.

I have been a planner fanatic for as long as I can remember. I went through a stamping phase, a doodle phase, a sticker phase, etc. However, I always got overwhelmed and felt like I had to be a slave to my planner in order to use it properly. I used to look at all of the Pinterest perfect planner pictures and think why can’t I do that?

Then I discovered the Bullet Journal, I quickly fell in love with all of the freedom that I had to create any type of planner spread I needed for that week. However, I quickly got overwhelmed with that too. They have planner groups devoted to gorgeous Bullet Journal layouts and I felt so frustrated that I couldn’t emulate those layouts.

I recently read a book by Ryder Carroll called The Bullet Journal method and it changed the game in how I Bullet Journal and how I get things done. You can read my review and what I learned from the book here. For now we will talk about how to plan for a productive week.

Planning for a Productive Week

The first thing that I do is take a look at my monthly layout. The monthly layout is where I put all my appointments or events that are happening that month to make sure I don’t forget anything. I am currently a substitute. Keeping track of all of my sub days is very important. I live for lists! My monthly is the original bullet journal way simple and easy to read.

The next thing I do if I haven’t done this in awhile is to do a brain dump. I turn to a blank page in my bullet journal and write down everything that needs to happen. It’s like word vomit in pen form when I brain dump and I love it!

After that, I assign days to my tasks and put them on my monthly page so I don’t forget about them. Then, I start with Monday and rapid log. My rapid log is just my daily to-do list and any events that happen on that day. I will show some pictures of my daily rapid log below.

My Planning Routine

The most important thing to having a productive planner is to use it! I know that seems a little silly, but in the beginning, I would spend all of this time creating layouts that weren’t very helpful and then I wouldn’t use my planner. My planner then became a waste of time and nobody wants that.

I had to create a simple planning routine. That way I was not only using my planner but looking at it so I can stay on task for the week. If you can stick to using your planner you will be well on your way to plan for a productive week.

In the Morning

My day starts with my Bullet Journal. I wake up and either have some coffee or some energize in my water and open up my Bullet Journal. The first thing I do is look at the day before and see if there was something that I didn’t get to that day. Then, I add the date to my bullet journal and start my rapid log for the day. Checking the day before also helps you reflect on your day, maybe you put too many tasks for the day and you need to scale back for today. Maybe you didn’t accomplish anything but binge-watching a series on Netflix and you need to add a few more tasks for today. (I totally do this and encourage it every once in a while!)

During the Day

When I get to school, my Bullet Journal goes on my desk. Throughout the day if something comes up I add it to my rapid log. This is so handy because once it’s in my Bullet Journal it is out of my head. As I complete things during the day I go back and check them off in my Bullet Journal. Having my Bullet Journal out also reminds me to stay productive.

In the Evening

In the evening, I sit down and reflect on my day. I check off anything I forgot to check off during the day. My goal is to look at my monthly and maybe start my rapid log for the next day. The most important part of my reflection is making sure I planned for a productive day.