Design a Good Week

by Kimberly A. Barchard Issue 21: Summer 2023

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” — Proverb

To have a good life – one that feels enjoyable, satisfying, and productive – I find it helpful to design a good week. This way, I can make sure that I am spending enough time on the things that are most important to me. To design a good week, there are three essential steps. First, planning sufficient time for the things that are most important. Second, revising my schedule whenever it isn’t working for me. Third, being flexible without losing sight of what’s important to me.

Step 1: Planning Sufficient Time for What’s Important

At the beginning of each semester, I start by writing in my fixed appointments: classes, department meetings, and recreational activities that occur at fixed times.

Then I select one or two weekdays when I will have few or no appointments.

I block off time for my research. Research is important to me, and I get more done when I concentrate without interruption, and so I create blocks of time when I’ll focus just on research.

Then I schedule my remaining appointments. When something is important to me, I schedule meetings to work on it every week.

Some of my meetings are designed to review and advance progress on ongoing projects. I typically reserve one or two hours before those meetings, so I can get caught up on my tasks and add items to the agenda.

Then I plan time to prepare my classes

and to do additional research.

Finally, I decide when I will spend time with family, and when I will buy groceries, cook meals, and take care of other household tasks.

Your idea of a good week will doubtlessly be different from mine. Think about what is important to you, and set aside time for it every week. Then consider which parts of your schedule are fixed and which are discretionary, how much time you want to spend on each activity, and how you will transition from one activity to another.

Here are a video and an article on Time Boxing. For students specifically, here’s a helpful resource on creating your weekly schedule.

Step 2: Revising My Schedule

I rebuild my weekly schedule every semester because my class schedule changes from one semester to the next, as do my students’ and colleagues’. However, once people have left the academic environment, their schedules do not typically revolve around semesters. Nonetheless, I recommend you rebuild your weekly schedule on a regular basis: for example, on New Year’s Day, your birthday, or the beginning of each season.

You should also revise your schedule if your goals change. For example, if you need more money, you might want to get a job or change your job. If you decide to go to graduate school, you may need to join a research lab or spend more time studying in order to increase your GPA.

I also recommend you rebuild your schedule – regardless of the date – whenever it doesn’t seem to be working for you. If you have too many appointments, then shorten, combine, or cancel some. If you have too little time to transition from one activity to another or one location to another, move things around to give yourself more time. If some activities take longer than you originally thought, adjust your schedule to best accomplish what’s important to you. If you are feeling tired or stressed, build in more time for sleep, exercise, and mediation. Finally, you might have to change your schedule to accommodate changes in others’ schedules.

For example, I might decide I feel too rushed when I have three meetings back-to-back on Monday morning, so I move one of them to Tuesday.

And I might realize I like to focus on just one or two things each day, so I change when I prepare for my classes.

Step 3: Being Flexible

Regardless of how nice my schedule looks on paper, it won’t work every week. For one thing, some of my work meetings happen only once (e.g., thesis defense, guest lecturer, job candidate) or only once a month (e.g., faculty committee) or only once a semester (e.g., College meeting). Similarly, some of my personal activities are one-time events (e.g., out-of-town guest, lunch with friend, holiday party); others happen monthly or irregularly (e.g., neighborhood garage sale).

When my schedule needs adjustments, I trade time, instead of stealing it. For example, if I have to attend a thesis defense at a time when I would usually be in a meeting, I can move that meeting to another day.

Similarly, if a friend suggests we get together at a time when I would usually be working on my research, I can re-schedule my research for a different time. I get to decide what I’m willing to trade in order to see my friend.

To design a good week, first, schedule time for things that are important to you. Second, revise your schedule whenever it isn’t working for you. And third, be flexible, without losing sight of what’s important to you. Make deliberate choices about how you will trade your time to take advantage of one-time and irregular opportunities to do things that are important to you.

To learn more about how you can design a week that focuses on things that are important to you, see my WPA presentation Becoming Yourself.

References

Frank, T. (April 21, 2018). Timeboxing: Elon Musk’s time management method. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbAYK4KQrso

Simon Fraser University Library (October 11, 2016). Creating a master weekly schedule. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29oN50olk6g

Wanderlust Worker (n.d.). Timeboxing: How Elon Musk gets more done in less time. https://www.wanderlustworker.com/timeboxing-how-elon-musk-gets-more-done-in-less-time/

¹ Everything I’m telling you about how I create, revise, and adjust my schedule is true, but the pictures do not reflect my actual schedule. For safety reasons, you should never provide information about your schedule on social media or the Internet.

Kimberly A. Barchard is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at UNLV and is the Director of the Interactive Measurement Group. She works to empower lab members to accomplish their personal and professional goals, particularly through the development of leadership, research, and organizational skills.