Week planning. Step-by-step algorithm and plan template

A plan is an important part of success. Every successful person plans his day, week, month, year. But still, most people think that planning doesn't work or doesn't suit them. They are creative people who live on inspiration. And I was no exception.

I took a long time to plan, trying many different ways. But none of them suited me. And every time I gave up and thought that it was not for me. But deep down I understood that even with a system that was not suitable for me, my effectiveness increased several times. As a result, after trying dozens of methods, I came up with my own, which suits me.

When is the best time to plan your week?

Of course, you should focus on your schedule and feelings.

Some people prefer to plan on Friday afternoon, others choose one of the days off: Saturday or Sunday.

One thing I can say for sure: it’s better to plan your week before it starts. That is, not on Monday. This way you don’t have to waste time thinking when you can directly engage in completing tasks. And the feeling of being collected on Monday morning, if the plan is prepared in advance, can in itself increase your efficiency.

I’ve been planning on Sunday for a long time, but now I’ve postponed this process to Saturday. Now on Sunday you can give yourself a complete reboot, disconnecting from all work tasks.

Daily plan template:

Only important and relevant things to do for the day
Assess the real possibility of getting things done
Leave room for sudden emergencies
Highlight or write labels
It is best to complete the most difficult tasks first and then move on to easier ones.

You can download the daily template here:

How to plan your week?

There are also possible options here:

- a regular sheet of paper

But I wouldn't really recommend doing that. The sheet is easy to lose, and it is more convenient to store notes in one place.

- separate notepad

— special weekly planner — weekly planner

— programs for compiling mind maps

I use MindMeister on my tablet.

How do mind maps help in planning and in life?

— programs for planning tasks (Trello, etc.)

5 programs and applications that make life easier

How I plan my week

I'll tell you how I usually do this to make it clearer.

First, I make a mind map of areas of life (“brainstorming”) in the MindMeis program using a tablet. I add key tasks, events, and goals for the week there.

Then, based on the map, I directly plan things in a paper weekly planner , where the entire week is visible on the spread. This is what allows you to balance the load, since you can immediately see the number of tasks for each day.

If there are already a lot of plans for a certain day, I won’t even add anything else to it. Thanks to this, you don’t have to postpone unfinished tasks to one of the following days.

Also, when planning a week, I take the monthly plan as a basis. I talked about this in detail in one of the blog articles.

Personal effectiveness. We plan things for the month

LeaderTask Scheduler

Your data is always at hand
Allows any rearrangement of tasks
Transfer dates
Planning for the day, week, month and more
Reminders

Creating any categories for the plan
Tasks in Focus
Tags: important, urgent, attention
Color coding of tasks
Deleting tasks
Task completion status
Transferring tasks with “Overdue” status
Regular reminders
Attaching files, links, images
Additional changes

Week planning algorithm

I have been using the planning method described below for several years now; I came to it as a result of many experiments. He takes into account the recommendations of such well-known experts in the subject of planning as Brian Tracy, David Allen, Gleb Arkhangelsky.

And here is the week planning algorithm itself:

We write down all the things in a separate list, if you don’t have one yet, we distribute them into categories or areas of life. Mind maps are best suited for this.

An example of a mind map with a weekly plan. Compiled in MindMeister
Read also: Project in the first junior group "Hello Fairy Tale"
We define 3 main tasks for the week.
First, we add all the obligatory tasks to the task list for a specific day. At the same time, we write down things that are tied to time on the left, everything that is not tied to time is on the right.
For clarity and a complete picture, working hours (if you have some kind of schedule) can be indicated as a time period. Mandatory matters also include the time of meetings, doctor’s appointments, dates of reports, payment of payments (taxes and fees, loan repayments, etc.).
Next, we “reserve” time for rest and write down plans. For example, we indicate “Saturday is a family day”, “a trip to the park”, “a trip to the cinema”, etc.
We add tasks from the general list for the first couple of days of the week (item 1). As a rule, it is easier to decide for this period. If something is still in question, write it down in pencil. It is better to make plans for the remaining days the night before. Although, when you get used to immediately entering tasks that are tied to the day into a notebook, it gradually fills up. The night before, all that remains is to review the plan and add a couple of things from the general list to it. Total - a couple of minutes a day. You can read more about planning your day in this article.
For each task we indicate the approximate time, which helps not to delay its completion and balance the load. We leave a small amount of time between tasks. If something moves a little, it won't affect the rest of the things on the list.
We indicate its priority with letters and numbers next to each task (A1, A2, B1, B2, etc.). We do not move on to the tasks of the next level until we have completed those that we marked as more important. You can read more about this in Brian Tracy’s book “Get Out of Your Comfort Zone. Change your life" . Photo of the book from the MIF publishing house website
We cross off everything that is completed during the day. Near the remaining tasks in the list, you can indicate with an arrow that they are being transferred. I usually write the date and reason next to it so I can remember it later. For example, a person who signed up for a consultation got sick, or the event was postponed by the organizers to another day. Not everything happens through our fault; in most cases there are some external circumstances.
It is also important to learn how to work with incoming tasks. The main rule: do not write down all incoming tasks for today or tomorrow if they are not actually tied to this day. For this purpose, there is a separate list (see point 1), which is then analyzed and sorted in a calm atmosphere. This is best explained in the book Getting Things Done . Photo of the book from the MIF publishing house website
At the end of the week, before making a list for a new one, it is important to analyze what has been completed and what has not. If any specific goals were set, evaluate how successful they were in achieving them and, if necessary, make changes to the original plans.

I hope that you will take note of the recommendations for planning your week, and that the template from the article will also be useful to you.

For points that are unclear or for which you have questions, write in the comments.

I spoke in more detail about how to create a simple and convenient system for planning and storing information for yourself at the webinar “How to organize your life using Trello.”

As a bonus, members receive a 45-page e-book with ideas for using Trello for all occasions and 8 themed board templates.

Information on how to purchase a webinar recording is on this page.

Save this article on Pinterest:

If you are interested in the topics of planning and personal effectiveness, join Telegram. There I run the “Planning is Easy” channel, where I share my experience and useful recommendations.

*article updated September 23, 2022

Calendar-thematic planning for the weekcalendar-thematic planning (senior group)

Topic of the week: “Migratory birds” (01.04. - 05.04.)

Goal: To form children’s ideas about the peculiarities of life of migratory birds, to develop cognitive interest in their native nature.

Final event: Entertainment “Spring Festival of the Arrival of Birds.”

Date of the final event: 05.04.

Responsible for the final event: educators.

Day of the week	Mode	Joint activities between adults and children, taking into account educational areas					Organization of a developmental environment for joint activities		Interaction with parents
		Group Subgroup	Individual			Educational activities in special moments
MONDAY	MORNING	Morning exercises. Tradition “Morning of joyful meetings”. Conversation on the topic: “How I spent my weekend” Objectives: teach children to share their impressions, talk about where they have been and what they have seen. Develop children's speech and memory. Conversation “What do we know about birds” Clarify children’s knowledge about migratory birds. Read also: Presentation "My profession is a teacher" presentation Learning the proverb “Every bird flies in its own direction.”	Exercise “Count the birds on a branch” with Sasha, Artem Goal: Repeat ordinal counting within 5.			While washing, remind children that they need to dry their face and hands with an unfolded towel and carefully hang it in its place.	A selection of illustrations on the topic. Looking at pictures and postcards depicting migratory birds.		Individual conversations and consultations at the request of parents Folder - moving for parents "Bird Conservation"
	GCD	Cognitive development – FEMP Topic: “Many, few, one (consolidation). Purpose: to practice composing groups of individual objects, to learn to find similarities between them; distinguish and name the shape of objects - square, round. Physical development – physical education According to the physical instructor's plan. education.
	WALK	Watching sparrows. Goal: to develop the ability to observe sparrows and their habits. Word game “What can we say about: passerine, passerine, passerine, passerine?” Goal: expand vocabulary. Outdoor game "Sparrows and a car." Objectives: to strengthen children’s ability to correctly perform game actions. Develop speed of movement.		Standing long jump with Tanya. Goal: to strengthen the skills of good pushing and soft landing.	Work. Removing damaged and dry branches from the area. Goal: to encourage children to independently carry out basic tasks.			Independent play activities of children. Goal: development of independence, communication skills with peers. Take-out materials: bird food, sand molds.
	EVENING	Gymnastics after sleep. Compiling a descriptive story based on the toy “Duck and Duckling” Goal: to develop the ability to compose a coherent and consistent story.		Game "Collect beads" Goal: development of fine motor skills of fingers with Maxim.	Situational conversation on the topic: Why do they say "hello"? Goal: To form in children the basic rules of etiquette when meeting. Introduce greeting methods. Reinforce ideas about the importance and necessity of using “kind words” in colloquial speech.			Selection of literature on the topic. Offer children play equipment in the physical education corner.

Day of the week	Mode	Joint activities between adults and children, taking into account educational areas			Organization of a developmental environment for joint activities	Interaction with parents
Day of the week	Mode	Group Subgroup	Individual	Educational activities in special moments		Interaction with parents
TUESDAY	MORNING	D/Game “Baby Birds”. Purpose: to teach children to recognize and name baby birds. Learn the tongue twister: “A woodpecker heals an old oak tree, A good woodpecker loves the oak tree.” Goal: Develop general speech skills.	D/I “Collect a bird” with Varya, Oleg. Goal: development of logical thinking.	Repetition of the poem “The mouse has bad soap paws” Goal: education of cultural and hygienic skills.	Enrich the arts and crafts corner with new coloring books. Productive activity - coloring “Birds of Migratory”	Invite parents to watch birds with their children; play the word game “Name the Baby” with your children
	GCD	Speech development Topic: “What do you know about birds.” Goal: learn to describe birds in the plural in the nominative and genitive cases, answer questions about the content of a literary work. Read also: Thematic project “What a sunshine” in junior group 1 Musical development according to the plan of the music director.
	WALK	Monitoring the weather conditions at the weather site. Goal: to introduce children to assistant devices: weather vane, wind hose. Show how to use instruments to determine wind strength.	F/U "Ring Throw" with Daniil, Diana. Goal: to develop eye, coordination and dexterity.	Work. Together with the teacher, remove broken, dry branches. Cultivate hard work. Repeat the “Rules of Conduct on the Walking Ground.”	Independent play activities of children. Goal: to develop independence, communication skills with peers. Take-out material: bird food.
	EVENING	A complex of invigorating gymnastics after sleep. Walking along massage paths. Listening to the recording of “Bird Voices”. Goal: to develop auditory attention, cognitive interest in native nature. D/I “Guess and name who sings”	Art work “Color the swallow” Goal: to improve the ability to color with pencils without going beyond the outline with Ksyusha S., Evelina.	Work in a corner of nature. To water flowers. Goal: To create a desire to care for indoor plants.	Prepare attributes for the role-playing game “Pet Shop”. Children's games in the experimentation center.

Day of the week	Mode	Joint activities between adults and children, taking into account educational areas			Organization of a developmental environment for joint activities	Interaction with parents
Day of the week	Mode	Group Subgroup	Individual	Educational activities in special moments		Interaction with parents
WEDNESDAY	MORNING	Morning exercises. Conversation with children on the topic: “Where do birds fly?” Goal: Expanding knowledge about migratory birds. Replenishment of vocabulary (migratory, wintering) N/A game “Collect a picture” (birds) Goal: learn to connect parts of an object into one whole.	D/I “Who is whose cub” With Alisa, Bogdan. Goal: consolidation of knowledge about the appearance of animals, the correct naming of adults and cubs; activate the dictionary.	After breakfast. Goal: developing the conscious use of forms of politeness; development of phrasal speech; developing a sense of gratitude for the work of adults.	Coloring illustrations from coloring books. Independent play activity of children is to develop skills related to the communicative and regulatory functions of speech.	Ask your parents to make a birdhouse.
	GCD	Cognitive development. Topic: “Birds of Migratory” Goal: Formation of ideas about the lifestyle of migratory birds and their appearance. Artistic and aesthetic development. Group drawing. Topic: “Storks are flying.” Goal: developing the ability to create teamwork. Develop painting skills with paints.
	WALK	Bird watching in spring. Goal: to introduce children to the life of birds in spring; cultivate a caring attitude towards birds. Riddles about birds. P/I “Sparrows and the cat” Goal: learn to run without touching each other, run away quickly, find your place.	A game to develop attention with a subgroup of children “Who left?” Repeat the name of migratory birds with Diana B., Arina.	Developing self-care skills. Game “Put everything on in order, become more cheerful and cheerful.” After the walk, “Put your things in the booth one by one.”	Independent play activities of children. Goal: to develop independence, communication skills with peers. Remote material.
	EVENING	A teacher’s story on the topic “Spring concerns of birds.” Goal: Formation of knowledge about birds and their spring chores. Cultivate interest and respect for birds. D/I “Recognize the bird by its description.”	Individual work with Masha and Matvey. DI "Pick a Pair" Goal: consolidation of knowledge of basic colors and their names.	D/I “Get things in order” Goal: to consolidate the ability to correctly place objects in their places, attaching them to each other; develop children's speech when composing stories. Cultivate a desire to help adults restore order in the group.	Independent examination of illustrations and pictures of birds. Looking at the poster “Birds of Migratory” Goal: getting to know the diversity of birds. Games with Lego constructor “Build a birdhouse”. Read also: Card index of cultural and hygienic skills in the second junior group

Day of the week	Mode	Joint activities between adults and children, taking into account educational areas					Organization of a developmental environment for joint activities	Interaction with parents
		Group Subgroup	Individual		Educational activities in special moments
THURSDAY	MORNING	Morning exercises. Conversation: “Birds of Kansk.” Goal: getting to know the birds living in the city of Kansk and the Kansk region. Examination of photographs “Birds of the Kansky region”. D/I “Which bird is gone?” Goal: to develop attention and memory.	Construction of a “House for a Bear” with Artyom B. and Sasha D. Goal: development of constructive abilities; consolidation of knowledge about construction details.		Improve your ability to use cutlery correctly when eating. Develop cultural and hygienic skills in children. Situational conversation “What birds do we see on the way to kindergarten.”		Introduce a new board game “What kind of bird” to the group. Introduce the rules of the game. Goal: consolidate knowledge about wild birds, develop visual perception. Independent activity of children in activity centers.	We recommend that parents play educational games with their children aimed at getting to know changes in nature: “Find a mistake”, “Group”, “Find the differences”
	GCD	Artistic and aesthetic development. Modeling. Topic: “The rooks have arrived” Goal: to develop the ability to sculpt a bird, composing it from separate parts. To consolidate an idea of the features of the appearance of the rook. Musical development – music according to the music director’s plan
	WALK	Bird watching “Let’s listen and watch the birds sing in the area” Goal: to teach children to distinguish between a crow and a sparrow, and to practice onomatopoeia. P/game “Birds in the nests”.	Individual work. Game “Jump over the stream” with Tanya, Maxim, Polina. Goal: development of dexterity and eye in children.	Research activities. Determine the wind direction using the ribbons. Determine the direction and strength of the wind using plumes. Labor: garbage collection. Foster hard work		Remote material Shovels, molds for playing with sand, masks for games. Drawing with sticks on the sand.
	EVENING	Health-improving activities after sleep: awakening gymnastics. Reading “Magpie” by V. Oseeva. Goal: develop the ability to understand the meaning of the work, answer questions about the content of the work. Listening to M. Glinka (romance) “Lark”.	Fix the names of waterfowl with Artem, Daniil, Oleg.	Game exercise “Let’s show the dolls what order we have” Goal: to encourage children to put away toys after playing.		Game "Geese with goslings" Goal: learn to group objects by shape, size, color. Compare. Story game "Let's feed the birds."

Day of the week	Mode	Joint activities between adults and children, taking into account educational areas					Organization of a developmental environment for joint activities		Interaction with parents
		Group Subgroup	Individual		Educational activities in special moments
FRIDAY	MORNING	Morning exercises. Goal: create an emotionally positive mood. Repetition of the poem “Once upon a time there lived a leaf on a tree...” Games based on interests. D/I “Cook borscht” - sort vegetables and fruits. Reading poems about autumn.		D/U “Lay out a birdhouse from sticks” with Alina and Dasha. Goal: to develop fine motor skills of the hands, the ability to navigate on a plane.	Exercise “The bird has a sore throat” Goal: to encourage positive actions, to activate verbs in children’s speech.		D/I “Who lives where”, “Guess whose traces”. Playing in the “Bird Orchestra” music corner.		Conversation with parents “How to spend the weekend with your children in an interesting and exciting way.”
	GCD	Artistic and aesthetic development - Artistic work Topic: “Geese, geese...” Goal: to teach using natural materials to make a bird figure. Develop fine motor skills of the hands. Cultivate hard work. Physical development – physical education according to the plan of the physical education instructor. education
	WALK	Consideration and comparison of spruce and birch. Purpose: to show the structural features of the tree (trunk, branches, leaves); introduce the characteristic features of trees and their differences. P/I "Owl". Goal: to teach children to listen carefully to words and perform movements based on them.		Individual work. Word game “One-many” with Vasilina and Masha. Goal: to consolidate the name of birds, their young, in the singular and plural; to consolidate the concepts of “one-many”.		Labor: pouring food into bird feeders; Goal: to cultivate a desire to care for birds and feed them properly.		Independent games for children. Goal: to teach children to play together and choose their own games. Round dance game "Cockerel". Goal: learn to walk in a circle and act according to the words of the text. Games with external material.
	EVENING	Generalized event: “Spring Festival of the Arrival of Birds.”		Strengthen the ability to draw a bird with wax crayons with Arina O, Pasha.		Labor in nature. Goal: to strengthen the ability to wipe the wide, large leaves of indoor plants; create a desire to care for plants.		Create conditions for children's theatrical activities. Play out the tale of the Teremok. Coloring in coloring books.