One of the ideas I have completely stolen from Michael Hyatt is to try to create my “ideal week” and get as close to it as possible. The basic idea is that you realistically allocate time for all the different tasks you need to do during the week at the optimal time for them.
So you might have two 30 minute blocks for managing your email at the start and end of the day, you’d also have the commute to work included and maybe picking your kids up from school every Wednesday and Friday afternoon when your partner can’t. Most importantly for anyone who has a variety of hats or is trying to do some creative work, you allocate yourself set time to do the tasks that can fall through the gaps. So maybe you have an hour block before the kids rise to do your writing, or a 30 minute chunk at night to write songs.
Michael lists many benefits of designing your ideal week including:
- Making sure that important jobs don’t fall through the gap.
- Helping you to realize if you’ve taken on too many commitments.
- Helping you to say no to bad and “good” (but not for you) opportunities.
- Giving you a target to aim towards (even if it’s not possible at the moment).
- Helping you to responsibly manage your time.
- Helping you to do the best work at the best time and not waste time on activities.
- Making sure that you have rest time as well as work time.
I’ve certainly found some great benefits in creating my ideal week even if I rarely ever match my week exactly to the ideal week. However, creating your ideal week can be a tricky task. Michael Hyatt has a downloadable Excel template that you can use, but I have preferred using an application so I can quickly check it while I’m out and about (Yes, you could use Google Sheets to check your timetable on the go or print a copy out, but I have found both to have issues…for me.)
For iOS
There are a few class-time table apps for iOS and they all have similar features. Some of the best apps, such as handy timetable and class timetable, have Apple watch integration, so you can quickly glance at your next coming up task as well as seeing a full overview on your watch.
Android
Timetable is a great free android app that works on tablets and phones. It allows you to add different “classes” which could be your different modes (i.e. writing, check email, etc…). Once you’ve finished adding in your details, you can see an overview of what you have coming up during the day. Also there is a home-screen widget to see what is coming up that day.
Plan Your Ideal Week Today
So there you have it. Some apps (as well as a link to Michael’s Excel sheet) for you to create your own ideal week and manage your time better.
Eric Dye says
I’ve never tried any of these timetable apps before. I’ll have to take a looksy.