Printable Weekly Planner

It’s true that many of us would like to be more efficient, less forgetful, more productive. Reality is we struggle to actually be this way. The desire is there, but we can be paralyzed on how to actually be more efficient, less forgetful and more productive.

At the recommendation of a friend, I recently listed to a TEDx Talk by Mel Robbins. Mel talks about how it takes our brain 5 seconds to make a decision. Typically our brain wants to make a decision that is the easiest, but not always the best decision. (Should I exercise today? Should I hit the snooze button again? Should I choose not to eat dessert?)

It’s time to take this 5 second rule, and as she suggests count backwards..5, 4, 3, 2, 1, to try to make the best decision.

I do this every single week when I menu plan. Friends, I haaaate to menu plan. I mean HATE it. Nine times out of 10 I beat the mental battle and get it done. And, guess what? During the week I am ever so thankful I know what’s going on the table every night and I have the groceries to cook dinner.

Let’s talk about that week I choose not to make a menu plan. About 4pm I panic. Not sure what to make, I finally decide on something and I don’t have everything I need to make up. Dinner time turns disastrous. WHY do I do this to myself?

THE WEEKLY PLANNER

The same is true with Weekly Planning. I have learned to take 10 minutes at the beginning of the week to schedule out our week. I can tackle events better, get more done and feel less productive. BUT, I have to make up my mind, in those 5 seconds, to actually grab the Weekly Planner, brainstorm through the week, and get my plan in order.

The free printable Weekly Planner (which you can download at the bottom of the post) is the perfect solution for a simple weekly overview of the week. You can easily see major calendar events, your top list of items you need to accomplish, your menu for the week, goals and notes.

There are even many days I go beyond using just the Weekly Planner and use the Daily Task Organizer as well. This allows me to brainstorm my day, create a detailed to-do list and focus on my top priorities.

HOW DO I ORGANIZE THE WEEKLY PLANNER SHEETS?

SUPPLIES:

• Weekly Planner download (get it from the link at the bottom of the post)
• paper for printables  (to make the calendar more durable, print on a thicker, better 32lb. paper, you won’t regret it! The paper is super durable and feels amazingly smooth. I’m obsessed!)
• use a binder or use the disc binding system(Levenger Circa Portable 1-2-3 Punch or the Staples Arc Desktop Punch, round discs notebook rings, translucent covers)–these 2 options make it super simple to frequently add/remove pages.

DIRECTIONS:

First, I use the free printable Monthly Planner in the disc binding system. Then, every month I add in 4 copies of the Weekly Planner printed back-2-back (2-pages), so that I can further break down my weeks.

It’s a super simple system, but it works!

It doesn’t matter how you do it, what matters is that you do it–take the time to plan your week. You will be so glad you did!