It’s Monday and it’s time to take a long look at the week ahead. You’ve got a fitness plan and some goals. You want to meet them but you know you have a lot to do and only a little time to do it all in, if you’re like most people – your fitness is the first thing you’ll blow off in favor of the carpool for the kids, the grocery store runs, the baby’s ear infection and the million other tasks you have to juggle throughout the coming week.
So take a little time today on your Manic Monday to go over the need to be done list. The best time to review this is after the house is settled down or before they are roused up. My favorite time is over my morning coffee. I’m a perpetual early riser, so I am typically up anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour before my daughter. That gives me plenty of time to take the long view at what needs to be done.
So what’s on your plate for this week? Start by figuring out the major things that need to be done (specifically those that are out of the ordinary tasks.) For example, does your car need to go into the shop for an oil change? Tire rotation? The windshield wipers won’t work? That’s a big item that you need to make sure you have time for and doesn’t overwhelm your schedule.
Do the kids need to see the pediatrician? Is there a four-hour sale at a favorite store? Does a book by your favorite author come out this week? These are the types of things you want to identify at the top of your week (Monday in this instance) so that you can plan around and for them.
On weeks when new books by my favorite authors come out, I plan accordingly. My week will look something like this:
Daily Events: Taking kiddo to school, picking her up
Weekly Events: Kiddo’s dance class Weds and Thurs
Special Events: Pediatrician Check-up on Weds at 3, new J.D. Robb book on Tuesday
Mon: Normal Routine
Tues: Get up 30 minutes early, get workout out of the way. Work till 9. Pick up book afternoon off to read
Weds: Get up 1 hour earlier, workout, make-up work from afternoon before
Thurs: Normal Routine
Fri: Normal Routine
Sat: Make-up any remaining work
Now, this is just an example – a framework for how I would like the week to go. All the planning in the world doesn’t catch the kids getting sick, you getting sick, family emergencies and the like. I once told someone that I felt like a descendent of Murphy because everything that could go wrong in the week did. Some days it didn’t seem like I could win for losing – but you just have to accept that those days happen and roll with the punches.
Planning works and can help alleviate the pressure of how much you need to get done in a week. It can help you achieve your goals and overcome your challenges. It can work and as with anything you do, it will grow, evolve and change along with you and your schedule.