How to plan a week in 20 minutes

Most weekly plans fail for one reason. They are too big. You sit down on Sunday night, write forty things, and by Tuesday the list feels like a lie. A good plan is small and honest. You can make one in twenty minutes.

The 20-minute plan

Start with a look back. Spend five minutes on last week. What did you finish? What did you keep moving? Do not judge it. You only want to see how much a week really holds.

Then spend ten minutes on the week ahead. Work in this order:

• Put fixed things on the calendar first: meetings, school runs, trips.

• Pick three big tasks for the week. No more.

• Give each big task a day and a time slot.

• Leave one afternoon empty on purpose.

Use the last five minutes to check the plan against your energy. If Wednesday already has four meetings, move the big task to Thursday. That is all. A plan like this will not hold everything you do. It holds what matters, and it leaves room for the rest of life.