Taking 30 minutes to plan sounds easy, but when life gets underway, time slips and we are right back where we started. Unfortunately, this happens even more when we have a ton of things to do in the following days. It's almost like we are sabotaging ourselves before we even had a chance to take on the week.

My solution to this has usually been to take 30 minutes of downtime on Sunday, to dive into my digital planner in Goodnotes, outline my goals and tasks for the week, and then simply execute the list.

When the "simply execute" part of this equation gets hard, getting out of this brain foggy rut seems impossible. This is exactly when I implement my weekly planning recipe. It consists of 5 steps, each meant to you to a new level of mental peace and clarity.

Weekly planning recipe

1. Review monthly goals

If you don't have those, start there. What are your main projects and objectives for the month we're in? Ask yourself why you're picking out those particular goals, and then write it down. Writing things down brings them into the real world and it makes it more likely to happen.

2. Set up to 5 main goals (maximum) for the week that bring you closer to achieving your monthly objective

Anything over 5 is often unrealistic, and you are more likely to do better with a clear list you can focus on. There's no place for being overly ambitious here, and there is a huge difference between what you would like to do and what you can do.

3. Fill out your to-do list with tasks that have to be done for the goal to be complete

Each of your goals will have tasks that need to get done. Write them out in a chronological/milestone order. Try to be as specific as possible when breaking your goals down.

4. Populate the weekly planner with tasks

At this point, you have broken your monthly goals down to weekly tasks. Now it's time to assign all tasks to different days of the week, in any manner or order you prefer.

Tip: Try to group similar tasks for maximum efficiency

5. Add trackers, meal & workout plans, lists

There may be wellness or personal things you like to track each week like habit trackers, your food and workouts, grocery lists, meetings, etc., now is the perfect time to add them and complete your weekly plan.

What does your weekly planning routine look like?

After you complete the weekly planning recipe, you will feel refreshed, determined, and excited for the week to come. You will know exactly what you need to do to achieve your main objectives. If you have any weekly planning advice, please share it in the comments bellow!