This Monday morning ritual is an effective way to make sure you and your team make the most of the week ahead. Without this ritual, it can feel like your calendar happens to you rather than being in control of your outcomes and time.
Block 30 minutes each morning to plan your day. Or at a minimum, spend 30-60 minutes on Monday morning mapping out your week. (Some people swear by weekly prep on Sunday, there’s even a reddit for that!)
Step 1:
Identify what success looks like for the day or week overall. Write your to-do list in your system of choice (Asana, Jira, notebook…).
Less is more and it’s important to be realistic. It’s also important to note the order of priority in case things fall off your list.
📍 Pro tip: We recommend sharing your list of priorities with your own manager via slack or in a 1:1 document at the start of the week. Ask for commentary and identify misalignment early. Once you’re set, you can share the list with your team so they understand what’s important.
Step 2:
Now that you know what you and the team need to accomplish, ensure you are spending your time in the right way, including with stakeholders.
Your calendar should reflect your goals and priorities. Don’t be afraid to change your schedule based on your goals and the needs of the team. Give people ample warning and don’t move sacred time like 1:1s.
Once you’ve aligned your calendar with goals, next do a sweep of the 5 dimensions of great management to make sure you’re investing time in the important aspects of management. The table below provides concrete ways to invest.
Note: Some weeks will be heavily focused on one dimension or another – preparation work for annual planning, lots of care for new team members, OOO time to focus on you. You should not schedule everything in the table each week. Rather, use it to identify blind spots in how you invest time or rebalance any of the dimensions.
