This weekly planning routine is a cornerstone to staying organized! If there is only ONE thing I do throughout the week to keep on top of my family’s busy schedule it is THIS routine planning.
This simple planning routine will help you manage your family’s calendar, meal plan, and be your most productive self this week. I used to feel chaotic and like I was always falling behind until I got really good at prioritizing this habit into my weekly schedule.
Let’s dive in!
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Transform Chaos into Clarity with This Weekly Planning Routine
Before we get started you need two-ish primary tools to get organized for the week.
What You Need To Plan Your Week
Best Week Planner Ideas
First, I’m going to say the best week planner idea is the one that you will actually use! If it’s just going to collect dust in the corner, then don’t get it!
I personally use the Weekly Passion Planner. I love that it has a space for personal to do list items, weekly to do list items, errands, and also infinity space.
I use the extra space for meal planning, habit tracking, or to do lists.
I tried to provide a visual of what my calendar looks like but for privacy reasons I had to blur everything out!
Just so you know, I keep my calendar pretty simple and use a black erasable pen to fill it out (because I often make mistakes) and don’t really color code on here. I’m also not a big sticker person. But I know some people LOVE it so you do you, girl! I know they even have erasable colorful pens!
They don’t sell this particular planner on Amazon but if I was getting a weekly planner from there because of the free shipping my favorite Amazon weekly planners with time blocking are THIS ONE (has tear away sheets) and THIS ONE (that is very similar to the Passion Planner).
Weekly Planning Ideas to Include in Your Planner
These are a list of the ideas to include in your planner that I normally include in my own planner from week to week.
- Quiet time in the morning
- Errands I need to run
- The meal plan for the week
- Doctor’s appointments
- Bills that are due
- Pick-up and Drop-off times for the kids
- Cleaning time
- Gym time
- Making dinner time
- Planning time (wink wink)
- Date nights
- Reminders to follow-up with friends
- Rest time
- Nap time
What is the best family calendar
Personally, we prefer to use a digital calendar versus a paper calendar. We use Google calendar, so I always grab my phone long with my Passion Planner and Powersheets (but that is for another post).
The benefits of a digital calendar:
- You can sync with certain sports’ schedules
- You can share with your spouse
- You can share with your extended family (I share our calendar with my mom and dad to help coordinate babysitting)
- You can sync it with devices like the Google Nest Hub Max or the Skylight. Personally I would go for the Google Nest Hub because there is an additional subscription fee for the Skylight.
- You have it on you at all times.
We use Google Calendar which we’ve found the most convenient to share across a mixture of Apple and Android devices. Why we can’t all be the same beats me! I color code by each person in the family and also sync with other family members!
We tried using Cozi but didn’t love it. Using the Google Calendar app, I love that I can color code all the kids’ schedules, sync my husband’s travel schedule and appointments, and also turn on/off my parent’s calendar when needed. I think the Google Calendar app is the best app for parents to use to keep track of the family calendar for these reasons!
Weekly Ideas to Include in Your Calendar
- Appointments
- Trips
- Days off from school
- Practice schedule for sports
- Game schedule for sports
- Fun activities
- Date nights
- Coffee Get Togethers
- Other Social Events
- Church Events
Why to use a paper weekly planner
You might have noticed that I prefer a digital calendar to sync across devices but a paper calendar for my personal weekly to do list. Let me take a moment to explain!
To me, staying organized is all about the process. If you use a digital calendar correctly, as soon as you schedule something, you immediately add it to your calendar. Dentists and doctors don’t even offer appointment reminder cards anymore because everyone has gone digital.
But when I sit down to do my weekly planning, this is my opportunity to do a check in. I can review everything on the digital calendar and I commit uncommon items to my memory when I write them down in my paper calendar.
Is that doctor’s appointment on Wednesday? Check, got it in the paper calendar.
Do you need to bring bagels to school for teacher appreciation week? Awesome, I’ve written it down to remind myself.
Physically writing things down in my calendar also helps me identify any conflicts. If all of a sudden I see that Kid A needs to be at McDonalds but Kid B needs to be at Chick-fil-a at the same time, I see it way in advance.
Anyway, I feel like I’m getting ahead of myself so let’s talk about the weekly planning routine system that will help you go from chaos to clarity!
The Best Weekly Planning System
I have a weekly date with myself every week either on Saturday afternoon or sometimes early Monday morning. It’s anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour. But this time is CRITICAL to peace of mind throughout the week!
Simple Step-by-step Weekly Planning Routine
- Find a comfy spot. I’m always an advocate of a special corner in the house that is just yours. But, a spot at the counter or on the dining room table where you spread out your stuff works too.
- Grab your calendar, weekly planner, and pens. Whether you choose to use a digital calendar or a paper one, gather all your supplies to sit down.
- Brain dump your to do list. I normally start at the bottom of my planner to fill in my to do list items. I take a peek at my list from last week and what didn’t get done. Then I transfer over any items that are still on my list (bullet journal style). These items go to the top of my list since they are a carryover. I brain dump everything I think I need to do!
- Begin filling in the “big rocks” first. This is the step where I start filling out my time-blocking calendar. I start blocking of the time on the calendar that I know that I’m occupied with MUST DO items. The big rocks are items that absolutely must get done this week. Think: taking kids to school, appointments, grocery shopping, and meal prep etc. I also prioritize working out as I begin to fill out my calendar.
- Reference your calendar. As a I mentioned before, having a separate calendar is important to reference. You might notice that your husband has a random work event, or that a practice has been rescheduled for a kid. Great, no problem. You are on top of your planning so you’re not going to miss a thing! Fill in your paper calendar with the schedule for your kids.
- Plan out WHEN you will do the items on your to do list. I don’t about you, but my to do list is always longer than my available time. After filling in your schedule, look at it and decide WHAT you will do from your brain dump list and WHEN you will do it. Put it on there right now. This system will give you a realistic idea of what you can actually accomplish this week based on your schedule. Don’t forget to plan in a little extra margin, email checking time, and time to decompress. You know you’re going to want to do these things so plan for them instead!
- Ask yourself what you can outsource. Is there anything on this list you can outsource? Could you ask your spouse to help with an item that has been lingering on your list? Can you ask your mom to babysit to calm the chaos a little? Would hiring someone to do a certain job help. Make friends with the other parents at your kids’ sports and set-up a carpool, this could really help alleviate the schedule.
- What can you remove from the list? This is a very important question to ask. Often times we WANT to do something when in reality it is not the right season of life to do it. Or, it is something that you aren’t ready to do. Take it off your to do list and relieve the mental stress of having to think about it.
- Plan out your menu. This is one of the LAST things to do during your weekly planning. Why do you ask? Because once you know the schedule you can be realistic about what you can cook for dinner. If you won’t have much time to prep dinner, you might need to go for a faster meal. If you find yourself constantly eating out, you might want to consider meal prepping protein and veggies on the weekend. Be creative, you can do this!
- Place a pick-up grocer order. This might not be for everyone, but seriously, if you are a mom you should consider this! We use Kroger to order most of our groceries. Once I have looked at the calendar and planned my meals for the week, I jump on the app and place a grocery order for the week. I only order once per week which really cuts down on my grocery bill too! For reference, we are a family of 6 and pay less than $1000 per month for groceries and spend around $250 per month on eating out.
Frequently Asked Questions About My Weekly Planning Routine
How long should I do weekly planning?
A good weekly planning session can be accomplished in about 30 minutes. But when I want to give myself some time to go a little slower, it might take an hour.
When should I do my weekly planning routine?
I recommend doing it the same time every week – before your week “starts.” I try to block off Sunday and not do anything productive, so I either do my weekly planning on Sat afternoon or early on Monday morning. I wake up at 5 am most mornings in order to be up before my kids. Here is a post on simple steps for a productive morning routine.
If you work, then I actually recommend reviewing your workweek on Friday afternoon so that you have a plan in place as soon as you arrive on Monday. Most likely it won’t change too much over the weekend!
The Final Thing You Need to Know About Weekly Planning Routines
There are two pieces of advice I give to you to find the best weekly planning routine that works for you:
- Be consistent – continue to show up!
- Be kind to yourself – no one is perfect!
Implementing family routines and habits to make your life less hectic sometimes takes time. Give yourself some grace throughout this process.
Other similar posts you might like from Simplified Motherhood:
How to Use Trello to Organize Your Family Life
110 Mini Habits to Improve Your Life