4 tips for weekly planning.

There's nothing worse than sitting at your desk in the morning, knowing you have a lot to get through, but not knowing where to start. Then, before you've had a chance to settle in for your day, your week - you're already feeling on the backfoot.

That feeling of overwhelm can carry through your day, week or longer, so planning your day and week can help you start on the right foot. This is why I use a weekly planner at my desk.

Planning your week and using a weekly planner helps you to; -

• Reduce stress and anxiety - When you have your tasks written out, it's easier to see your work scope. So, when the unexpected pops up, you will know how and where to manage your time and energy best, and,

• Improves productivity and efficiency - Seeing your tasks allows you to find a way to tackle them to get more done in less time.

So here are 4 tips for effective and successful weekly planning.

Plan your week on Sunday.

Planning the upcoming week on Sunday will make you feel more prepared and composed for the week ahead, and you're more likely to have more time to plan weekly on Sunday rather than Monday morning!

Alternatively, some people prefer doing their weekly planning on Fridays. This lets them spend their weekends with peace of mind, relax, and recharge for the week ahead.

I do mine on a Sunday night because that's our whanau reset day. We get the last of the housework done, baking for the school week, sports uniforms and equipment prepared, shopping list and dinner menu ready and get an early night's sleep to be well rested for the week ahead.

Set your priorities.

We often know everything that should be at the top of your to-do list and highlighted during weekly planning! - but knowing where to start can be overwhelming when managing multiple projects.

I like to prioritize my tasks in this way.

• Get fast tasks out of the way - Getting many of the smaller jobs out of the way first helps with a sense of achievement and means less to think about.

• Focus on tasks with urgent deadlines - to ensure work is completed promptly.

• And then stuff with a later deadline is done last - allowing more time to prepare, check and think about my work.

Our new weekly planner has an area for you to record your priority tasks for the week - while other tasks and meetings can be noted on the appropriate days, they will be held.

Make an action plan.

Writing a list of tasks and hoping you'll get through it isn't enough. To make it work, you need to think of a quick plan for tackling your jobs. For example, how long do you want to spend on these tasks, and how will you complete them??

This will help you work through your tasks efficiently.

Review and Reward.

Every day and every week are an opportunity for you to have a fresh start, improve and grow. Reflecting on our week will help us identify areas of improvement so we can figure out how to eliminate distractions and changes to processes and save ourselves time in the future.

And then remember to reward yourself! Your hard work deserves to be recognized. No matter how the week has gone - be kind to yourself, celebrate yourself and your achievements.

Planning incentives and rewarding yourself is important for your self-care.

Are you ready to start planning your week so you can feel on top of the world first thing in the morning?

Are you ready to feel organized both at home and work?

I knew you would be! This is why I'm expanding my goods to include more items and resources to help you feel organized and learn more about digital marketing.

I'm excited to announce that I have a Weekly Desk Planner for you! YES, I've created a weekly planner where you can write out your tasks for the day, your priorities and goals for the week, and space for notetaking during meetings and calls.