Planning a successful week

The week ahead plan I designed for myself
Being productive seems to come naturally to some people! ‘seems’ being the right word, it’s actually just that they’ve learned what works for them to be productive.
Some of us take to being productive quickly and others learn the hard way through trial and error.
Faculty lead productivity challenge
When I started my faculty lead post I tried several things to keep on top of my to-do lists, it was at first a real challenge. I carried a diary, I kept sticky-notes with me, I kept a note book, I used my phone.
And I discovered I’d spread things too thinly and was at risk of missing things!

My dining table on a Sunday morning
One single plan
So I now use what you see above – on a Sunday (after the gym) I make myself a coffee, sit down at the dining table and begin to organise the coming week.
With the week ahead plan printed and on my right, laptop in front of me and diary on the left I trawl through emails, diary entries and post-it notes to collate everything onto the one sheet organised by area of my role from teaching to leading the faculty. By the end of the exercise I’ve the weeks to-dos mapped out and can see where priorities are.
It helps me keep myself organised and those I line manage as I can see clearly what needs to be achieved in order to have a successful week.
If it’s of use to you the plan I use is available to download here: Week ahead plan digital
Or create your own and share it with me.
Happy Planning!