As a coach, I work with inspiring entrepreneurs and startup leaders on helping them achieve more frequently a state of ‘flow’ – “the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter” as defined by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. The reason why we focus on it is because being in a state of flow helps us achieve a greater sense of happiness in our day-to-day life.

One of the realisations that my clients and I often come to is that achieving ‘flow’ requires a sense of mental freedom – freedom from questions such as:

😟 “Am I spending my time on the right things?”

😟 “How am I going to fit everything I need to in this week?”

😟 “What am I going to focus on for the rest of the day / week?”

Achieving this freedom requires careful and realistic planning of your week.

A quote to keep in mind

“Happiness does not simply happen to us. It’s something that we make happen.”

– Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

How to start planning your week

Below are some broad guidelines , however to make it stick you’ll have to experiment and identify what works for you – make it your own!

💡 Ask yourself – “What am I trying to achieve this month? Given that, what are my top 3 intentions for this week?”

💡 Review your calendar and calculate how many available work hours you actually have, allowing for context-switching buffers.

💡 Craft a To-Do List which is (a) aligned with your intentions and (b) fits realistically within your available work hours.

Planning your week is a prerequisite to your happiness and success – it’s a practice that you can’t escape if you want to reach your peak performance.