An ideal week is about two things.
Deciding what is the best use of your time & putting a plan in place to do it.
In this post, I explain how to create this plan.
When you put an ideal week in place, you are proactive with the limited amount of time that you have, and you are exerting control over your time rather than letting everyone else control your life.
But what happens when your ideal week just isn’t working? You’ve written it down. You have created a great plan. But it just isn’t working. You’ve fallen into old patterns, or your ideal week keeps getting hijacked. Here are five reasons that your ideal week may not be working and solutions to fix each problem.
Problem 1: You don’t really believe in the Ideal Week Process
If you have created an ideal week but aren’t living it out perhaps, you don’t believe that the process will really even work. If you are not committed to at least give it a fair shot, an ideal week will never work.
Solution: Get off of the Fence!
The way to fix the skepticism issue is to get off the fence. I have an ideal week for myself and coach others toward an ideal week because I know that it works. I know that it is wise to decide what the best use of your time is and putting plan in place to do it. No one else can decide this for you, however. It’s up to you.
Problem 2: You Lack Discipline
If you have an ideal week in place but are failing to live it out, perhaps the issue is that you are lazy! Yep, that’s right. Anyone can write a plan. But it takes some effort to stick with it. Is this you?
Solution: Commit to Print and Review
In order to successfully live out an ideal week follow these two steps: First, Print your ideal week and put it where you can see it during the week. I have a bulletin board that sits right next to my desk where I posted my ideal week. Second, Review your ideal week every Thursday/Friday and plan next week accordingly. Committing to one hour of review can save you many hours next week.
Problem 3: You are Concerned about Pleasing People
Perhaps you have written an ideal week but are hesitant to implement it because it will create difficult conversations where you have to say, “no” to certain things. You can no longer meet with every person simply based on when it works for them, and you will have to tell them “no.” Bummer! You hate conflict!
Solution: Stop being afraid of people!
I have previously written that A person’s success in life can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations that he or she is willing to have. If you want to move forward in life, you will need to be willing to have hard conversations. This is one of those times. Avoiding Conflict ruins relationships. Avoiding Conflict is bad leadership
Problem 4: Your ideal week reflects what you think you should do rather than what you actually want to do
Could it be that your ideal week is filled with things that you dread doing? To implement it would mean a miserable work experience.
Solution: Go back to the Drawing board
The first question that you should ask in this situation is, Do you have the freedom to define your role? If so then define it in a way that is life-giving to you. If not, perhaps you are in the wrong role. You might need to read Dr. Henry Cloud’s book Necessary Endings.
Problem 5: You are too much of a Perfectionist.
Perhaps you’re failing with your ideal week because you can never quite live it out perfectly.
Solution: Embrace Progress Over Perfection
Just because you can’t live out your ideal week 100% doesn’t mean you should throw it out the window. Perfection can be the enemy of Progress. Embrace good enough rather than perfect. Even if you hit your ideal week only 80 percent of the time that is a great improvement! Be both Rigid and Flexible with your Ideal week. Be rigid enough to say no to things you need to say no to. Be flexible enough to know when you need to deviate from your ideal week.
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