How to Plan Your Week as an Entrepreneur

Business

July 15, 2021

Planning your week doesn’t have to be stressful.

One of the best parts of being an entrepreneur is that you control your own schedule. It might even be part of the reason you started working for yourself in the first place! But if you hate planning or don’t have the proper systems in place, that freedom can quickly turn into overwhelm.

In this post, I’m breaking down how to plan your week as an entrepreneur and the exact systems I use to run my online business while traveling the world full time.

You’ll learn:

My top planning and organization tips for entrepreneurs
How to create a monthly and weekly plan for your business
What my day to day schedule looks like
The exact tools I use to make it all happen

Keep reading or watch the video below to learn how to plan your week as an entrepreneur and maximize productivity!

How to Plan Your Week as an Entrepreneur, Tip #1: Start early.

The key to productivity is advance planning.

Before tackling my monthly schedule, I start by reviewing my plan for that quarter. Some entrepreneurs even start with a yearly plan! Then I break those long term goals down into specific projects for that month (for example, an upcoming launch). All of this is done at least 1-2 weeks before that month begins.

It’s crucial to start big and break everything down and assign specific dates and people to each task. That way every day I can wake up and I don’t have to think about what I’m doing that day because it’s already planned out–all that’s left to do is start checking things off!

How to Plan Your Week as an Entrepreneur, Tip #2: Be realistic.

If you’re not able to follow through on your tasks, you’ll feel overwhelmed and unsatisfied. Set yourself up for success by making your schedule attainable. If you think a task will take an hour and a half, give yourself two hours. And don’t forget to build breaks into your schedule!

How to Plan Your Week as an Entrepreneur, Tip #3: Keep yourself accountable.

There’s no point wasting time crafting the perfect schedule if you don’t end up following it!

I time track myself regularly to make sure I’m actually sticking to the schedule I create. If you’re not familiar with time tracking, it’s essentially an audit of everything you do each day/week. Track your time down to the minute to see where your time is actually going.

What areas of your business do you spend the most time on? Is that intentional or does it just happen? Remember, you control your schedule. If you don’t like the way you’re spending your time, change it up!

How to Plan Your Week as an Entrepreneur Step by Step

Like I mentioned above, I start with a quarterly and monthly plan before creating a weekly schedule. Now let’s dive into what that looks like specifically.

how to plan your week as an entrepreneur - start early

Review upcoming projects

My team works on a project basis, meaning our tasks vary month to month. If we have a launch that month, my schedule will look different than if we’re focusing on backend and content creation.

Add in recurring tasks

If you have tasks that need to be done every month, add them to your monthly calendar. During this time I’ll block off a few days to batch record podcast episodes and Youtube videos (typically two days each). You can check out my process for batching content in this video.

ClickUp is my favorite project management tool. I use it to organize virtually every aspect of my business and I can’t recommend it enough! Check out the video below for an inside peek at my ClickUp!

how to plan your week as an entrepreneur

Schedule calls and meetings

I use Acuity to book calls, which makes it super easy for my clients to select a time that works for both of us. Then I add all of my calls (coaching, clients, personal) to Google Calendar, and color code them based on what type of call it is (is there anything better than a color coded calendar!?).

Some entrepreneurs like to time block their entire day in Google Calendar, but since all of my tasks are stored in ClickUp, I find it easier to work out of there. Do what works for you!

How to plan your week as an entrepreneur in Google calendar

Break monthly projects into weekly and daily tasks

At this point I’ll add in any remaining tasks that need to be done or assigned. For example, if I need to record a podcast episode, there will be a list of associated tasks: choosing a topic, writing the script, recording and uploading the audio, etc. Each of these will be added into ClickUp.

Psst… You can snag the exact ClickUp templates I use to plan out all my content here.

Schedule time off

No one can work 24/7 and neither should you! Hustle mode will only take you so far.

I like to book one week off per month from calls. This doesn’t mean I don’t work that week, just that I won’t be taking any client or coaching calls. Those few days off allow me to focus on the backend of my business and conserve my energy. Then the next week I can get back to it with more energy than ever!

This also could look like blocking off time for your workouts and other important parts of your days and weeks. I like to take weekends off, although I occasionally put in a few hours on Sunday. Find what works best for you and stick to it!

You’re in charge of your own schedule, don’t feel guilty about it!

For more on the importance of balance, check out this podcast episode.

Break up your days

Some entrepreneurs swear by using “themed days” (ie. Mondays for content, Tuesdays are CEO days, Wednesdays for admin…). I don’t follow a strict structure for my week, but I try to limit my calls to Tuesdays and Wednesdays (sometimes Thursdays if needed). Mondays I spend catching up with clients and my team, and Fridays are for admin or pure creativity.

You can see what a typical day looks like for me in this video!

I tend to break my work into three categories: CEO, admin and creative, but depending on your business that might look different for you! If you’re a designer or writer, you might spend most of your time on creative work, and one day on tech/admin.

Your schedule has to work for you.

Remember that my examples in this post are just one way to do things–it doesn’t really matter what system you use as long as you HAVE a system, whatever that looks like for you.

How do you plan your week as an entrepreneur?

Hit up the Laptop Lifestyle Entrepreneur Facebook group and let me know how your planning process compares to mine! Or drop me a DM on Instagram if you found this post helpful.

If you’ve been dreaming of becoming an entrepreneur and are ready to make this freedom lifestyle your reality, make sure you download the Laptop Lifestyle Blueprint, a free 30 day guide to starting an online business!