Dr Heather Denniston shares her four-part strategy to prioritize what matters and stay ahead of your schedule
This four-part strategy delivers you from unanswered questions to proactive planning, not by doing more, but by intentionally charting your course before your week takes off. Spend some time on Friday afternoon setting yourself up for success in the following week.
1. Minutes 0–10: REVIEW – Assess the Current Situation
Spend a few minutes neutrally observing your existing schedule. No judgment or changes yet.
Jot a few notes about the following:
- Where does the week already feel tight or fragile?
- Where is there space you didn’t expect?
- What feels heavy before it has even begun?
- Where might stress show up first if nothing changes?
- Where could things run smoother with a slight adjustment?
2. Minutes 10–30: YOU – Schedule the Human First
Workouts, walks, meal prep, time with loved ones, and space to reset aren’t luxuries; they’re the foundation for everything. Block them on your calendar as you would any key client meeting. Who is a more important client than you?
- Where can you schedule recovery (meditation, nature, hobbies)?
- What will movement look like in your week (classes, walks, mini movement breaks)?
- Do you have time scheduled for relationships (date night, chat with a best friend)?
- When will you take breaks? (If you don’t schedule them, they won’t happen.)
If you fail to prioritize yourself in your week, your schedule will take over, leaving no space for YOU at all!
3. Minutes 30–50: TO DO – Triage
Time to pull out your never-ending to-do list. Go through the process of ruthlessly prioritizing just three things. It is not that you are going to abandon the other initiatives; you are identifying the most important needle-movers for this particular week.
Take those three initiatives and plug them into your schedule, allotting the approximate time you think each will take to complete. If an initiative is large, break it into smaller sessions over the week. This ensures completion through time-blocking and reduces worry about when you’ll get to each task.
4. Minutes 50–60: VIEW – Visualize
It is time to put your brain into success mode. You have set the tone for the week. Now, let’s laser in on Monday. Just like elite athletes who use visualization as a daily training tool, you can use visualization to slam dunk the success of each day. I have included an audio visualization to use if you are not sure how to begin (https://bit.ly/DAYBYDESIGN). But the strategy is simple.
- Set your timer for 5–10 minutes and find a comfortable spot.
- In your mind, “pre-rehearse” Monday in detail.
- Include all meetings and deliverables, and “watch” them unfold with ease, peace, and success. Imagine how you want to feel throughout the day and the wins you want to rack up.
- Picture the equivalent of podium moments during your day.
- The brain follows what it has already seen.
This four-part Friday afternoon strategy is a gamechanger. A one-hour investment in intention can mark the boundary between surviving your week and leading it.
