3 Simple Steps to Planning Your Soul-Aligned Week Ahead

Can I let you in on a secret? 💖

Even though the Soul Mission Planner is packed full of useful goodies, sometimes there is only one tool in the bunch that I use for weeks on end!

🌟 It's the weekly planning pages.🌟

As a creative and an intuitive soul, planning does not come naturally to me.

Yet, as a work-from-home spiritual entrepreneur, I have found it to be transformational to take 30-60 minutes on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or Monday to plan out my week ahead.

I love not having a boss, other than my higher self! But all that freedom can make an intuitive and go-with-the-flow person like me lose focus, feel overwhelmed, overcommit, or get pulled down a passionate rabbit hole of creativity that is fun until I realize I did not hit my goals for the week. 😱

The Benefits of Weekly Planning

My sacred weekly-planning ritual has kept me feeling organized, focused, and at peace since I initiated it a few years back, and I so want to pass this gift on to you! It has also helped me reach two of my business (and soul-mission) goals--launching a podcast and publishing this planner.

Sometimes, I have to force myself to set the time aside for weekly planning, but once I get my hot tea and colored pens all set up next to my planner, with some jazz music playing on my phone, I never regret it. 🎶

My weekly planning routine helps me:

✅  schedule the tasks most important to my soul mission (honoring me)

✅  remember things I need to do that I had forgotten about (keeping me organized)

✅  be realistic about what I can accomplish (setting myself up for success).

Three Simple Steps to Weekly Planning

Here are the three steps I follow to plan my week ahead.

#1: Add Firm Appointments to Your Week

First, I add all my fixed appointments (e.g., client calls, doctor's appointments, school events) from my Google calendar to my Soul Mission Planner weekly-planning page spread in pink-colored pen, which allows me to see my non-negotiables for the week, as well as the remaining, open time blocks I have during the week to be creative and productive. As a creative person (Pisces rising and Leo moon), this open space on my weekly calendar is my absolute favorite!

#2: Write Your Weekly To-Do List

Next, I write a list of my to-do items on the left side of the weekly-planning page spread, in the Priorities column. I use my purple pen for career tasks and a blue pen for everything else. You can also add a third colored pen if you want to include a third category of to-do items.

#3: Schedule Creative Tasks & Quick Tasks in the Open Time Blocks

Then, I go about adding my Priority to-do items to each day of the week. Because Step 1 allows me to see easily where I have big chunks of free time on a given day versus a small opening between appointments, it's pretty easy to see when's a good time, for example, to do a longer project like recording, editing and scheduling a podcast versus a quicker task like paying a bill or emailing someone. This also helps me be more realistic about what I can accomplish each week.

These simple steps set me up to have a plan for the week ahead...1-2-3.

A Helping Hand from Astrology

Because I am an astrologer, I also like to add which zodiac sign the moon will be in each day, in orange pen in the blank space provided. I actually do this at the beginning of my weekly-planning process, so that I can notice the moon sign when I decide which day I want to work on which projects. For example:

🌙 If I have to catch up on business finances or taxes, I'll try to do so when the moon is in Taurus or Scorpio (personal and shared resources).

🌙 If I need to do tasks related to writing or social media, I will look for a moon in Gemini (communications).

🌙 A moon in Leo would be a great time to record a podcast or do a live webinar.

As a Pisces rising who likes to adapt and flow, I never hold myself to strictly following the moon. But I do like using it as a touch point. At minimum, this keeps me connected to the natural world around me. In addition, it can offer me a" turbo-boost" of energy to work on something like taxes, which I don't enjoy doing.

Managing an Overflow of Tasks

Once I have scheduled my to-do items throughout the week, I go back to my to-do list in the left-most Priorities column and check off all the tasks I have scheduled. Oh, that feels so good! ✅ ✅ ✅ 

If I've missed any to-do items, I discern whether I can add them to this week's schedule, or if I need to put them at the bottom of the right-hand page, in the "For Next Week" section" so I don't forget them.

This system helps me decide what is realistic to accomplish this week, and move less-time-sensitive tasks into a "holding bin" for next week that I'll check when I start my weekly planning. Peace of mind accomplished!

Progress, Not Perfection

In the end, I don't always follow my weekly plan to a "T," but it helps me start the week with a clear head and a plan for how I want to apply my time and energy.

I feel more motivated to start each day because I know where to apply my passion, intuition, and creativity. And because I work for myself and I'm a free spirit, I will make adjustments to the original plan if needed on a given day.

My to-do list is always there to go back to and pick up where I left off. If I don't get everything done one week, I will add it to the next week when I do my weekly planning, or modify and reprioritize tasks and projects as needed.

As a creative who always has new ideas flowing in, I often find myself moving on to a new project, but I will eventually circle back to former projects and resume them if they are truly in line with my passions, my soul mission, and the needs of my business or personal life.

My mantra is "progress, not perfection."

The weekly planning pages are the one aspect of the Soul Mission Planner that I use almost every single week of the year--not to plan out my life perfectly, but to help me get more things done, that matter to me, in a way that feels calm and enjoyable.

If the only thing you do in the Soul Mission Planner is your weekly planning, you will see results and make progress toward fulfilling your soul mission.

And...your creative self will love you for it, because she will know when she has open stretches of time to play! 🎨