In this bullet journaling series, I'm sharing why I bullet journal and how. Last week, I talked about planning out your month.
Today, let's focus on creating your weekly log.
Creating a weekly log
Planning your week starts with intentional time and prayer.
Determine a time that works for you. Planning your week should take no more than ten to fifteen minutes. I prefer the end of the week so that I hit the ground running on Monday; however, others swear by planning at the beginning of the week.
Pray over your week. Look over your monthly log, and honestly consider: - What can I do this week? - What should I do this week? The first question helps you evaluate your limits. The second enables you to discern your calling. Paying attention to limits produces humility, and keeping in mind God's desire for how you steward your time gives you purpose and meaning in life.
Create your layout. Migrate tasks from your monthly log into your weekly log. Here is how I like to visualize my week.
I like this layout because:
It's clean.
It's effortless to create.
It provides plenty of space for extra additions during the week.
It leaves our family sabbath (Friday) as a less formal day for joy.
On Margin
I read once that a worthwhile goal is to plan 80% of your schedule and leave 20% margin for interruptions (Source). Depending on your job and personality, the total percentage may vary; however, the wisdom stands.
Plan margin into your week. As the week progresses, you'll add more meetings and tasks to your weekly or monthly log.
Anticipate additions; save sanity.
Ultimately, we flourish in life when we're neither overwhelmed nor underwhelmed but somewhere in the middle (Source).
On Signifiers
Part of the fun of bullet journaling is creating signifiers that work for you. Like the rest of my bullet journal, I try to keep these simple.
Here are the signifiers I use the most often.
Map out your week
Weekly planning is like cartography. A mapmaker uses an artistic medium to portray fixed realities.
Your week is like this — you envision the week at a desk. And yet, getting out your front door might prove that your map was wrong.
You must learn the skill of planning your work. Then you can learn the art of working your plan.
Too much rigidity, and you'll break. Too much flexibility, and you'll get lost.
Creating a weekly plan that encourages both resilience and adaptability can help you live an intentional and joyful life.
Join me next week for the final installment in this series on creating a memories page.
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