10 tips for time management using weekly plans

Liz Makin Author

Sep 29, 2025 |

How you can use weekly planning to be more efficient, effective and productive in life and at work?

If you are struggling with your time management and want to be more efficient, effective and productive, introducing weekly planning can make a big positive difference.

Here are 10 tips for better time management using weekly plans:

1. Allow quality time each week to plan. Set aside quality time each week to prepare a weekly plan, as your plan will only be as good as the time you spend preparing it.

2. Prepare next week's plan at the end of this week. This will finish the week off on a positive note and you will be ready for and you can get going quickly on taking action the following week. 

3. Review this week and incorporate your learning. How has this week gone? What has gone well? What has not gone so well? What are the learnings that you can take into next week? This will lead to continual improvements in your time management and how you work.

4. Ensure your weekly plan supports your longer term goals and objectives. What are your overall longer term goals and objectives? These can be used to determine the key areas you should be working on next week. A great question to ask is: What do I need to do next week to achieve my longer term goals and objectives? 

5. Include all your activities in your weekly plan. Your weekly plan needs to include your key priorities for the week including any appointments, daily and weekly meetings, actions and tasks, time for interruptions and the unforeseen, coffee and lunch breaks and anything else that you do in the week. 

6. Consider delegation, outsourcing and automation. Think about the actions in your weekly plan. Could you delegate, outsource or automate anything? You can improve your time management significantly here as many people waste time doing things they don't need to do or that could be automated.

7. Is your plan achievable? Once you have prepared your weekly plan, review it to make sure it is achievable. Have you included everything? Have you allowed enough time for each action? It is much better to include less in a plan and achieve it.

8. Prioritise your plan. Set priorities for everything in your plan. This will help you decide what is most important to achieve and if changes occur it will help you decide what you can reschedule.

9. Create daily plans from your weekly plans in the same way as your weekly plan. You will become so much more focused and productive if you have effective weekly and daily plans supporting your longer term goals and objectives.

10. Use your plan as you go through the week. Use it as a working document, including updating it as you complete meetings and tasks, reviewing it regularly and revisiting and amending it as things change.

Do you want to learn more about how to be more efficient, effective and productive?

If you want practical time management tips and strategies our time management online courses are for you. They contain an insight into time management, how to be more efficient, effective and productive and lots of time management tips and strategies.

Take a look at our time management online courses by clicking on the links below:

Time management for life: how to take control of your time

Time management for work

Time management for business owners, directors, managers & professionals

Categories: : Business, Life, Personal development, Time management, Work