Personalizing
a Well-Defined
Work Week
and Day
By Kathi Lipp
66 Solutions
As you learn the art of
thinking ahead, you become
increasingly intentional. When
you have clearly defined times
of when you’re going to work,
when you’re going to rest, and
when you’re going to worship, it
suddenly becomes much easier
to focus on the tasks at hand
and get them done.
Having a well-defined
work week has also made it
amazingly easy for me to say
no to requests that simply don’t
fit. No, I can’t write that “quick
article” or drop everything for a
“15-minute chat” at Starbucks
(which will probably turn into an
hour and a half). If it’s Monday,
the answer is automatically no
because I’m pre-committed
to my family. Having a well-
defined work week is a powerful
way of pre-deciding when I will
and won’t be available.
I now plan my work week
for what an actual human can
get done in five days, not some
unrealistic hope of what the
Supergirl version of me could get
done in an alternate universe.
On Tuesdays, I spend time
answering e-mails I received
the previous Friday through
Monday. And then on
Thursdays, the last two hours
of my work day are spent
answering e-mails before I