Comments on: Week by week

By: Emily

Emily — Sun, 20 Sep 2020 23:07:24 +0000

Yes, I’ve read “168 Hours,” and I started planning a whole week at a time, based on your advice. I agree with you that it’s a solid approach, and a whole lot easier to see the “balance” of “work/life balance,” when thinking 168, not 24, which was a huge (and helpful!) mindset shift for me.

By: Lori

Lori — Sat, 19 Sep 2020 12:52:58 +0000

I definitely agree the week is the right amount of time for an actual plan. I set goals for the month, but it’s the time during the week that actually move me toward accomplishing the goals. For me, I tend to to use an hour or so on Sunday to plan for the week – I plan meals, I look for overlaps in meeting schedules and resolve those, and I work in time to work toward my goals. Sometimes the goals are around the house (like cleaning a closet) and other times they are a focused work project. If I try to go for more than a week, I get overwhelmed. Going daily doesn’t work for me either – I get more distracted and tend to put too much on a list for the day.

By: Ifiknew

Ifiknew — Sat, 19 Sep 2020 00:18:39 +0000

In reply to Laura Vanderkam. What is his total number of hours of sleep? I don't know how you hang in there with all the tough sleepers you've had!!

By: Laura Vanderkam

Laura Vanderkam — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 18:13:18 +0000

In reply to Liv.

@Liv- sorry for the slowness in approving the comment! The split night makes intuitive sense. There’s only so long anyone can sleep. We aren’t exactly putting him down “early” (it’s around 7:30 p.m.) but if he is a lower sleep needs kid — as he very well may be — then he just may be done for the night at 4:30 sometimes.

By: Jamie

Jamie — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 02:41:25 +0000

I think a week is about right for these times! I’ve heard this a few places- The Mom Hour and Gretchen Rubin both touched on this in different ways. I am normally a quarterly/monthly/weekly planner but it just doesn’t work. I do try to spend some special time planning weekends. Currently agonizing. Some days are just too draining to get deep into daily planning, too. About a week is just right- enough to inspire thought but not so much to be overwhelming.

By: Liv

Liv — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 00:58:54 +0000

hey Laura, sounds like your baby might have a “split night” issue, if he wakes up in the middle of night and is wide awake (and won’t sleep no matter what you do, rocking, nursing, etc)

here’s a blog post on how to fix it: https://www.babysleepscience.com/single-post/2014/09/09/The-%E2%80%9CSplit%E2%80%9D-Night-Why-some-babies-are-awake-for-hours-in-the-middle-of-the-night-and-how-to-change-it

My LO experienced this. It’s basically because he went to bed too early and not capable of sleeping the entire nights…so we started to push back bedtime and control how many hours he sleep at night (because he gets too much daytime naps..) I did a lot of research on this so wanna share…

By: Ellie

Ellie — Thu, 17 Sep 2020 18:26:52 +0000

Read and loved 168 hours! It really shifted my perspective from day to week. I look at things more holistically and that helps changing the narrative. Not every day is good but most weeks are overall fine. I also changed a bit my planning. Instead of cramming every minute with something “to do”, I would look at the overall balance of the week and if I did not get enough e.g. personal time, well then that’s what is going to be prioritised over the weekend. So much into weeks perspective that I am switching to an Hobonichi Weeks planner for 2021 😉

By: Griffin

Griffin — Thu, 17 Sep 2020 18:01:22 +0000

I think I do plan week by week without realizing that I do. Sure, plenty of work and personal things are scheduled much farther in advance, but in terms of action steps and details, the weeks are where things get done. I also think settling into a week-by-week mentality works better for me mentally. Your concepts of evaluating how we spend our time in 168 have helped me not whine if I don’t get to do what “I want” in a given 24 hours. The week-long view also helps mitigate perfectionism. We don’t have to eat perfectly every meal, but if we sit down enough as a family and if enough vegetables and fruits are digested it’s a win.

By: Sarah K

Sarah K — Thu, 17 Sep 2020 17:22:22 +0000

A week at a time is making sense for me right now too. My work schedule tends to fill up 2-3 weeks out, so generally by the week before, my schedule is fairly set and I can make arrangements as needed for everyone else in the family. 168 Hours is still the go-to book of yours that I recommend for time management!

By: Kara White

Kara White — Thu, 17 Sep 2020 15:47:48 +0000

I do try to look at each full week as it comes because while some activities happen regularly week after week, other events pop up only once in a while (like a doctor’s appointment). Also, by knowing what is already scheduled for the week, I can look for the empty time slots that can be filled with family fun or just some relaxation.
I’m trying to get my whole family in the habit of talking about the week ahead during Sunday dinner. I’ll ask if they know of any activities coming up during the week like student council meetings or scout gatherings. I ask my middle school son to check his planner in hopes that will become a habit for him. With the kids getting older, I want them to learn to be responsible enough to stay on top of their schedules and to make sure we (the parents) know what they have going on since we’re still the ones driving them to all of those events!