3 Reasons Why We Theme Our Days
One of the most significant process efficiencies we implemented in 2023 is theming our days. This simply means we created recurring focuses for each day of the week. I have found that the more crunched I was for time each week or, the more I had on my to-do list, the trickier it was to decide where to focus my energy. This strategy has helped us start each day stronger, get to big-picture tasks that are hard to prioritize when we are "in" the business and sync as a team.
Before we break it down, please know that you can apply this strategy to any area of life – including work, family/personal, housekeeping, etc.
How we arrived at our weekly themes
1. Review your job description and long-term goals. For our team, it was helpful to look at our job descriptions and list all the actionable tasks we do weekly (or SHOULD be doing weekly per our job description and long-term goals).
2. Batch your tasks. Next, assess how many days a week you can dedicate to this area. In this post-Covid world, no two people's work schedule is the same. I have noticed that, especially among working mothers, work schedules are more personalized than ever – and that is such a gift. So, be honest with yourself about which days of the week are available to you as you approach this area of your life.
Then, similar to organizing anything, batch those tasks within that many categories. For us, some of these themes are shared among our team, and some are unique to our role and approach to our work.
As Coeur's owner and art director, it was important to schedule a whole day without any meetings where I could work on strategic, deep work. I also needed a day to send out, check in invoices and update our monthly revenue projections based on potential work. To generate new business, I dedicate an entire day to writing and sending proposals, meeting with potential new clients, and working on our marketing strategy. As a studio, we all have a day dedicated solely to current client presentations/reviews. (That means I have only one to two days per week that I need to get ready for the Google Meet ;)) It also makes project timeline creation at the forefront of a project a breeze. We always know that client reviews and major project milestones happen at the end of the week.
3. Determine any tasks that are better done daily. It's also important to know which tasks need to occur daily. Some things just can’t be left for a single day of the week. Some of my friends do a load of laundry daily because it's just too much one day a week. For me, a huge part of my role is internal reviews. Rather than waiting until a certain day of the week to get around to them, I do this daily to keep project timelines and my teammates moving forward. Additionally, I give myself some time dedicated to email – I clear out the junk, respond quickly if it takes less than five minutes, or use them as prompts to create tasks in our project management software, Asana, and ensure their due date honors with my weekly themes. This means my email is no longer on my to-do list – success!
I have even used this principle in my personal life. Yep – Saturdays are dedicated to "rest," and Sundays are dedicated to "resetting" our home, family and preparing for the week ahead. It's brought incredible peace and clarity to my work and personal life, and I hope it will do the same for you!
If you do this exercise, I would love to know what some of your weekly focuses are!