One of my Mastermind Group Facilitator Training participants asked me for this exercise, which I shared about three or four years ago. He reminded me how cool this exercise is — so I’m sharing it again!

Have you ever done this exercise? It’s great to use with your mastermind groups, your private coaching/consulting clients, and for your own personal use as well.

You map out what you want to be doing during the week in big chunks of time, by category, making sure the high-priority items get on your schedule first. It helps you set priorities and creates more productivity in your days. Make sure you include rest time, admin time, and any other time that you often “squeeze in whenever it fits” instead of planning time for it. (See below for links to an blank Excel spreadsheet and PDF of this, so you can create your own.)

You often lose time by saying yes to someone who wants to get on your schedule. Or, you have a task to do and it feels urgent, so you do it immediately, bumping another important task off your list. Now you can see how it fits into your perfect week instead of letting your schedule get away from you. You tell people, “I’m not available during that time, how about this other time?” You do the tasks during the block of time assigned to those tasks. This creates momentum and efficiency.

Want to learn how to start a mastermind group? Click here to get my free video tutorial on how to create a mastermind group of your own.

Some people balk at the idea of structuring their days so completely. That’s okay — just as long as you’re clear on what you want to accomplish each week and you have a plan in place for getting it all done. And it’s important that you also have a plan for saying “no” to tasks and people who take you off track of your goals.

For me, the structure is necessary; if I leave it up to the mindset of “I’ll do whichever task I feel like doing at the moment,” I don’t get all my tasks done! ?

I created mine in an Excel spreadsheet, but you could use any word processor, or just a paper calendar, to map out yours.

I use color coding to make sure I block out enough time for major projects, like designing a workshop or writing a book, and for client-facing time.

Here’s a blank copy of my Excel spreadsheet so you can try this exercise for yourself! (If you don’t have Excel, you can still download the spreadsheet, then open it in a Google Sheets spreadsheet.)

Here’s a blank copy in PDF format if you prefer.

I hope you find it helpful…or at least eye-opening. Let me know what you think. Share this with your mastermind group or client in your next meeting! The more you help them to manage their time and tasks, the faster they’ll move toward creating the life of their dreams.

Feel free to share it with others!

Want to learn how to start a mastermind group? Click here to get my free video tutorial on how to create a mastermind group of your own.