Before I begin planning each new week, I engage in a brief exercise that takes only a few minutes but often changes the way I approach the days ahead.
I pause and reconnect with my core values.
Years ago, I learned a weekly planning process from Stephen R. Covey that began not with appointments or task lists, but with something far more important: remembering what matters most. Before considering goals, projects, or deadlines, he encouraged us to reconnect with the principles that should govern our lives.
I have found that to be profoundly helpful.
I simply spend a few quiet moments reflecting on my own core values. I don’t rush the process. I let my mind settle on them and consider what they really mean. That brief period of reflection helps me become grounded, centered, and intentional before I move on to my personal mission, my various life roles, and the goals I hope to accomplish during the coming week.
Your values will almost certainly be different from mine—and that’s exactly as it should be.
Perhaps your list includes values such as Generosity, Life-Long Learning, and Service. Someone else might choose Integrity, Creativity, and Perseverance. There is no universally correct list. What matters is that your values genuinely represent the kind of person you aspire to become.
Most people spend more time organizing their calendars than organizing their character. They carefully plan what they are going to do while giving comparatively little thought to who they are trying to become.
Our schedules naturally fill themselves. Our values require deliberate attention.
When you begin your week by reconnecting with your deepest values, something subtle but powerful happens. Decisions become easier. Distractions lose some of their appeal. Your goals begin serving your principles instead of competing with them. You stop merely reacting to life and start living it with greater purpose.
Before planning your next week, take five quiet minutes. Write down three to five values that truly define the best version of yourself. Read them slowly. Reflect on them. Allow them to shape your thinking before they shape your schedule.
You may find that the most important part of your weekly planning isn’t deciding what you’re going to accomplish—it is remembering who you want to become. And when you begin there, the rest of the week has a remarkable way of falling into place.
Final Note: I have a wonderfully useful tool — a Values Worksheet with a lengthy list of potential values to choose from. If you’d like me to email you a free copy, just drop me a line via email (ara@aranorwood.com) and I’ll be happy to send it out to you).
