Upgrade your monthly planning routine

Things to think about for the next 30 (or so) days

I do my most thorough planning on the weekly level. Each Thursday I sit down and look at the next Monday to Sunday week. I think through what I want to see happen and what needs to happen. A week is a small enough unit of time that I can be reasonably certain what’s going on. But it’s also big enough that I can plan holistically. A lot can fit in 168 hours.

I tend not to do much monthly planning. When I do my weekly planning, I look ahead 2-3 weeks to see if there’s anything big coming up. But some people do find it helpful to look at a month at a time. If you’re looking to upgrade your monthly planning routine, here are a few ideas to get you started.

Ask what you’ll remember. As you look forward to the upcoming month, think about what will be most memorable, both professionally and personally. Do you have anything on the calendar that will distinguish this month from any other month? If so, think about how you can be most intentional about those events.

For instance, if you’re traveling to a conference, knowing that might make you think about reaching out to a few more people who will be there to set up meetings, or you might purposefully arrange your flights to spend half a day being a tourist in that city.