Cutting your week vertically means grouping similar activities together in your calendar. For example, you might schedule all your meetings on Mondays and Tuesdays, all your creative work on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and all your administrative tasks on Fridays. This approach allows you to focus on similar tasks and be more efficient with your time.
When you group similar activities together, you can streamline your work and increase your productivity. For example, if you have to make multiple phone calls during the week, you can schedule them all on the same day, making the task more manageable and reducing the amount of time spent switching between different types of activities.
One of the most significant benefits of cutting your week vertically is that it creates more time for thinking. By grouping like activities together, you can create larger chunks of creative time, which is essential for problem-solving, brainstorming, and other activities that require deep thought.
Another advantage of this approach is that it can help you manage your energy levels. For example, if you know that you tend to have more energy in the morning, you can schedule your most important tasks for that time of day. On the other hand, if you tend to get tired in the afternoons, you can schedule less demanding tasks for that time.
Here are the steps to follow to cut your week vertically:
The first step is to create an ideal week that outlines how you would like to spend your time. This can include your work schedule, personal activities, and other commitments. It’s important to be realistic about how much time you have available and to prioritize your most important tasks.
The next step is to group similar activities together. For example, you might schedule all your meetings on Mondays and Tuesdays, all your creative work on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and all your administrative tasks on Fridays.
Make sure to allocate time for thinking and creative activities. This could be a block of time every day or a larger chunk of time once a week. It’s important to create a schedule that allows you to focus on deep work and problem-solving.
Finally, review your schedule regularly and make adjustments as necessary. If you find that certain tasks are taking longer than expected, you may need to adjust your schedule to allow more time for those activities. Similarly, if you find that you’re not able to focus during your scheduled thinking time, you may need to adjust the time or location of that activity.
Cutting your week vertically is a time management strategy that can help you be more productive and manage your time more effectively. By grouping similar activities together, you can streamline your work and create more time for thinking and creative activities. Whether you decide to cut your week horizontally or vertically, it’s important to experiment with different approaches and find the one that works best for you.
And this combined with Time Boxing is the system that I use!
cheers,
Jonathan
P.S. Whenever you are ready to start scaling up your company, here are 3 ways I can help you
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Jonathan Herps
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Scale Up Growth
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