Glossary
Ideal week, explained
An ideal week is a template of how a good week would look, hour by hour: when you do deep work, meetings, training, admin and rest. Michael Hyatt popularised the term. Real weeks are planned from it rather than from scratch.
What it means
Planning every week from zero is tiring and invites the same mistakes. A template sets defaults (deep work mornings, meetings Tuesday afternoon, training at 07:00) so you only plan the exceptions.
How to do it in a calendar
- Write the week you would repeat if nothing urgent happened.
- Colour it by category and keep the totals realistic.
- Each Sunday, start from the ideal week and adjust for the real one.
An example
Any of the week templates here is a starting ideal week. Copy one, move the blocks to your life, and plan from it every Sunday.
Common mistakes
- Designing a fantasy. Base it on weeks you have actually finished.
- Never updating it. Revisit it every quarter.
Questions
Is an ideal week the same as a routine?
Close. A routine is daily; an ideal week includes the weekly rhythm, like meeting days and long sessions.
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Keep reading
GlossaryTheme daysTheme days assign each weekday to one area of work: Monday for management, Tuesday for product. How theming works and how to set up your own week.TemplatesProven weeks you can copy: hour by hour, with the reasoning behind each block. Use one as it is, or as a starting point for your own.GlossaryWeekly reviewA weekly review is a short, fixed look back at the week and forward at the next one. Here is a 20-minute version, the questions to ask, and when to do it.GuidesHow to plan your weekA simple 20-minute method to plan your week on Sunday: outcomes, anchors, deep work, buffers and a review. With examples and free templates.