# How to plan your week in 20 minutes

URL: https://gocutline.com/guides/how-to-plan-your-week/

To plan your week, spend 20 minutes on Sunday doing five things in order: pick three outcomes, put fixed commitments in the calendar, block your most important work in your best hours, batch the small stuff, and leave buffers. Then tick blocks off as the week happens.

## The 20-minute weekly plan
### 1. Look back (3 minutes)
What did you finish last week? How many planned blocks did you complete? If you planned 40 hours and finished 25, plan around 30 this week.

### 2. Pick three outcomes (3 minutes)
Not tasks: outcomes. "Landing page live", "20 sales conversations", "chapter 3 revised". Three is enough.

### 3. Anchors (3 minutes)
Put in everything with a fixed time: meetings, classes, training, family dinners.

### 4. Big blocks (6 minutes)
Give each outcome its blocks in your best hours. Mornings for creative and hard work, afternoons for calls and admin.

### 5. Small stuff and buffers (5 minutes)
One or two blocks a day for messages and admin. One buffer every afternoon. A clear end to each day.

## A planned week, as one line
On the [Cutline home page](https://gocutline.com/#try) you can type your week the way you would say it:

> Gym 4x at 7, deep work 3h every weekday at 9, calls 1h Tue Thu at 14, admin 30 min every weekday at 16, read 30 min daily at 21

and get the whole week laid out, ready to adjust.

## During the week
- **Tick blocks as you finish them.** It takes a second and it is the data for next Sunday.
- **Move, do not delete.** If a block slips, drag it to the next free slot.
- **Protect the morning.** The first block of the day decides most days.

## Templates
Start from a week that already works: [5 AM Founder](https://gocutline.com/templates/5am-founder/), [Content Machine](https://gocutline.com/templates/content-creator-week/), [Outreach Sprint](https://gocutline.com/templates/outreach-sprint/), [Exam Week](https://gocutline.com/templates/exam-week/).

## Questions

**When is the best time to plan the week?**
Sunday afternoon or evening, or Friday at the end of the work week. What matters is the same time every week.

**How detailed should a weekly plan be?**
Detailed enough that each block has one clear job, loose enough to have a buffer every day.

---
Cutline: Cutline is a weekly calendar and planner that turns time blocks into XP, levels and streaks. You plan your week in blocks, tick each one off when it is done, and see your progress on a social feed (the Floor) and a weekly leaderboard (the Arena). Planning and budgeting are free; paid plans add a badge, posting, messaging, shared calendars and lower selling fees, from $9 a month. Pro is free to try for 7 days.
Facts: https://gocutline.com/facts/ · Updated 2026-10-23