Most of us have picked up some piece of productivity advice at some point and felt a little spark of hope, like maybe this was finally going to be the thing that clicked. And then the week got away from us, the plan fell apart, and we filed it away under things that just do not work for me.
What was almost certainly missing had nothing to do with planning not working for your life. It had to do with the fact that most planning advice leaves out huge portions of what a woman's week actually looks like.
There are six categories of things competing for your time every single week, and until all six are accounted for, any plan you try is going to have holes in it.
1. Your commitments.
These are the things already on your calendar at a specific date and time. Appointments, meetings, activities, anything you have already said yes to. The key here is having one central place that shows all of your commitments across every part of your life. If you are logging into separate work, personal, and kids calendars to piece together your week, that is the first thing to fix.
2. Your recurring tasks.
These are the things you do on a regular rhythm, daily, weekly, or monthly, and they almost never show up on anyone's calendar. Checking email, meal prep, laundry, weekly reporting at work. Most of us are carrying these entirely in our heads and then wondering why the week feels full before it even starts. Write them down, make them visible, and get honest about how much time they actually take.
3. Your one-off tasks and projects.
These are the things that are one and done, the form to fill out, the errand to run, the project with a finish line. They are also the ones most likely to be scattered across sticky notes, text threads, apps, slack, emails, and the back of your brain. When the things competing for your time are spread across that many places, planning feels impossible and things fall through the cracks. They all need to live in one central place, organized by priority.
4. Your caregiving time.
This one is almost always missing from women's calendars entirely. Not the appointments and activities connected to caregiving, those are in category one. This is the connection time, the homework help, the conversation after a hard day, the window between school pickup and dinner where you are fully in service to your family. That time is real, it is significant, and it deserves to be protected in your plan just like everything else.
5. Your personal time.
This is the category that disappears first when life gets busy, and it disappears because it was never actually in the plan to begin with. The things that fill you up, reading, walking, a coffee with a friend, a creative hobby, need to be treated as a legitimate input for your time, not something you earn after everything else is done. If it is not in your plan from the start, it will not happen.
6. Uncertainty.
No plan survives the week completely intact, and pretending otherwise is what makes planning feel pointless. Most of us have a fairly similar amount of unpredictable time each week, things that pop up and need handling. Building this into your plan intentionally means those moments do not derail everything else. Think of it like an emergency fund for your calendar.
This week
Look at your current calendar and count how many of these six categories are actually showing up in your plan. If you are only seeing commitments and maybe a task or two, you have found your answer for why it keeps feeling like too much.
All six categories deserve a place in your week, including you. đź©·
- Plan-a-Palooza 2026 — Join the Waitlist 🥳
Plan-a-Palooza is coming back October 22 and 23!
Tickets go on sale on August 1st, and if you want to be the first in line (and get $20 off your ticket), hop on the waitlist now.
If you're new to Plan-a-Palooza, this isn't a goal-setting workshop or a list of resolutions you'll forget by February. It's my live, two-day annual planning event where we build your real plan for 2027 together. One that maps your actual life first, so it holds up when life throws a curveball, because it always does.
The Real Reason You Procrastinate (and It's Not Laziness)
Calling yourself a procrastinator is not the whole story, and honestly, it is not a very fair one either. Most of the time, what looks like procrastination is actually one of four very specific things happening underneath, and once you know which one you are dealing with, the fix gets a lot clearer.
This week I am breaking all four down, including one that has nothing to do with motivation and everything to do with your nervous system.
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How do you actually remember to follow your plan throughout the day?
You built the plan, you looked at it in the morning, and then life happened and by noon you had completely forgotten what you were supposed to be doing next. Sound familiar?
This week I am sharing a few ways to stay connected to your plan throughout the day, whether you are at your desk or on the go, without relying on willpower to remember.
Remember, this video is updated every Wednesday, so don’t miss it! Head to The Pink Bee app to watch now.
Friend, don’t forget, just 15 minutes of planning today can set the tone for your entire week. You’ve got the tools, you’ve got the tips, and now it’s time to take action. Let’s crush this week together!
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