If you’ve ever seen those super aesthetic Google calendars and wondered how they’ve managed to do all that and how it actually benefits them, please know that the best way isn’t just changing the colours on your Google calendar. The best way is to break down the different themes in your week, create calendars for those themes and have those calendars default to certain colours so that you can layer the things that you have going on and also turn off different layers as you need to. This is going to help you stack those habits, keep organised and really see where your time is going. (What is habit stacking?)
What is Thematic Planning?
If you’re juggling multiple projects or struggling to maintain focus as a multi-passionate entrepreneur, thematic planning may be the productivity strategy you need.
Thematic planning involves organising your work around specific themes for designated periods, ensuring that your energy and attention are aligned with particular goals, rather than bouncing between unrelated tasks. This method helps boost productivity, reduce burnout, and create a sense of accomplishment in both short- and long-term projects.
In this guide, I’ll walk you through how to implement thematic planning to maximise efficiency.
Step 1: Define Your Themes
The first step in thematic planning is identifying the key areas of your business and life that require attention. These are the recurring tasks or broad categories that demand focus. Your themes could be based on the different facets of your business (e.g., marketing, client work, admin), personal life (e.g., health, relationships, self-care), or a combination of both.
Here’s a breakdown of potential themes:
- Marketing and Content Creation
- Client Delivery and Service
- Financial Planning and Review
- Personal Development and Self-Care
- Product Development or Course Creation
- Networking and Collaboration
Step 2: Assign Themes to Specific Days or Weeks
Now that you’ve identified your themes, assign each one to a specific day of the week, or for more complex projects, a particular week of the month. If you have more themes than days in the week that’s okay (me too 🤪), you can assign as many themes to a day as you like, the main aim is to group tasks that fall under the same theme together to give yourself the space to fully immerse in one area at a time.
Example:
- Week 1: Marketing and Sales Funnel
- Week 2: Client Fulfilment
- Week 3: Finance and Systems
- Week 4: New Product Creation
Alternatively, if your tasks vary more dramatically over the month, you could assign one theme to each day of the week:
- Monday: Marketing and Social Media
- Tuesday: Client Work
- Wednesday: Admin and Systems
- Thursday: Product Development
- Friday: Personal Growth and Learning
Examples of how I implement this in my calendar (see pic below):
- The 4th week of each month is typically when I hold the majority of my monthly operations meetings with agency clients, therefore this week is heavily geared towards reviewing progress, planning agendas, holding monthly ops calls, filtering info into our PMS and delegating to the team.
- I typically break my days up into 3 blocks; am, working hours & pm. This helps me to create some separation between work and life outside of work, whilst also giving a clear and easy guideline to follow when plugging in my tasks and events for the week.
- My Mondays are blocked out for admin and marketing. Because for most of my clients, it’s still Sunday. Making this the perfect time for me to handle internal stuff.
This strategy keeps you focused, eliminates distractions, and allows you to make meaningful progress in each area.
Step 3: Batch Similar Tasks Together
By grouping similar tasks and completing them in one sitting rather than scattering them throughout the day or week you’re able to stay much more focused and productive. This method is particularly useful when working on large projects.
For instance, if you’re focusing on your Marketing theme, batch all your tasks related to content creation:
- Write all your blog posts
- Design all your social media graphics
- Draft all your email newsletters.
By handling all similar tasks at once, you minimise the cognitive switching that happens when you jump from one type of work to another, saving you time and energy.
Step 4: Use a Project Management Tool to Track Progress
To keep your thematic planning organised, use a project management tool like ClickUp, Asana, or Trello. Create a board or list where each theme is represented by a column, and fill it with tasks that correspond to that theme. You can also set due dates, reminders and recurrences to stay on track. Having everything in one place not only makes it easy to visualise your workflow but also keeps you accountable for the goals you set for each theme.
Step 5: Reflect and Refine Regularly
At the end of each week or month, take some time to reflect on what worked and what didn’t. Are there themes that consistently take more time than you planned? Do you find that certain themes could benefit from being divided into smaller chunks? Are there themes you no longer need, or new ones that you should add?
This reflection period allows you to refine your thematic planning, ensuring it evolves with your business and personal goals.
Key questions to ask:
- Which tasks took longer than expected?
- How did I feel about the week/month’s workload? Overwhelmed? Energized?
- What can I change to make the process smoother next time?
Step 6: Add Flexibility with Buffer Blocks
While thematic planning is great for focus, it’s important to build in flexibility. Emergencies and unexpected tasks will inevitably arise, and rigid scheduling can lead to stress. To account for this, schedule buffer blocks to handle any urgent, last-minute tasks or unfinished items.
Examples of how I implement this in my own calendar:
- I keep Fridays as free as possible to work on my other businesses outside of RVPA. (See above)
- I mark free time in my calendar as white so it appears clear in my calendar and I know that I can utilise that time for whatever I want, whether that be taking an extra call or having a hot shower and early night.
- I plan my calendar based on a 4-week month, meaning every 3 months when we get a 5-week month I treat it as a buffer week. I spend it catching up on the things that didn’t get finished throughout the month or working on internal development.
Thematic Planning is a Game-Changer
Ready to try thematic planning? Start by defining your themes and assigning them to specific days or weeks, and watch how it transforms your productivity and peace of mind!
