Making a Weekly Writing Plan: How to Manage a Serial in One-Week Units

Why daily plans keep falling apart

A plan made one day at a time collapses as soon as a variable appears. A sudden appointment, a bad day, or one task that takes longer than expected throws off the whole plan. When one day goes wrong you think "today is ruined," and the next day is affected too.

If you plan by the week, you can make up for a bad day on another day. It also fits work like a serial, where deadlines come around weekly.

The basic structure of a weekly plan

First divide the kinds of work you need in a week: drafting new writing, revising what you wrote, brainstorming the next story, and rest. All four need to fit inside one week for the serial to keep cycling.

Choose just three must-do items

If you write ten items on a weekly plan, it is hard to follow. Pick just three things you must finish this week. Finishing only those three makes this week a success. Everything else is a bonus for when you have room.

• Examples: "Finish the draft of episode 3," "Finish revising episode 2," "Write a first pass of the contest synopsis"
• Write a completion criterion for each item (for "finish the draft," state exactly how many characters)
• If you go beyond three, re-rank your priorities

Build slack time into the plan

A big reason plans don't hold is that every hour is filled with work. Unexpected variables always find their way into a schedule. Deliberately leave one day a week, or an hour or two a day, empty. This buffer time protects the entire plan.

If nothing happened during the buffer, you can use that time to rest or to brainstorm for next week. Remember that empty time is not waste but a safety device.

Set aside a weekly check-in

Once a week, spend about ten minutes comparing the plan with the results. Sunday evening or Monday morning works well. A check-in is not self-criticism but information gathering to adjust next week's plan.

1. Check how many of last week's three must-do items you finished.
2. For anything unfinished, write the reason in one line (not enough time, condition, a bigger task than expected, etc.).
3. Check your buffer of finished episodes for this week.
4. Decide next week's three must-do items and the time to leave free in your schedule.

How to adjust when your schedule slips

• If a whole day is lost, cross out the least important item from this week's goals. Don't try to make up for everything
• If your release day is at risk, compress the revision passes but don't skip pass 1 (structure)
• If you need a hiatus, announce it early. The earlier you announce, the better for readers too
• If the same cause keeps knocking you off, adjust your release cycle or length rather than your planning method

The simpler the planning tool, the better

Rather than a complicated planning app or a fancy diary, the best tool is the one you pick up most often. A single sheet of paper with a box for each weekday and "three must-dos this week" is enough. Don't let time spent decorating your tools cut into your actual working time.