Hi Reader,
There is a specific kind of work-week stress that starts before you have even done anything.
You open your calendar on Monday (or on a Tuesday after a long weekend!!!) and it is already full. A few people need answers. There are loose ends from last week. Something urgent lands in your inbox. By 10 a.m., you are busy, but you have not actually decided what would make this week successful.
Your calendar is not your plan.
Your calendar tells you where your time is already spoken for. Your task list tells you what could be done. A plan is what you decide matters most.
I have learned that if I do not make that decision early, I spend the week responding to the loudest thing in front of me. Sometimes that is necessary, but it should not be the default.
My 15-minute Weekly Reset
At the start of the week, I take a few minutes to answer these questions:
- What are the three outcomes that would make this week feel meaningful?
Not three tasks. Three things that need to move: a decision, milestone, relationship, risk, or deliverable.
- What needs attention early?
Is there a conversation, dependency, or decision that could quietly turn into a problem if I wait until Thursday?
- What can be good enough?
This is usually the most useful question. Not every open task deserves your best hour of the week.
- What should my manager know?
If there is a priority, risk, or win worth making visible, I decide how I will communicate it instead of hoping it comes up naturally.
That is it. I do not try to plan every hour. I just want to know what I am protecting when the week gets noisy.
Where AI Helps
AI is useful here because it can help you see the work you are too close to.
You can paste in a messy list of notes, open tasks, and calendar commitments, then ask:
Review the work below and help me identify the three most important outcomes for this week.
Flag any deadlines, dependencies, decisions, or risks that need attention early.
Then suggest what I could deprioritize, delegate, or complete at a “good enough” level.
Do not invent priorities or assume everything is urgent. Ask follow-up questions where context is missing.
Work: [paste your notes, tasks, and calendar context]
The output is a starting point, not your plan. You still have to decide what matters, what is realistic, and what can wait.
I'll also note that if your company uses WorkIQ for Copilot or some equivalent, you may be able to directly pull down based on what it has stored. In my cases, when I'm using Copilot Work, instead of pasting notes, I make sure that facilitator is on in every meeting it can be, and then I ask my Copilot to pull it together based on the meetings I've had that day. If this is an option for you and you want more details on how to do this, respond to this email and I'll see how I can help.
Speaking of AI, today’s newsletter is sponsored by Superhuman. They put together a free 1,000 AI Prompts ebook for people who want practical ways to use AI without starting from a blank chat box every time.
Your Weekly Work Challenge
Before Friday, make a one-page plan for the following week. You'll refer to it Monday morning when you get into the office.
Write down your three outcomes for the week, one thing that needs early attention, and one thing you are intentionally not going to overdo. Then prepare one clarity message to send on Monday: a manager update, a meeting agenda, a note to a teammate, or even a message to yourself that protects your priorities.
I also made a Skool space for us called The Next Advantage. It is where we can share weekly challenge progress, ask questions, and keep each other moving. It's free to join, but I figured instead sending emails to me, we can all chat about and grow together!
Join The Next Advantage on Skool
Some other thoughts from the week:
A few things I’ve shared recently for making work easier and getting ahead without letting your job take over your life:
And if you want the day-to-day version of all of this, you can follow along on Instagram.
With warmth,
P.S. What is most likely to steal your attention this week? Hit reply and tell me. I may build a future issue around it.
P.P.S. These challenges are more fun with real friends. If someone comes to mind, forward them this email. I’d love to have them join us next week.
