Jacob and Casey discuss crafting an ideal week—-a proactive approach to planning time for what matters most, protecting margin, and sustaining energy both at work and home.

They share how regularly reviewing and updating an ideal week template helps leaders hedge against chaos and interruptions, while staying focused on key priorities. Their discussion covers essential steps such as starting with a blank calendar, blocking out recurring meetings and personal routines, auditing current time use, and ensuring built-in flexibility and white space.

Casey and Jacob stress the importance of critical reflection: questioning the necessity of each meeting, reserving "deep work" periods, and blocking time for daily startup and shutdown routines. Other practical advice includes color-coding calendars, sharing ideal week philosophies with teams for alignment, and tracking "hit rates" against the plan to drive accountability and continuous improvement.

Key Points Discussed:

• The value of designing an ideal week as a "budget for your time"
• The importance of regular audits and revisiting the plan to account for shifting priorities
• Strategic scheduling of deep work, meetings, and buffer times
• Differentiating between unmovable meetings and those worth challenging
• Using color-coding and recurring calendar events to maintain visibility of the ideal week
• Encouraging teamwide alignment and transparency around availability and expectations

Actionable Takeaways:

1. Begin with a blank calendar and define what your perfect week would look like, free from outside constraints
2. Audit your current calendar for time sinks and low-value meetings, then start from zero when building your template
3. Block your most critical routines and "deep work" sessions before adding less essential commitments
4. Incorporate ample buffer time for transitions, breaks, and the unexpected
5. Share your availability philosophy with your team and review progress against your ideal regularly, adjusting as needed

Take charge of your time by designing your ideal week now and commit to revisiting it routinely, empowering yourself and your team to focus on what matters most.