The Ideal Week Calendar
Design an ideal week to aim at, then rebalance toward it
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 76%
Ali Abdaal's planning method: define what an ideal day and an ideal week look like, block the things that matter, gym three times, a date night, seeing family, and lay them on a real calendar labelled 'ideal week'. You accept you'll rarely live it exactly, but the target lets you notice drift, if the last fortnight had one gym session instead of three, that's the cue to rebalance. Julie Smith connects it to balance as a beam: the process of balancing is constant shifting from one side to the other, counter-tilting as you notice you've leaned too far. The ideal also flexes over time, and it works best paired with gratitude for the week you did have. For those with a team, the next step is automating adherence so balance doesn't depend on willpower.
Origin
Ali Abdaal's ideal day and ideal week planning approach, discussed with Dr Julie Smith in the context of balancing life like a beam. Extracted from Deep Dive with Ali Abdaal.
Core principles
- 01Balance is constant shifting, not a fixed sweet spot
- 02An ideal to aim at beats no target at all
- 03Don't get attached to hitting the ideal in full
- 04Notice when you've tilted too far, then counterbalance
- 05Pair the ideal with gratitude for the week you actually had
How to run it
- 1
Define the ideal
Write out what an ideal day and ideal week would contain, including the personal priorities that usually get squeezed.
Pro tip Think in averages: e.g. two date nights, one dinner with friends, three gym sessions a week.
- 2
Put it on a calendar
Lay the ideal week onto a real calendar, labelled clearly so you can aim at it.
- 3
Compare against reality
Periodically check recent weeks against the ideal to see where you've drifted.
- 4
Rebalance
When you've tilted too far one way, make a small counter-shift back toward the neglected priority.
Watch out Don't treat missing the ideal as failure; balance is constant re-tilting, not a permanent sweet spot.
- 5
Automate adherence if you can
Where you have support, build rules and systems, booked trainer sessions, protected slots, so balance runs without willpower.
Pro tip Rules like 'no meetings before 10am' or 'Thursday is date night' force balance so you don't have to decide each time.
In the wild
Ali keeps a Google Calendar he calls his ideal week, one or two date nights, a dinner with friends, seeing his mum and grandma weekly, three gym sessions. He never lives it exactly, but seeing it lets him say 'the last two weeks I've been to the gym once, let's rebalance', because he knows those things matter to him.
→ Neglected priorities get noticed and restored before they vanish.
With a team, Ali automates adherence: asking an assistant to keep three gym sessions on the calendar, booking a personal trainer so he feels compelled to attend, and blocking meetings after a set time. The system forces balance without daily deliberation.
→ Balance is maintained by design rather than willpower.
Common mistakes
Chasing a perfect fixed balance
Treating balance as a sweet spot you 'win' and then hold leads to guilt; real balance is a continuous shifting from one side to another.
Over-attaching to the ideal
Rigidly demanding you hit the ideal in full breeds frustration; the ideal is a direction to aim, paired with gratitude for the actual week.
Is it for you?
Best for
Busy people whose valued activities keep losing to work and reactive demands.
Not ideal for
Those in survival mode with little control over their schedule.
From the transcript
“the process of balancing is a constant shifting from like one side to another and as you notice you're tilting too much one way you…”
“by mapping that out on like a Google Calendar that I call my ideal we calendar I can just see okay cool like this is…”
From the episode
Leading Psychologist: How To Finally Overcome Stress & Anxiety - Dr Julie Smith
Dr Julie Smith