When the week just happens to you
✉️ Originally shared in my May newsletter 2026— now available here for easy access and sharing.
My 20 min weekly routine to start the week in the driver seat and end it feeling enough
It's Friday afternoon and I'm writing this from my kitchen table, with a cup of tea that's gone cold. But enjoying the sun that finally decided to come here in Åre as well.
This month I had to remind myself to get back into the routine I can't seem to live without. My weekly check-in and check-out. I know I need it — and yet, somehow, it slipped.
I feel it so clearly when I miss it.
On Monday mornings, my head is messy. Unmotivated before I've even started, because nothing has a clear direction. Already stressed — not from what I've done, but from what I haven't yet prioritized. Jumping straight into emails and other people's agendas before I've set my own.
And on Fridays, rushing into the weekend feeling exhausted. What have I even done? My calendar was full, I handled what needed handling — and still. That quiet, unsettling feeling of not doing enough.
So the autopilot goes directly to: try harder next week. Plan more. Start earlier. And the week rolls forward, unchanged.
Most of us have been taught that awareness, reflection and planning are something we do when things slow down, when we have time, when the pressure eases. But I've found the opposite to be true. Awareness is what makes the pressure manageable. It's what lets you move fast without losing yourself in the motion.
The shift isn't about doing less. It's about being in the driver's seat of what you're already doing.
So here is my weekly check-in and check-out routine — to start the week in the driver's seat and end the week feeling calm and enough.
MY WEEKLY ROUTINE
The format doesn't matter — I do mine with coffee on Monday mornings and tea on Friday afternoons. Some clients do it on a walk, one person records a voice note. What matters is that you stop, briefly and intentionally, before the week takes over and before the weekend does.
🗓 Monday morning — before the week takes over
Before email. Before the first meeting.I start with myself before I add reality and everyone else.
How am I feeling right now — what's happening in my life that affects this week?
What kind of week is this? Heavy on meetings, social energy, new tasks, or just execution?
Given that — what do I need and what are my max 3 priorities? (I include sleep and training here — they don't happen unless they're a priority)
What feeling do I want to leave this week with?
🌤 Friday afternoon — before I close the laptop
Not a review of what I didn't finish. A chance to see what I actually did and leave with that instead.
What did I fill this week with? (I call it the Done List — resetting from zero, focusing on what you did, not what you didn't)
What am I proud of? This is where you brag — not to boast, but to actually see your own value
What am I grateful for? Best tool in the toolbox for presence
What feeling am I leaving with?
What’s on my radar
📖 Book: Hjärnans Akilleshälar — Anders Hansen. Explains all the auotpilots our brains has created for living on the savannah and why we react the way we do in present life. (Sorry its in swedish)
🤖 My latest AI obsession:Claude Cowork. Wow. If oyou havent started, do it! create the peronsal assitansts you need!
