Four essential categories to use when planning your weekPublished inThe Medium BlogSent as aNewsletter2 min read1 day ago-- Happy Tuesday!Issue #180: a worrying stat about scientific papers, 28 foods you should be eating, and reducing your personal signal-to-noise ratioBy Scott LambTime management, like balancing your checking account and writing a good thank you note, is one of those central life skills that should, by all rights, be taught in schools alongside reading and math. Instead, were all left to experiment ourselves and learn from the experience of others.Last year, productivity coach Carl Pullein shared his weekly planning matrix, a simple way to think about what you need (and want!) to get accomplished each week, and which includes space for both work and life.To set it up, think through these four areas:Core work: The essentials you need to tackle each weekProjects: Key long-term projects that need progressPersonal: Personal priorities that need your attentionYour radar: Future tasks and ideas you need to keep an eye onThe trick is being very realistic with yourself about whats core work (your literal job) and what projects absolutely need your attention that week. Heres an example by Pullein himself:Finding a structure that allows you to reshape your week is work worth doing. The weekly matrix has been hugely helpful to me, but Im curious, whats worked for you?What else were readingA new study suggests that as many as one in seven scientific papers is fake.Blueberries, cherries, kimchi, and 25 other things nutritionists list as the best things to eat as part of your core diet.Good designers have a secret superpower: Creating alignment between teams at the strategic, operational, and tactical levels.Your daily dose of practical wisdomWant to be more effective? Make sure you have a theory behind everything youre trying to do, otherwise its just noise.