Organizing our 7-days
Updated: 4 minutes ago
What's the best way to organize our thoughts and ideas?
That question came to us as we planned for our week ahead and led us to explore the symbolism of the seven days, named after the classical planets, they provide us with the outline to organize and inspire ourselves. The 7-day "week" began with the Babylonians but its modern understanding arose in Ancient Rome where they ordered the week by the speed, distinguishable to the naked eye, of each "planet." Hence: Sunday followed by Monday (moon), then Tuesday (Mars), Wednesday (Mercury), etc. These Classical Planets refer to the seven moving celestial bodies visible to the naked eye that ancient astronomers tracked against the background of fixed stars. They played a major role to the Babylonian, Egyptian, Greek, and Roman Calendars, and were the basis of culture, myth, and religion. Even today the Gregorian calendar follows those before it, and is ripe for renewal. Here we share valuable systems for developing our ideas and energy through each day.
The best way to organize our calendar is through the symbology of the 7-days. Each day is named after a different planet and imbued with archetypal symbolism: ☉ Sunday: The first day is named after the Sun, around which everything else orbits. The Sun is associated with individuality and vitality, and is archetypal of who we are and how we show up in the world. Hence "Sundays" are a great day to set intentions and plan for the days ahead. ☾ Monday: Monday is the day of the Moon. The Moon is associated with reflection and emotion. Mondays are ideal for connecting with our emotional selves and our physical bodies, perhaps this is why people experience "Monday Blues". Mondays are for nurturing ourselves. ♂ Tuesday: Tuesday is Mars. Mars is associated action and thus is a great day to work on something important, to focus, and to be bold. Tuesday invites us to avoid distractions and to take action towards our passions. Tuesdays are also great days to make art. ☿ Wednesday: Wednesday is named after Mercury. Mercury is associated with communication and is a great day to send messages, reconnect, and organize. Halfway through the week, this is a good time to pause and review if we need to make changes or adjustments. ♃ Thursday: Thursday is Jupiter. Jupiter is associated expansive and jovial energy. Thursdays are often marked by communal and lighter energy. Thursdays are best when either with friends out enjoying ourselves or giving our all to something we love and wish to develop. ♀Friday: Friday is Venus. Venus is Associated with love. This is the day made for sharing time with loved ones. Fridays are for joy, intimacy, and sharing in the fruits of one's efforts. They are additionally a day to refine one's work; make edits, or analyze our projects. ♄ Saturday: Saturday is Saturn. Saturday is associated with time. This is the last of the 7 days and is a perfect day to reflect on the days we've lived. Saturn teaches us to be discerned with the choices we are making and for us to carry only the best energy forward into the coming week.
Writing in alignment with the cycles of nature provides the outline for developing our ideas.
Developing our Writing Practice
We can better organize our ideas and thoughts through writing, consistent note-taking, and in the planetary days are perfect for inspiring our consistency. We begin anew each Sunday setting or reaffirming an intention for the coming 7-days, each with their unique qualities. We allow ourselves more time to process and reflect on Monday, we follow the inherent rise and fall energy found in the week, and the lunar phases, and the zodiacal year. These 3-Cycles offer the perfect way to prepare and organize: What is my goal and intention? It helps to give our grander goals smaller achievable goal posts. What can I accomplish this year? this month, and this week? This helps us simplify goals into their smaller, actionable steps. Each day, we set aside time between daily activities to process and
write, especially in the first and last hours of the day. We return
regularly to our notes, goals, and to review our to-do lists.
We capture ideas as they come in our notes app and journals.
We organize our ideas regularly, track patterns, and make changes.
We make iteration upon iteration and enjoy this journey.
We hope this practice also aids you with clarity as it has for us.
Systems for Organization
The unicode symbolism of the 3- cycles is great for organizing our calendars: ☉=Sunday ☾=Monday ♂=Tuesday ☿=Wednesday ♃=Thursday ♀=Friday ♄=Saturday
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The CODE Method by Tiago Forte is a great foundation for organizing our ideas and notes: Capture: write every task and fleeting thought directly into your notes without organizing it immediately
Organize: During your weekly review, move items out of the Inbox and into one of four buckets:
Projects: Short-term efforts with a specific goal and deadline.
Areas: Ongoing responsibilities to maintain over time (e.g., finances, health).
Resources: Topics or ongoing interests of future value.
Archives: Inactive items from the previous three categories.
Distill: Summarize key takeaways so notes are easy to act on.
Express: Making time to work on and developing our projects. Our to-do tasks template is great for prioritizing our tasks:
First - Write down all the tasks you wish to accomplish.
Second -Write the 3 key tasks that can be accomplished next.
Third - Answer the question: What can I accomplish today?
We created our ÓS Journal to help outlines these best practices.
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