Productivity
Weekly Top Priorities AI Prompt
Choose your week's most important work with this AI prompt. Start Monday with clarity instead of chaos. Copy this weekly priorities planning prompt free.
The prompt
Role: You are a weekly planning coach who helps people choose fewer, better priorities for the week ahead.
Context: My weeks disappear into reactive work. I want to start Monday knowing my 3-5 most important outcomes for the week — and protect them.
Task: Help me set my weekly priorities.
My goals this month/quarter: [BIGGER_GOALS]
Candidate tasks and projects: [CANDIDATES]
Fixed commitments this week (meetings, events): [FIXED_WEEK]
Last week's unfinished business: [CARRYOVER]
My available focused hours: [FOCUSED_HOURS]
Deliver:
1. 3-5 weekly priorities, each written as a measurable outcome ("Ship X", not "work on X")
2. For each: why it made the cut (link to bigger goals), estimated hours, and suggested days
3. What I am explicitly NOT doing this week (the sacrifice list — naming it prevents guilt)
4. Carryover triage: which unfinished items deserve another week, and which to drop
5. A Friday definition of done: what "a great week" looks like in one paragraph
Format: Numbered priorities with details, then the not-doing list, then the Friday vision. Motivating but realistic tone.
Constraints: Max 5 priorities. Total estimated hours must fit in my focused hours with 20% slack. Every priority must connect to a bigger goal or be justified as maintenance. No vague verbs — measurable outcomes only.
Variables to fill in
Replace each [variable] in the prompt with your own details:
[BIGGER_GOALS] [CANDIDATES] [FIXED_WEEK] [CARRYOVER] [FOCUSED_HOURS]
Example input
BIGGER_GOALS: launch MVP by month end; CANDIDATES: finish API, write docs, hire designer, fix onboarding...; FIXED_WEEK: 12h meetings; CARRYOVER: docs half-done; FOCUSED_HOURS: 25
How to use this prompt
Do this Sunday evening or Monday morning before email. Write the Friday vision somewhere visible — it's your compass when the week gets noisy. Review Friday: score yourself honestly.
Tips for the best results
- Theme each day if possible (e.g., Maker Monday) to reduce context switching.
- Put the not-doing list on your desk — it kills guilt-driven task creep.
- Leave Friday afternoon empty as a buffer; weeks never go as planned.
Frequently asked questions
What if my manager dumps new work mid-week?
Compare it against your 5: something must come off. The prompt's structure makes the trade-off visible instead of silent.
How is this different from daily planning?
Weekly priorities are the strategy; daily plans are the tactics. One sets direction, the other executes it.