“Everyone Has a Plan Until They Get Punched in the Mouth”~ Mike Tyson (and every Monday morning ever)Yes, Mike was 100 % right.
Your beautiful weekly plan lasts exactly until the first Slack ping, the surprise client call, or your boss dropping a “quick urgent favor” at 9:03 a.m.So why bother planning at all?Because the alternative is worse: drifting from fire to fire, ending the week exhausted and wondering where the hell your time went.Here’s the paradox that saved my sanity in Bangalore traffic-life:Plans don’t work.
Planning does.Planning is not about predicting the future.
It’s about deciding in advance what deserves to win when the inevitable punch lands.My Friday 1-Hour Ritual (Works Even When Life Doesn’t Cooperate)Every Friday post-lunch (when the week has already beaten me up a little, so I’m honest), I block 60 minutes and do exactly this:
  1. Open calendar → next 14 days
    → Star/block the immovable stuff (doctor, school PTA, release calls, mom’s birthday).
  2. Search inbox + Slack for “ASAP / urgent / EOD” from the last 7–10 days
    → Drag the real ones into a simple list. Most “urgents” die of natural causes if you wait 48 hours.
  3. Quick scan of every active project
    → Ask one question only: “What is the ONE thing, if I do it next week, will make me feel this project moved?”
    → Write that thing down. Nothing else.
  4. Open last week’s meeting notes (OneNote/Notion/whatever)
    → Copy every “I’ll do X” or “Let’s follow up on Y” that still matters.
That’s it. 4 steps → one single page (physical or digital) titled “Next Week – Non-Negotiables”.Then I shut the laptop and actually enjoy the weekend without Sunday-evening anxiety.Monday Morning Counter-Punch Routine (The Real Secret)Monday arrives. The plan is already on fire by 9:15 a.m.No problem.I still protect the first 60–90 minutes of the day like a bouncer protects a VIP:
  • Open the “Next Week – Non-Negotiables” list
  • Pick 1–3 items (never more)
  • Do them BEFORE I open Slack or email
  • Only then do I let the urgent dragons in
That single habit turns Mike Tyson’s quote on its head:The urgent wants to punch you in the face.
The important eats the urgent for breakfast.Proof It Works
  • I still get blindsided every week (welcome to real life).
  • But at least 60–70 % of my original “important” items actually get done.
  • Without this ritual? That number used to be 10–20 %.
Plans don’t survive contact with reality.
You will. If you plan anyway.So tell me in the comments:
  • What’s your version of the Friday ritual?
  • How do you protect your first hour (or do you surrender it the moment you wake up)?
  • Or which app/trick finally stopped Sunday-evening dread for you?
Drop your war stories below.
Let’s help each other punch back.— Still standing after many Mondays
Bangalore, 2025