Using strategy and self-awareness to plan your week ahead
Let’s face it – the word strategy gets misused constantly. You only have to watch The Traitors to see it reduced to a buzzword for simply engaging one’s brain more than usual.
When I set up Lucky Start, my goal wasn’t just to grow a consultancy – it was to help more people understand and use strategy for themselves. Because, for all the talk about it, strategy is still often treated as something that lives (and usually dies) in a PowerPoint deck. It’s rarely given the same everyday status as creativity. Yet for me, strategy is one of the most human tools we have. It helps us see clearly, decide deliberately, and act with intent. It’s how we connect who we are, what we offer that no one else can, what’s happening around us, and what we choose to do next.
With that in mind, I am launching a new social space and blog series to explore everyday strategic thinking and application. Welcome to The Everyday Strategist, where I’ll take strategy out of the boardroom and explore how it appears in everyday life. Because strategy isn’t something you learn once and store away. It’s something you practise, every day, in how you think and choose.
Start with your unique value
Every successful brand has a unique value – something it does differently that makes it useful and distinct. People do too. Workplaces often blur difference in the name of “cultural fit”, but uniqueness is what changes outcomes when used well.
This is rarely about being better; It’s about being different in a way that matters.
Think about the situations where you make the most difference.
What tends to happen when you’re fully in your stride?
What do people rely on you for?
What lived or professional experience do you offer that no one else does?
That’s your unique value – the lever only you can pull. Each week, the first question to ask isn’t “What do I need to get done?” It’s “Where will my value make the biggest difference right now?”
Once you can see that, the rest starts to fall into place.
Understand your context
In strategy, this stage is sometimes called the diagnosis – the point where you look honestly at the landscape before deciding what to do. You can use the same step to read your week ahead.
Take five minutes to notice the conditions you’re walking into:
How much energy do I have?
What’s already fixed in the calendar?
What’s likely to cause friction or distraction?
Where does my value fit best in this mix?
Write a short line that sums up the truth of it. It might be:
“Energy’s low and there’s too much open work.”
or
“It’s a full week but there’s momentum I can build on.”
You’re not judging it – you’re simply seeing it clearly enough to respond well.
Decide your approach
Once you understand the week you’re in, choose how you’ll move through it. In strategy, this may be called a guiding policy – the principle that shapes decisions under pressure. Think of it as your tone for the week; the thought you come back to when things get noisy.
It might sound like:
“I’ll focus – closing loops that are draining my energy.”
“I’ll be creative – opening space for new ideas.”
“I’ll concentrate on steadiness – bringing calm to a fast week.”
Write one clear sentence. That’s your compass. It keeps choices consistent and stops the week scattering.
Take three connected steps
Plans and to-do lists often fail because they’re overloaded. Strategy, on the other hand, works when it’s coherent – when a few actions line up behind a single idea. There are many ways to describe this stage. I call them coherent actions: a small number of connected moves that, together, change the state of play.
Pick three:
An anchoring move – something that sets the tone for the week.
For example, blocking an uninterrupted morning to address the work that matters or scare you most will leave you feeling freer and more energised.
A forward move – something that builds momentum.
Finish one open piece properly, for instance, helps ensure that there aren’t too many mental ‘tabs’ open in your mind.
A grounding move – something that protects your time or energy.
Keep space free for rest or exercise, or whatever it is you need to function well.
Three is enough. If they all serve the same intent, they’ll help hold the week together.
By Friday
Look back and ask:
Did my unique value show up where it was needed?
Did the week move in the way I hoped it would?
What did these three actions actually change?
That reflection is how strategy strengthens. Each week becomes a test of how your unique value meets your reality – whether you’re activating a plan with purpose or just moving through a list.
Why this matters
Learning to use strategy in small, personal ways sharpens how you think when the stakes are higher. You start to explore your value, see patterns, decide with intent, and use your energy where it counts.
And that’s what strategy really is – the practice of understanding uniqueness, seeing clearly, deciding deliberately, and moving with purpose. So try it, because the best place to practise it isn’t always the boardroom. Sometimes it’s the week already in front of you.
