It’s All in the Planning
“If you don’t know where you are going, you are certain to end up somewhere else.” – Yogi Berra
We put a lot of time in to planning our personal lives - we plan ahead for holidays and special occasions like weddings. We mark out all of our kids’ obligations for the entire school year and build itineraries for trips.
But sometimes we overlook the importance of business goals and the benefits of breaking them down into small, doable steps. We often succumb to winging it, picking random tasks to do on random days without a recurring system to create consistency. Then we are pressured to do things we forgot we had to do.
Having goals is the easy part. The challenging part is initially implementing a routine for scheduling daily, weekly, monthly and annual tasks to achieve those goals. It’s the goals that dictate the direction you move your business in but it’s the planning that will keep you focused on getting there.
Scheduling
When we don’t schedule things, they become distractions. Let’s use bookkeeping as an example. Whether it’s paying bills, sending invoices, or recording payments, if you don’t have a specific time that you handle these tasks, they are thrown in between other tasks, throwing off the flow of your work. And most likely your cash flow.
And as entrepreneurs, we can fall prey to the belief that burning the candle at both ends is just part of the gig so we tolerate it. However, with a little careful planning, you can make better use of your time, which as a business owner is your most precious resource.
So how exactly does planning help you?
• Get a clearer picture of your business as a whole
• Sharpen your Focus on your business brand and who it’s for
• Set priorities so you can keep track of the right things and allocate your time and effort realistically
• Develop accountability so you always know what’s expected to be successful.
• Be in alignment with your goals and your strategy to achieve them
Your plan is only realistic if it is made of executable actions. In other words, small enough steps that won’t be overwhelming. If you keep avoiding a task, chances are you haven’t broken it all the way down into realistic actions so you just don’t do it at all.
Review
By reviewing your business plan each month, you can assess your progress and adjust your goals as your business strategy evolves.
This will help you stay focused on your long-term goals and prioritize smaller daily and weekly tasks.
It’s been proven that you accomplish what’s needed in the time you give yourself. By scheduling tasks, you have a window of time to complete them and then you move on to other priorities.
This type of planning provides a clear sketch of how you will spend your time each day and what work you will focus on instead of worrying if you did that thing you were supposed to do.
A planning schedule creates a routine and a habit, and allows you to manage the non-regular aspects of your day around your normal activities.
Planning gives you a clear direction when mapping out your business goals. Your priorities will make more sense and you’ll be better at delegating when you understand what has to be done to move your business forward.
Do you want more time, to accomplish more, and achieve your goals? Let’s set up a call.
P.S. Ready to stop spinning in place and get to the other side of your goals? Here are several ways I can help:
Download my free weekly planning guide - it will help you become more intentional with your time, develop a clear action plan for your week, and ensure that you are focusing on activities that will move your business forward - Download Now
Join our next CEO Power Planning Session and spend two and a half hours ON your business. During this facilitated workshop, you’ll set and prioritize your next 12-week goals, break them down into an executable action plan and create a resource plan - Join the Wait List
Apply for the next Close the Gap Program and stay on track to achieve your most important goals. 1:1 support and guidance on prioritizing goals, creating a plan and putting structure and routines in place. Then 12 weeks of group support around execution - Apply today