Making quarterly plans for your business
It's hard, this running-a-business thing, isn't it?
Doing the work, the very thing that people hire you for and that makes your heart sing, that's the fun and rewarding part. And it's often what takes priority over everything else, because… well, it's fun and rewarding — and it's also what helps you pay the bills.
But everything else — the admin, the finances, the marketing and outreach, the content creation and social media posting… it's so easy for it all to get pushed down and down our to-do lists when we're busy with clients, to the point where we can sometimes feel out of control.
I like to think I'm pretty good at making plans. In fact, I genuinely love sitting down to brainstorm and map things out. It's exciting, and it always gives me a deep sense of purpose and direction.
But actually following through with the plan and taking action?
… Not so much. 🥴
I like to have a general course of action, but I also like to be flexible. I find 12-month plans daunting in the same way that I don't like the question “where do you see yourself in 5 years?” — because so much can happen in that time, and because it's so easy for those long-term goals and plans to be eclipsed by daily life and more pressing tasks, until we lose sight of them entirely.
That's why I started making quarterly plans instead.
Doing so feels much more manageable, because it allows me to set goals and intentions that feel aligned and relevant with where I'm at in life and in business, and to refer back to them on a day-to-day or weekly basis, so that everything I do in my business during that period serves a purpose.
And since we're about to enter the third quarter of 2021, I thought now would be a good time to share my planning process with you!
This workbook isn't a ‘one-size-fits-all’ planner and it's in no way meant to tell you that you should plan a certain way or adopt someone else's habits.
Instead, think of it as an excuse to pause, breathe and reconnect with your business. To reclaim control in a soulful way. And, hopefully, to cultivate a mindset that makes you want to tackle your to-do list, one step at a time.
☉ This workbook will encourage you to:
Review the quarter just gone, think about your highlights and achievements, and reflect on what hasn’t gone to plan and what lessons you’ve learnt
Think about what you want the coming quarter to feel like and how you want it to differ from the last
Set intentions and decide what your focus should be
Set achievable, actionable goals based on your intentions
Create a plan for each month
Prioritise self care and consider what you could be doing to feel more in control
I like to plan things digitally, but I know that not everyone feels the same, so I've included two-versions of the workbook:
The colour version can be loaded into Noteshelf, Goodnotes, Notability or any other note-taking app on tablets so you can write with a stylus.
The printable version is exactly the same but the pages have white backgrounds and I've changed the colour of the boxes so that it's easier to print and scribble on with a pen!
Happy planning!