I’ll admit right here and now that planning ahead is NOT one of my natural strengths. So, at times like these when I reach the end of the calendar year and I am faced with some extra time on my hands, I need to use some of that time productively to plan for the coming year. I would encourage you to invest some time in doing the same. I’ve outlined a few simple steps below that I use to make the process just a bit easier.
The first step of planning ahead is to take time to reflect on the year just gone. Did you accomplish what you intended to? If so, take a moment to celebrate and give yourself a pat on the back! If not, ask yourself why you didn’t reach those goals. Was it a lack of resources, skill, motivation, time, momentum? Try to pinpoint what went pear-shaped so that you can put steps in place to avoid repeating those mistakes in the coming year. I’m not saying this is easy, but it is an important step in making forward progress.
The next step is to set fresh goals and targets for the year ahead. Remember, “If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got.” You can set all the fresh goals you like, but if you do not make some sort of change in HOW you’re going about reaching your goals, you will fall short. I follow the same process of tweaking HOW I do what I do in order to obtain better results, both for my audiences when I provide a keynote address, my business coaching and training clients (through my relationship with 10X) and myself. Does it always work? No. Do I reflect on why it didn’t work and try something different? ABSOLUTELY.
The third step is to create an action plan, or step-by-step roadmap to help you reach those goals. Chunk them down into bite-sized bits that you can easily manage, and at the end of the year you’ll be surprised how much you’ve accomplished. If you need help with this process, give me a ring. I can help provide that “helicopter view” of your business to help you see strategise the bigger picture, then we can break down your goals into weekly, monthly or quarterly chunks that you can tackle one at a time.
Finally, enlist someone to hold you accountable for achieving what you set out to do. We all break promises to ourselves far too easily. Have someone who will support you but check in with you on a regular basis to ensure you’re making progress.