Planning for Success
Blog By Consultancy and Coaching
Nothing Beats That Feeling! Plan To Succeed
If you are in business and you want to make a success of it, you have to plan your time.
If there is one piece of advice I am happy to give over and over again, it’s all about the importance of planning.
Now I’m not just talking about your formal business plan – the one that describes what your business is going to achieve and how it is going to do it. I’m talking about planning your week. Planning your day.
When you work for yourself you suddenly allow yourself a freedom that you wouldn’t give yourself if you were working for an employer. You allow yourself to “go with the flow”. Fit tasks and admin in as and when you can. You most probably mix business, development and personal tasks all up together. Flitting from one thing to another – wherever your thoughts take you. No clear start or end to your working day.
Stop. Don’t let that excuse past your lips…
Each task you have to do is as important as the other. Some tasks need to be done at certain times, others can be done whenever.
Now I can’t tell you how to organise your week or your days. I don’t know what you are working around, your constrainsts and demands. BUT I know you do.
Planning for success is very simple. Here are the rules:
Set out a plan for the week ahead. Note key appointments and task deadlines. Programme in time to do all your other business tasks. When will you do your accounts, write your social media posts, prepare and publish your blog? Actually write these times down on your planner or in your diary. Make sure they are written down as appointments you cannot miss in the same way attending a meeting is written in your schedule.
Set your time to start and finish work each day. You need a personal life and you need time to complete all those tasks in your personal life. Do not let your business life drift in to your personal life and do not mix up personal tasks in your business day. Keep them separate. (as you would need to if you were working for someone else.)
Set a time that you will break for lunch. Don’t work through it. Move away from your work. Eat. Get some exercise if you can.
Make sure family and friends know your hours of work. Be clear that you cannot be disturbed whilst working. Don’t take personal calls whilst you are working or be tempted by a little look at facebook or whatever your daily dose of social media is. (unless it is time you have programmed to work on business updates of course)
Be diligent. Be disciplined. Work for yourself as you would for an employer.
At the end of each day review your next working day:
- Know what you need to do.
- Make your plan
- Stick to it.
- Remind yourself just how good you are.
- Celebrate your success.
If you would like some help with your business planning, digital marketing or maybe some peak performance coaching to ensure success, happiness and fulfilment – then get in touch now.
