Have you ever gotten to the end of the year and wondered “Hey, why didn't I get anything done? What have I been doing all year??”
It's enough to make you scream, right?
Don't worry – there's actually a pretty simple way to make sure that your next year doesn't get away from you like the last one did!
Introducing: The 90 Day Plan.
Here's the deal: The 90 Day Plan combines having a clear vision with a solid, measurable goal of what you want to accomplish during the year. That seems pretty obvious, doesn't it? Well, the real trick is to break it all down into 90-day segments.
Why 90 days? Breaking your big goal down into 90-day segments gives you a great opportunity to achieve fast momentum in a short amount of time because you're focused on accomplishing specific, concrete goals more quickly.
The 90 Day Plan is really good at helping you map out the finer details of your game plan! Instead of being overwhelmed by trying to figure out all of the details of your one-year plan at a time (yikes!), breaking it down into 90-day segments helps you to zero in on what needs to be done in the short term to make it all happen.
I mean, let's be honest: as small business owners and entrepreneurs, we know that things can change unexpectedly – from year to year, month to month, or even week to week!
You can use that nimbleness in your business and in your market to your advantage. Don't dive in and make a super-detailed plan for the entire year, because chances are you're going to have to switch it up anyway. Instead, just work on really planning out your next steps for the quarter!
My Fresh Start digital workbook and planner offers some great templates and resources to help you figure out a great short-term plan for your business and then build on that plan quarter-to-quarter. The same system also helps you plan out your life for each month, week, and even day!
If you haven't started using the Fresh Start workbook and planner yet, I just want to offer some insight into how the program works. Basically, you want to take a look at your business and figure out a map to get to where you want to be:
- Choose your annual goal. Where do you want your business to be in a year? What do you want to accomplish? Pro tip: Make sure this goal is measurable!
- Break your goal down into milestones. You want to have milestones that you can schedule to hit throughout the year – this way you can track your progress and make sure you're always heading in the right direction.
- Create a detailed 90-day plan. This will help you to figure out what you need to do to reach your 90-day milestone.
- Break it down further into 30-, 60-, and 90-day goals. This should include milestones in key categories, like marketing, hiring, and other aspects of your business. Once you figure out the milestones, you can write out the key tasks and activities you need to execute in those categories and sort them into 30-, 60-, and 90-day buckets!
- Plan a weekly schedule to meet those goals. This is where your map comes together! Life moves really fast, so having clear weekly goals is a great way to make sure that you're staying on the right track and keeping your goals in the front of your mind. Where are you? How are things going? What do you need to do right now? What do you need to share with your team? What are they working on? And where do you need to adjust?
The 90-Day Plan is a powerful way to break down all the steps that you need to take quarter-to-quarter, month-to-month, week-to-week, and day-to-day to always be working toward your annual goal. With this plan, there is no guesswork or confusion – the steps are clearly defined and sorted into manageable tasks. Share some goodness from your 90-Day Plan in the comments below!
Learn more about the Fresh Start Workbook here.
