5 Kinds of Planning You Should be Doing

If you’ve ever heard yourself thinking, I don’t have time to plan! – listen up. I understand that planning often doesn’t seem productive, especially when your desk is piled high with urgent matters. Trust me I get it – the urge to say, “I’ll do my planning later.” But when the pressure’s on, it’s more important than ever to be as efficient and focused as possible. Planning is a gateway to a laser-focused state of mind.

Want to know the main difference between successful people and unsuccessful people? Successful people do things they don’t want to do because they want the results that come from doing those things.

Just bite the bullet and do it. Take a day or even an hour out of your business and step back, take it all in, and strategize a plan of action. In the moment it may not feel productive. But when you do it, wow! Your efficiency and productivity will go through the roof.

A monk was walking up a mountain to meditate at the top, and on his way up, he passed a man who was chopping and chopping and chopping at a tree, sweating and working very hard. The monk stopped to observe him for a moment and then continued on his way.

Three or four hours later, he headed back down the mountain. On the way, he saw the same man, still chopping at the tree. So he tapped the man on the shoulder and said, “Excuse me, sir? Why don’t you take a moment to sharpen your axe?”

“I don’t have time for that!” The man said with exasperation. “I have to chop down this tree!”

Planning is taking time to sharpen your axe.

Okay, enough philosophy…let’s talk action steps. If you want to master the art of planning, you have to learn to look at five different spans of time. Let’s take them one by one, starting with the big picture.

1.  Annual planning occurs once a year. This is your time to step away from your desk and devote some time and attention to your goals and intentions for the year to come. This should include both business planning and life planning, as they are connected on so many levels. What would it be like to plan a yearly retreat just for this purpose?

2.  Quarterly planning occurs every three months. It is a great time to check in on, “Am I on track with my yearly plan?” Set aside a day, even half a day or a few hours. Schedule these planning sessions on your calendar for a year in advance and don’t let anything get in the way. Make these appointments with yourself a top priority.

3.  Monthly planning occurs at the very end or beginning of each month. Schedule an hour or two to sit down and identify the priority projects for the coming month.

4.  Weekly planning generally occurs on Friday afternoons (so you can relax into the weekend) or Monday mornings (to get a grip on the week ahead) or even Sundays if you like to get a jump start on the week. Get clear on priorities for the coming week. Ask yourself, “How do I need to allocate my time in order to meet my priorities and honor my commitments?”

5.  Daily planning is a critical success habit. I highly encourage you, before you leave the office each day, to make sure you’re clear on your top priorities for the next day. Develop the habit of taking 10 minutes at the end of each day to summarize and track your progress that day, and identify your activities for the next day. In addition take a moment to celebrate your successes. What can you be proud of? Acknowledge your results. Great success is built on one achievement at a time.

This may sound like a lot of planning – and yes, it is! It’s a big habit to integrate for an entrepreneur, and it’s a lot to ask of ourselves. It requires a certain amount of discipline to fit this into your life. But I assure you it’s worth it.

Take it seriously. Embrace it as a hugely supportive habit and commit to following through with your planning, even when it doesn’t feel convenient. Learn to live according to this new model and you will be amazed at your new level of clarity, action and results.

As you work to implement this plan, remember to make room for the fact that life happens. Not everything will go according to plan. But if you spend 80 percent of your time living according to this planning template, I call that success.

The Passion into Profit Challenge:

Make planning one of your business success habits. Begin now, plan when you will plan, block it into your calendar today!