There’s no denying that running a business is hard work. Anyone who has taken that leap into entrepreneurship and business ownership is a superstar in my eyes.
It takes commitment, bravery, and dedication. It also takes a lot of planning, something that as business owners, we’re often not very good at.
How often have you found yourself saying something like this?:
- I’m too busy with work to make plans
- I’d don’t have time for marketing / training / taking time off
- I’ll deal with that later when I have more time
- I’ve got too much work to think beyond what I’m doing right now
It’s OK – we’ve all been there!
In fact, I was saying exactly these kinds of things at the start of this year. I was putting so little time into planning, and struggling with making the best use of my time that I had to take action.
I signed up to work with Holly of the Embodied Boss Collective. Holly is an amazing mentor and coach who helped me when I first started my business.
So, for my fellow time-poor business owners, here are some of the top planning tips I’ve learned since being a part of the EBC.
Stop context switching and start time blocking
Do you find yourself switching between tasks throughout your workday? One minute you’re writing an email, then the phone goes, then you have to send something off by a deadline, and so on.
Hours later the email you started at 9am is still only half-finished. This is context switching, it’s wasting your work day by not using your time effectively and uses more brain power than focused work.
Instead, start time blocking – break your day up into allocated time slots for each task and stick to them. You’ll get more achieved and feel better for it.
Plan, plan, and then plan some more
Let’s revisit those reasons why we don’t have time to plan. We’re all busy, there are to-do lists, meetings, calls, client work, and, of course, home and family life too. Those things aren’t ever going to go away.
So, we have to learn to deal with them, and planning is the best way to do this. Planning helps us to achieve in the present and prepare for the future.
The EBC approach to planning
Holly’s perspective on planning has been so useful. It’s helped me think about my business in the longer term and move away from that kind of survival mode where the only focus is on immediate priorities. You can do the same, by thinking about your business priorities, annually, quarterly, monthly, and weekly.
Step 1: Set yearly business planning priorities
At the start of my journey with the EBC, I set my 12-month business goals. These are the things I really want to achieve this year.
Step 2: Monthly goal-setting and progress reviews
Each month we set out what we want to achieve over the next 30 days. This helps set priorities in my mind and helps with accountability. It’s a practical process where we think about how these goals will be achieved. It’s also where we look back over the month before to see what worked well, what didn’t, and where improvements can be made.
Step 3: Weekly action planning
Annual goals are achieved through weekly action. So, each week we have a meeting where we set our top 3 tasks for the week. We take account of things like meetings and appointments and make sure that actions can be achieved around them (this is where time blocking helps). It’s also an opportunity to prioritise making time for rest and life beyond work.
The benefits of coaching for your business
You can adopt these planning approaches in your own business. However, I find the accountability of working with a coach really helps. Our sessions help to keep me focused, and as a busy CEO, that’s essential.
Beyond planning – achieving through outsourcing
I believe that planning is essential for your business. It helps you to look ahead and invest in your future. However, if you’re too busy to put your plans into action then it can become wasted effort. That’s where outsourcing can help.
We can help free up your time for planning and working on your business by taking on your daily admin tasks. Alternatively, task us with those administrative, business development or marketing tasks that are in your new business plan. You’ll be amazed how quickly we can help you to reduce that to-do list.
If you want to find out how we can help, book a call with Kellie today.
