Make a Plan
Ask anyone who knows me and they will tell you I am a planner.
I have to have a plan for just about everything I do or I feel out of sorts. I adore to-do lists. Sticky notes, legal pads, spiral notebooks, journals, checklists on my phone, and my google calendar keep me sane. I don't know how other people function without a list or calendar! How do you even know you're getting everything done when it's due if you don't have something helping you remember?
I've always been this way, so it's not just my old age (although I hear 40 is the new 30, whatever that means). Even as a child I had lists of things I wanted to do on a certain day and I really love checking things off my to-do list. Sometimes, when I'm feeling particularly feisty, I'll put things on the to-do list that I've already done so I can feel the rush of satisfaction when I check them off.
In my personal life, I make lists.
In my business life, I make plans for myself and my clients. I write out documents that are roadmaps to their success, and mine. We start with a vision of where they want to go and then make the plans to get there. We call these Vision Documents. They are wildly popular in our agency and our clients love them. It puts everyone on the same page and we all sign off on it once it's agreed upon.
Without a clear vision of where you want to go, in business, school, life, how do you know how to plan to be successful?
People who fly by the seat of their pants are not my people. I enjoy meeting them and trying to figure them out but mostly I just want to help them be more organized.
I don't enjoy running late or feeling like I can't function because things aren't in their place. I also don't like feeling like I don't know what is the next right step in whatever task I'm trying to accomplish.
For instance, if I'm focusing on cleaning my house, I make a list of everything that has to get done for the house to be clean. I even make a to-do list for my teenager so she knows what's expected and what she needs to do.
It might go something like this:
- pick up the entire house, each room (I'll make a list of each thing to do in each room, if needed)
- put things away
- clean lights and fans
- dust
- scrub bathrooms
- clean counters
- clean kitchen
- vacuum
- mop
Now, for my personal life, Joel and I have always had a 5-year plan. When we were dating, our 5-year plan was to "get married, buy a house, have a baby."
Then, it was "work hard in our business, have another baby, move out of state."
Then it was "sell the business, move again to be near family, build a new business."
Now it's "get kids graduated and into college, sell the business again, retire."
Every day we take steps to get to those goals.
And every day I am reminded that so many of my friends and clients don't have this organizational side of them. So, I'm here to help!
One way I help is by doing the visioning for them. They tell me their goals, I build a plan, and we work toward those goals one step at a time.
One of my clients was so head underwater in her business trying to manage employees that she couldn't focus on actually helping her clients. So, we talked about the problems as she sees them, I helped her realize some other issues, and we made a plan to move her business to something more sustainable.
Our strategy worked and she no longer works 14 hour days 7 days a week. Now, she's able to prioritize actual business with clients, and spend quality time with her family. How's that for making a difference in her life and her clients'?
I have put together a FREE! little download for you to help you become more organized in your life and your business. Get the FREE Vision Planning and Goal Setting Download here!
Good luck! I'm always available for help with organization and vision planning for your life and your business. Want to work together on it? Fill out the form below!
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