My personal planning journey
For most of us, our work isn't an emergency and no one's going to die if we miss deadlines on our own work. But that doesn't mean a plan can't be a great tool for your business.
October was mostly a write-off for me thanks to some lovely bug 🤧 I picked up that really knocked me out of commission for a few weeks. I'm sure you've been there before, feeling frustrated because all of your best-laid plans definitely aren't happening.
A dear friend of mine has my favourite response to such things: Karen, your work isn't an emergency and no one's going to die if you're delayed.
Does that mean I never plan? Definitely not. I just make sure I'm creating agile plans that I can adjust as needed.
Back in my days of working in tech marketing, I learned quickly that planning wasn't part of the equation because there was more importance placed on getting things done than doing them thoughtfully.
My colleagues were quite amused when I would vent my frustration with "'PLAN' is NOT a four-letter word." Get it? haha...it's funny because it is, in fact, a four-letter word. But it may as well have been the most offensive swear word or some of the powers that be were allergic to planning because they wouldn't even talk about it, let alone do it.
I'm the kind of planner who has to be reminded to stop overthinking things, which I've thankfully gotten better at doing without the nudge.
One of the reasons I love November each year, apart from the cool weather (that doesn't include snow - fall sweater time!), it also means it's time to get ready for the upcoming year.
In my work, it also means I get to talk about planning. 🥳🤓
One planning topic I'm covering this month is campaign planning. What a campaign is, why they can be beneficial, how to plan it out. This is the topic of a mini workshop and Q&A I'm doing for the Magnificent Marketers Club members today. (I don't share much about what we're doing in The Club very often and I think I should do that more.)
The next big topic is annual planning because this is the time of year to get that done (unless you're on a fiscal calendar that doesn't coincide with the calendar year).
I used to struggle so much with annual planning, especially in the early days of my business. The biggest reason was how rigid I was with myself about setting my intentions in stone. I made it so hard on myself.
Not anymore, though. Agility is the name of the game now. The plan is a guide and since I'm the boss, I don't hesitate to shift things around when it's needed.
If you'd asked me three years ago where I'd be today in my business, the picture I would have painted you is nothing at all like where I'm at. The main reason is personal circumstances that were a higher priority than working on my business.
We do the best we can with what we have at any given moment in time.
The journey I've taken with my own planning mindset really informs the approach I take to planning.
- Goals - planning starts with knowing what you want to achieve and then breaking down steps you need to take to get there.
- Space - carve out the time you need to do the work now before you're booked up and don't have anymore time available.
- Track - Make sure you're tracking progress so you can celebrate what you achieve and monitor/adjust what's working and not working.
Are you ready to plan your way to a successful 2025? I know I am!
