One of the most challenging things about being a business owner, is planning for success.
We all have distractions and get overwhelmed at times, but with a solid plan of action, you truly can accomplish anything.
Step 1: Get Specific
Think about what the MAIN goal for your business is. Whether it’s increasing your clientele, working on re-branding your business, or prepping for a launch, there’s always a big task ahead to plan for.
I know it can be difficult to pick just one, but once you start to focus on one thing at a time, it becomes a habit.
Once you’ve defined your goal (make sure its not 5 goals wrapped up into one), get crystal clear on what you hope to achieve and I’ll show you how to make it happen.
Step 2: Brain Dump
Write out everything on your to-do list.
And I mean, EVERYTHING. Break down that big goal into smaller projects, then break down those smaller projects into actionable steps.
Let’s say one of your projects is to organize your content strategy and write a month’s worth of blog content. Write down anything to do with content strategy that comes to mind:
Here’s an example:
- Brainstorm and research blog topics
- Draft each post
- Edit each post
- Buy cat food
- Write corresponding social media posts
- Write newsletters and emails for each post
- Clean out closet
- Schedule all content into wordpress and hootsuite.
Take a second now to move any non-biz related things (like buy cat food) to another to do list that’s just for personal things.
Step 3: Batch Your Items Together Accordingly
Alright, now that you’ve brain dumped take a few minutes and start to notice any themes forming. Then, batch similar tasks from your brain dump into these themes.
Let’s pull three main themes from the example in step two:
- RESEARCH – brainstorm blog ideas, research blog topics, source photos to go along with socials, take photos for blog,
- WRITE – draft the content for all the blogs, draft corresponding emails, write social media content
- SCHEDULE – polish all the content and schedule into wordpress, hootsuite and convertkit
Your brain works better when you focus on similar tasks at the same time, although it might feel awesome to get one blog post done from top to bottom, this method helps you get ALL the blogs finished quicker, and helps you stay inspired while you do it!
Step 4: Prioritize Your To-Do List
Take a deep breath. I know it might look longer than a Thanksgiving grocery list but you’ve got this.
Take things that don’t fit into your three main themes and either cut them out, or add them to next-month’s brain dump. Is ‘clean out closet’ necessary, or are you just procrasti-cleaning?
Once you write it into next month, remove your energy and focus from it.
Now, organize the remaining tasks by priority. You’re gonna tackle those things head on and feel SO DAMN GOOD as you check them off your list.
Next, beside the tasks, jot down how long each will take. Make sure the times are REALISTIC. The point of this is to ACTUALLY get things done, not overestimate how much you can accomplish in an hour, then beat yourself up for it at the end of the day.
Put the most important things at the top, start moving things around so that what needs to be completed first comes first, then your next logical task comes after that one. Once your list is starting to look like more of a roadmap you can move onto step 5.
Step 5: Schedule Everything
Remember when you batched the tasks and wrote times for each? Schedule those tasks into your calendar, giving yourself clear but generous deadlines.
And here’s some not-so-secret advice: STICK TO IT!
Pro Tip: I think it’s really helpful to organize or “theme” your days of the week based on the types of tasks you do in your business.
Here’s a quick guideline I use for my businesses:
- Monday: big projects
- Tuesday: calls
- Wednesday: business upkeep
- Thursday: content creation
- Friday: client work
**Don’t forget to schedule time for personal things (because I know how easy it is to forget). Make lunch dates, book a massage, keep up with self care, etc. so you aren’t burnt out.
With Love | Nikki xo