I did something Saturday that I’d been planning to do weeks ago. I went out for lunch, got a big table rather than my usual, pulled out my templates and paper and started working on my business plan. I’ve been wanting to do this since the beginning of the year but I kept letting other things get in the way.
 |
I’m going to talk about my process, share one of my goal and the process I’m hoping to follow to achieve it by using something called the Passion Planner. Just so you know, I’m not getting paid for talking about the planner; I don’t even know if they have an affiliate program. This isn’t a full review of it; just how I’m using it now.
Last year, instead of buying a Franklin Planner like I’ve always done, I decided to buy a Passion Planner for my wife and I. It offered a few things that are much different than the Franklin, so I thought I’d be a bit more engaged in using it. I bought a blue one for myself like in the picture above; I bought her a gold one. We also got the smaller, 7″ version, as opposed to the 11″ version; that would have felt like a folio carting it around, and I already have a folio.
At the beginning of the book they have something they call “Your Passion Roadmap”. It’s basically a type of graph that started with 5 small boxes. The main box is the Wish List, where you put in the date you’re starting to do it. Then it branches out into 4 other boxes; 3 months, one year, 3 years and lifetime. You first put in the date denoting these periods, then you think of all the things you’d like to consider doing in that time period for each of them.
I decided to share my 3 month wish list because it’s the easiest at the moment. Below is a copy of mine; one thing has been cropped because you don’t need to knew that lol:
As you can see, I circled one of the items. For each of the items, you’re supposed to take only a minute to think about and highlight the one item that you believe you can get the most positive benefit from. You don’t totally ignore the other things, but you focus on just one thing at a time. This one is most pertinent to put here since it’s business related.
After that piece has been accomplished, it’s time to move onto the next item, that being a page called “Create Your First Passion Plan”. In this big white space after the first paragraph, there’s a box titled “My Game Changer”. You put both the title you selected previously and the date you’re hoping to have your target item either running smoothly or hitting your goal. Since you see my item is “consistent marketing & content creation plan”, obviously it’s something I hope will be ongoing, so it’s something I want running smoothly. Below is what I’ve written down that I want to try to fit into my plan:
As you can see, I have a lot on my plate to get to. Yet, it’s not as detailed or rigid as one might imagine it should be. For instance, the first item on the left says “30-60 minutes Monday morning on article topics”. There are factors I have to consider for that as well as for everything else.
For this one, “morning” is kind of subjective. I’m out of the house most Mondays from 9:30 to 11:30 for a bit of free time, since I’m usually watching my mother, who has dementia all day on Sundays. I’m not working during my free time, so I’d be committed to starting this list right when I got home to hit my time target. I’m going to be a bit flexible on that, though only with a 10 minute window.
Next, because of Mom, I have to add at least 15 – 30 minutes to each thing I plan. This covers her bathroom breaks, food, snacks, medication and other potential issues. This is for everything I plan that concerns the plan; that’s how life goes sometimes.
This is actually something new for me, which is why it’s going to be a challenge. I never have writer’s block, so planning topics is something I only do when I’m thinking about one of my writing challenges.
I want to commit to writing at least 7 articles a week, spread out among my 5 blogs and the other two I write for others. Part of this is towards my goal of making money blogging at some point this year. More content means, at least for 2 blogs, the possibility of generating advertising; it’s a goal that only works if the content is compelling and timely on a few particular blogs.
You can see the other items I have listed on the passion plan. I have to fit those items into the weekly planner along with other things I already have scheduled. One of the best things about the Passion Planner is that it allows for originality if that’s your thing, which works well for my wife. I’m more of a list & detail person, so my style is a lot more straightforward. However, mine would be boring, so here’s an example of what you can do from the Planner people:
Here’s a big part of why I’m looking to plan my time, yet also have a lot of free space. One of the things I listed on the original wish list was to sleep better. I don’t sleep all that well, and a good example of that is only getting an hour and 8 minutes of sleep last night.
I’m hoping for 2 things in planning out my time. The first is to set up my week in advance to work towards my business goals, which includes the other things that were on the wish list. The second is to set things up where I’ll stop working at least by 8PM, if not an hour earlier.
‘m known to work as late as 2AM here and there. It didn’t used to be a problem before Mom moved in because I could sleep until 10AM if I wanted to; now it’s problematic since Mom is usually up by 7:30 and, though my wife takes the early duty, my mind won’t let me sleep until even 9AM most days. I’m hoping that if I can set myself up to find time to actually relax, something I’ve never been good at, that it’ll help me sleep better, which in turn will help me think better.
That’s my plan going forward, and I’m hoping the next 3 months bring some positive results. If you want to see the images above clearer and in color, check out this link. If you’d like to see more, here’s a video showing you how the company recommends using it, and why:
https://youtu.be/hltxbg4N948
Like I said, I’m not an affiliate; I’m not making any money off it. I’m not even recommending it, although it might look like that. This is what I’m using to get my business marketing affairs in order; maybe you have a different way of doing it if it’s something you’re considering. I wish you well; share what you’re doing, thinking about doing, or why you’re not interested. 🙂
I have never been much of a time planner, so I don’t know. I have made attempts in the past, sometimes even serious attempts, but not very successful.
I do, however, need to find a way to keep myself focused and accountable in order to post regularly on my blog. Speaking of blogs, I think you meant you usually don’t have writer’s block, but I digress. Now you see why I have a need to stay focused. Lol
Just proves I’m not perfect Rasheed; thanks for catching that. I find that I’m the most productive when I do plan and start working on things. I’ve also found that the law of attraction works best for me when I’m actually working towards a goal instead of just sitting around thinking about it. This is the plan for now; even if I only address half of it, I’ll be ahead of the game 3 months down the road than I am now.
Sounds like a good plan…and just having a plan is a good start. I don’t know how you can write so many blog posts a week. For me, each week for my own blog, I do 1 high quality article and then update/optimize a previously written article. For my client, I do one a week and I have some other clients where I’m doing various projects each week. (I do other stuff, too, but I don’t think I could ever write a new blog post everyday…and do it well.
BTW, you may already know this tip, but one thing that can help you sleep better is to turn off all blue light (esp computer) before you go to bed. I forget if it’s 30 mins or 1 hr. I need to do this, too.
The thing is I don’t have problems falling asleep all that often. I have problems staying asleep and sleeping well. I have moments here and there. For instance, last night I slept just over 6 hours; the night before I slept only 1 hour. It’s just my pattern; not much I can do about it overall.
As for plans, when I’m able to stick to them I actually do really well. The biggest problem I’ve had in sticking with plans in the last year has been my mother living with me. I can work in boosts of 30 minutes, if lucky, because she needs a lot of mental attention unless I put on something that she’ll fall asleep on. lol Having a plan is helpful, though not perfect. At least it helps me keep track of what I need to do… and I do get some things done.
Great inspirational post Mitch. Thanks for sharing your insight. It is difficult to stick with one thing, but only that way can we be experts.
Actually, I don’t stick with one thing; that’s why I shoot for being an authority as opposed to being an expert. 🙂 That’s also why planning helps a lot when I can stick to it.
I like planning. I think it saves a lot of time and energy. My problem is sticking to the plan. I have to work on this issue. Your advice is spot on and I enjoyed reading it.
I think most of us have problems sticking to plans. I was great at it when I was an employee but I find it tougher while working on my own these days since I have familial obligations that take precedent.
I enjoy planning since I was in college. It gives me this idea of how things will go, although not all the time things will go to plan. What makes it hard for me sometimes is sticking to the plan I made myself. I sometimes feel demotivated.