Quarterly Planning – See. Perceive. Act.
The thing about a calendar, former procrastinators, is that it keeps us mindful of the passage of time. I dare say all of us here are more aware of time moving on than we were before we decided to be diligent women. We see open windows of opportunity to act and realize they will close. We force ourselves to do things we’d rather not because we realize the benefit outweighs the pain. We enjoy rewards we didn’t have when we lived in the land of Delay.
One of the most helpful tips I’ve received is to plan the year in quarters: January through March, April through June, July through September, October through December. This gives a shorter time frame to work with. A year can be so daunting. And a whole year can make it seem like we have a really long time to get something done. Before you know it, November has come and we see “That’s not gonna happen.”
Here’s the Act to follow last week. Look at everything you know now that you want or need to do this year. Consider the best time to do that task or portions of it. Assign it to a quarter or portion a large project into however many quarters you’ll need. Don’t be so generous with yourself you’ll be sloppy. The point is to realize “I have x amount of time to do this (or this portion) and I’m going to.” A quarter is manageable and encouraging.
As you divide up into quarters, you may realize you have too much in one. Shift around. Also, as things come up during the year, you will see where you have opportunity to do them. Last summer, I realized the house would be nearly vacant for four days. I quickly called the painter and scheduled him for two days to paint our dining room. (It’s a tall ceiling and we don’t do ladders.) I cleaned out the furniture so it could be moved. The painter and his team completed the job and put the furniture back. I reloaded it. All in one day. Deed done. Acting quickly when the opportunity arose paid off.
One more photo album for a child awaits my attention. That’s going in my January through March quarter. I’m taking much longer than anticipated. Don’t berate yourself for not being perfectly on schedule. Be grateful for where you are. And just keep plugging. Life does happen. But if you say. “I have all year” your intention will melt away.
Using quarterly planning:
Paces you through the year
Is flexible so you can adjust as needed
Gives you smaller, easy to tackle goals that lead to large accomplishments
Lets you see progress throughout the year.
Can be employed for any project, business, or personal goal
What will you shoot for in each quarter of the coming year?
