How to Plan for the Next Season in Your Business
Each season in your business brings with it new goals, hopes, and ideals. Sometimes those preconceived ideas about how our time SHOULD go don’t exactly work out how we imagine it. We overschedule ourselves with meetings and appointments. We take on projects that end up being way bigger and more involved than we thought they would be. We underestimate how long things will take.
At the beginning of a new season, it can be so easy to see THIS phase as the one where we don’t lose our motivation and inspiration. This will be when we remain 100% focused and healthy. Nothing unexpected popping up. Just smooth sailing.
And then it happens. A month into our finely-tuned schedule, we realize that it’s too much. That inspired collaboration now has become dreaded work. We’re tired and uninspired and ready to retreat from it all.
So, how can you have an inspired, productive season without the overscheduling and overestimating? Here’s how.
Look to the past to plan your future.
As I talk about frequently, time is not just linear. It’s also cyclical. This means that phases and situations repeat themselves. For example, you probably have a daily schedule. Every day at a certain time, you eat, bathe, workout, watch TV, etc. We’re creatures of habit, so it’s only natural for us to create cyclical patterns for ourselves. We also follow patterns on a monthly, quarterly, and yearly basis.
When it comes to planning for the next season in your business, look back on previous times that have similar characteristics to this season. Try asking yourself the following questions:
What time of year am I planning for?
What holidays or long-standing commitments can I expect to take up some of my time?
How do I usually feel this time of year? Extroverted or introverted? A doer or a thinker? Motivated or uninspired?
What distractions can I expect to pop up during this time?
What kind of roadblocks can I expect with these types of projects?
Think about both the actual season of the year as well as situations in your business that look similar to what you’re planning. Are you planning a certain type of launch? How did you feel during the last launch? What got in your way then? Are you planning a project that involves certain people or certain types of people? What did that look like last time you were involved with a similar project with similar people?
Look for all the similarities between previous experiences and what you can expect from this upcoming season. Write them down in detail. This allows you to really step into the experience of this new time. You can gain a more realistic perspective on how things will go and then plan accordingly.
Don’t be a firefighter.
As thrilling as it is to spend your days jumping from one urgent, unexpected fire to another, it’s not the smartest use of your time. Instead of being proactive, intentional, and making steady progress to your goal, you end up being reactive and not really going anywhere. At the end of the day, you may feel accomplished for fixing that link that went out incorrectly or rescheduling your clients to accommodate an unexpected commitment, but does that leave you closer to your goals for this season?
As you start planning a new season in your business, look for opportunities to set boundaries, systems and steps that can help keep you in the proactive space. This could look like scheduling time each week to evaluate your progress, make adjustments, and plan for the next week. It could look like automating as much of your process as you can in order to minimize mistakes and free up your time.
For more on this, check out Reactive to Proactive: 4 Steps to Get You Off of the Urgency Treadmill.
Take notes as you go.
Once your business season is underway, I highly encourage you to take notes each week on how things feel for you. Here are some questions to ask yourself:
What went well this week?
How did I feel?
What challenges did I face?
What, if anything, do I want to change for next week?
What, if anything, do I want to do differently when this situation comes up again?
These notes not only help you shift and strategize to improve in the moment, but they will also help you prepare for a similar season next time it comes around. Maybe you’re a chronic overcommitter. You struggle to say “no” and usually end up stressed and resentful. For the next season, try using your notes as black-and-white proof of what you can and cannot take on. It’s a lot easier to say “no” when you have the reasons to back it up.
Want some help getting started planning your next season? Check out my Productivity Planner Template.
