3 Reasons why I no longer create quarter plans like I used to
How many times have you had so much you wanted to do, felt like you had to do it all immediately, and so just added it all to your plan?
Or have you ever made a plan, only to have life turn it upside down, leaving you lost and confused?
Yep, me too!
That’s one of the reasons I fell in love with quarterly planning.
I was tired of spinning my wheels trying to make progress towards my goals that seemed just out of reach.
If only I could find a way to focus, follow through, and control all of life’s curveballs.
That way was quarterly planning for me, circa 2018.
Now 4 years later, it’s time to share why I’m not planning in the same way anymore. Keep reading to find out!
What is quarterly planning?
If you aren’t familiar with quarterly planning, that’s ok! Quarterly planning simply asks you to think about and plan three months at a time, rather than a whole year or more.
When you break your year down into four pieces, it’s a lot easier to prioritize projects allowing you to stay flexible, focused, and more easily make progress.
What role did a quarterly plan play in my success?
When I first read 12 Week Year by Brian Moran in 2017, I was blown away.
At that time in my life, I was working an engineering job full time, teaching yoga part-time, planning my own wedding, and starting my own online yoga business. Just writing that out exhausts me.
I quite frankly had too much I wanted to do, and I felt like I had to do it all yesterday.
Quarterly planning allowed me to list out everything I wanted to do, and then attempt to prioritize.
Don’t be fooled, I continued to start every quarter with more than the recommended amount of priorities.
While I continued to do more than I realistically could, I was making progress faster because I was saying no to some things.
Looking back, quarterly planning helped me start to learn how to focus my time on the things that would actually move the needle.
Instead of buying course after course, I filled my time with what would actually grow my business: consult calls, coaching sessions, and networking.
Quarter planning was a major tool that created the momentum I needed to quit my 9-5, become a digital nomad, devote time to my relationships and my personal growth, and just live my life!
Then, once I started The Holistic time Coach, I was also able to put my own spin on quarterly planning and teach it to others.
Long story short: Quarterly planning, more specifically the often impossible skill of prioritizing played a major role in my success.
However, now 4 years after implementing quarterly planning in my life and business, I don’t need it in the same ways.
Whether you’re currently where I used to be and really need to prioritize better or you got that down and you’re trying to figure out what’s next, here are some of my thoughts:
Why I don’t create quarter plans like I used to
I deeply know my capacity, limits, and boundaries now
As I mentioned above, quarterly planning helped me put less on my plate than I naturally would have.
I now know tangibly how much I can put on my plate before I disturb my physical, mental, emotional, and/or spiritual health (my definition of capacity).
I don’t limit myself to 3 priorities, and I don’t need 3 priorities every quarter. I tune into myself and create a quarter plan that honors me instead of following someone else’s guidelines.
I also now generally put wayyy less on my plate. I look at projects and goals with a more realistic lens. I know what to say no to and have the skills to do that. And that’s helped me be more effective and live more authentically.
I trust myself more to (actually) follow my plans
I used to make a quarter plan that was a super detailed broken down action plan every month and every week. I also had a tracker to score and grade myself. (BLEGH!)
What ended up happening? I would never actually follow to detailed plans I would spend days creating, and never actually tracked my actions. It was too much for someone with already too much on their plate.
Looking back, I realize I didn’t really trust myself. I thought I had to do #allthethings in order to achieve my goals, so I could finally be happy. And more so, deeper down I really didn’t believe I could follow through, and so I proved myself right every quarter.
Until something clicked (more self-trust was the answer), I continued to make strict, rigid, detailed plans set up to fail me.
I can now trust that when I say I’ll do something, I’ll actually do it. I keep my word to myself, and follow through with the things that are deeply meaningful to me.
This has made my quarter plans more relaxed, open, flow-ey, and spacious helping me feel that through the day-to-day.
I simplified my life
I no longer have a job to balance while building my business. I’m able to focus on just me and my business… because I focused, made the most of my time, and took action.
I simplified my life in so many ways. I no longer have all these habits and external goals I’m constantly striving towards. Deep down in my heart, I feel more complete and content than I ever have.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m still constantly growing and healing. But there is a difference between that and setting a ton of goals and believing I’ll be happier once I achieve all of them.
I know it sounds cheesy, but I genuinely go with the flow and am open to whatever opportunities the universe presents to me. And lucky for me, I have the space and time to listen! My quarterly planning reflect these beliefs.
Where to go from here?
If you’re reading this, you might be thinking to yourself, “now what?” The beautiful thing about that is you get to decide!
If you have a ton on your plate, and you don’t want to feel stressed and overwhelmed all the time anymore, quarterly planning can really help you.
I invite you to check out my holistic quarterly planning worksheet.
If figuring out what a life of knowing yourself better, trusting yourself more, and enjoying a slow, peaceful yet ambitious life is important to you, learn more about working with me one-on-one.
I’d love to hear more about what you’re going through and if I can support you in discovering a new way of moving through the world.
How quarterly planning helps you stay flexible and accomplish your goals easier
How many times have you created a plan only to have life come up and derail it all?
This is one of the most common things I hear from my clients, students, my partner, and basically, everyone who’s ever planned anything.
In this blog, I’m going to share with you why quarterly planning was the key to creating a plan that allowed me to stay focused and accomplish my goals, while also being flexible and responsive to life’s uncertainties.
Ready to set you and your business up for success this upcoming quarter? Check out my Holistic Quarterly Planner (available for puchase).
Quarterly planning accounts for life’s uncertainties
We know just how uncertain and unpredictable life is now more than ever.
When unpredictable events happen, things shift inside and outside of us. We change, external circumstances change and our goals change… causing our plans to change.
I don’t know about you but when I make plans and they change, I feel like I wasted so much of my time. I’m also reminded of how little control I don’t have over things making a part of me never want to plan again.
This is where quarterly planning is so effective.
Instead of spending tons of time at the beginning of a year planning the entire year out, quarterly planning just asks you to think about and plan 3-months at a time.
When you break your year down into four pieces, it’s easier to prioritize projects allowing you to stay focused and accomplish your goals easier. When you quarterly plan with me, you also get to pause, reassess how you’re spending your time, and realign your plans to who you are as a person.
The result?
Saving hours of planning time, doing time, and wasting time following an outdated plan (or no plan at all).
Say goodbye to under (or over) estimating your capacity
Oh, human tendencies.
Did you know that when people set annual goals (think new year's resolutions) we underestimate how much we can actually achieve?
As I mentioned above, none of us know who we’ll be or where we're going in 12 months from now. That’s why lots of new years resolution-ers set one main goal: they just want to grow their business by 25% this next year. Or start running. Or eat healthier.
I bet you also didn’t know (but really did know) is humans have a tendency to overestimate how much we can get done in a day or a week.
We put so much stuff on our daily & weekly to-do lists, rarely getting to half of it.
Yep, you guessed it. Quarterly planning takes into account under (and over) estimating tendencies by focusing on 3 months.
When we’re realistic with how much we can actually do, our plans, and the goals we set will make it so much easier to accomplish what we want to do.
So many priorities, not enough time? Don’t worry, quarterly planning to the rescue!
You have all the things that come along with growing & managing a business.
Maybe you still have a 9-to-5 or another gig to supplement your income.
You want to take really good care of yourself: regularly meditate, meal prep, work out, and learn how to knit, paint, or play the guitar.
You want to save money or travel the world.
You want to spend more time with your family and your friends.
The list of recognizing your potential doesn't end there.
Guess what? I think it’s such a beautiful thing to want to be your best self but, it can also lead to lots of overwhelm, frustration, and inaction.
Quarterly planning helps you figure out what to focus on NOW that will get you the best, most fulfilling results. When you plan your quarter with me, you’ll go inwards, identify what season you’re in, and how to do it all without feeling like you’re doing it all.
Click here to read more about how to prioritize effectively when life feels overwhelming.
I’ve been hosting quarterly planning workshops for almost three years.
If you want to have…
Clarity on what you really want to focus your precious time & energy on for the next 3 months.
A step-by-step plan created by your internal guidance that make it so much easier for you to follow your plan and accomplish your goals (Finally!!!)
Fresh intentional energy and motivation to help you really make the most of your time.