To Plan or Not to Plan: That is the Question
January 7, 2010
I once had a mompreneur of 3 little ones ask, “What’s the use of planning when my plan never works?” I think we’ve all been there. When you are a working mom, especially one that works from home, it seems that your day is often at the mercy of your needy toddler. Kids are anything but predictable and aren’t always going to take that nap when they are supposed to or play quietly while you finish that project you penciled in from 1 to 2 pm. So if your well thought out day doesn’t always unravel the way you’d imagined it, should you trash your planner? I answer with a resounding NO!
In the book Alice in Wonderland there is a profound exchange between two of the story’s characters, Alice, the little girl who’s found herself lost in the forest and the Cheshire Cat -a strange feline who intermittently appears during Alice’s jaunt in Wonderland. Their brief conversation goes as follows:
“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to walk from here?” asks Alice.
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” responds the cat.
“I don’t much care where,” says Alice.
“Then it doesn’t much matter which way you walk,” replies the cat.
What can we glean from that? Well, without a clear idea of where you want to go, there’s little to no chance that you’ll end up in a place you’d ultimately like to be. Success and balance aren’t a matter of chance. They are the result of living with a clear plan and acting on that plan. Now again, having a plan doesn’t always translate into a day without interruptions or emergencies – throwing off your carefully thought out schedule. In fact, I guarantee it won’t! But if you will at least be committed to making a plan, you will then have a map to guide you through the day – helping you use your time in a meaningful, effective way. There is so much vying for our attention, much of it trivial and unimportant. Unless we make a conscious effort to determine how we’re going to spend those precious hours, we’ll find our time whittled away without anything to show for it.
A word of advice when it comes to planning: Plan around your priorities (not the other way around) and do your best to stick to your plan. But when something more important comes up, something that is of higher priority, be flexible and address the greater need. Frustration often sets in when we fail to recognize the place of priorities and flexibility within our schedule.
To plan or not to plan? Remember, success requires a map and your map is your weekly/daily plan. Be committed to it and watch yourself rise to great heights!
Tara McCausland is a speaker, aspiring author, and the owner of her own success/life coaching business - Joy Quest Coaching. She’s also the happy mommy of one active toddler and has been married to her high school sweetheart for 4 years.
As a coach, Tara specializes in helping mompreneurs build their businesses quickly, find more customers, and make more money – all the while helping them achieve greater balance and joy in their lives. She offers 1-on-1 coaching as well as group coaching via telephone and email.
Best way to contact Tara is by email at tara@myjoyquest.com or by phone at (801)979-6244.
Identify What You “Avoid” in Business and Get Over It Now for 2009
January 5, 2009
The other day a business client said to me, “Why don’t I just do this stuff? I know how to do it. I know it needs to be done, but I don’t do it.”
Fairy Godmother Casey Dawes of Wise Woman Shining and author of this article asks..
What’s it?
It is the big rocks in your business that we avoid. It’s working in our business and not on it. It’s lack of planning, lack of reviewing, lack of analysis. Why don’t we do it?
For many of us, it’s fear. What if I stop long enough to plan? Won’t my business get away from me? Won’t my clients/customers leave because they see I’m not paying attention? If I don’t get to that networking meeting, people will forget me and then I won’t get a new client. We’re like the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland, always rushing around saying we are late.
From the time I took my first job at an A & P supermarket in New Jersey, I’ve been told to “look busy” even if there was nothing to do. In the corporate world, sitting around with your feet on the desk thinking just wasn’t done (except by the big boys), particularly for a woman. And I carry that attitude into my own business most of the time. If I’m not sitting at the computer typing, then I’m not really working, am I?
Can you relate to this? Are you scurrying around and panicking when there’s nothing “TO Do,” even though your to do list is long.
If this is a slow season for you, seize the opportunity! If it’s a crazy season for you, plan for a few weeks once the holiday rush is over. What should you do?
Business Plan: If you don’t have a business plan, make one. Check your actual income and expenses against an old one and update it.
Marketing Plan and Budget: Plan out what you will spend your marketing plan and budget on in the coming year. Also determine how you will learn about the effectiveness of your marketing.
Contact Management: Figure out how to manage the contacts you do make at networking meetings, and how to follow up with clients and customers you do have in order to retain them.
Finances: Get with a financial consultant and learn the reports you need to review on a regular basis to see how your business is doing.
Read: Read a business book or two. Take a class. Learn something new, even if its a new way to make meat loaf!
Tell us, what do you “avoid”and how do you intend to get into action mode?
Casey Dawes of Wise Woman Shining supports women business owners to claim their power, increase their prosperity and have the lifestyle they want. She’s had multiple careers from being a stage-hand at an Actor’s Equity theatre in New England to running an international multi-million dollar software users group. Currently she’s a business consultant/coach working out of her home in Aptos, California.
Don’t Create New Year’s Resolutions, Create Vision Boards
January 3, 2009
Michelle McCullough, Startup Princess Business Development Manager and Owner of Doodads Promotional writes: I don’t believe in New Years Resolutions, but, before you judge (or think that I’m judging you) hear me out. In the past, I have started each year with a renewed sense of accomplishment and positive thinking. I follow up this cheery thought with ambitious goals. Lose 20 pounds, make X amount of money, send birthday cards to family on time…the list goes on. A couple months later I lose my positive attitude and stop focusing on my resolutions and then I fall into a slippery slope that ends in a mild depression. Then it takes me a couple of months to get out of my why-can’t-I-keep-a-resolution funk and get on with my life. Last year, at the beginning of 2008 I didn’t make a single resolution or a single New Years goal, I created a vision board and it was the best year of my life. Read more
First Time Projects Usually Take Longer than You Ever Imagine!
December 1, 2007
It definitely was NOT a 10 hr. work week. I tried, I did, I did. But, in the end, it was not to be (part of it to blame is the perfectionist part in me.)
I remembered that when you try new things you must give yourself much more time to figure them out…in my case, it was creating our fabulous Startup Princess Holiday Gift Guide (if you want one, email us). It seemed relatively simple, but there was a lot of coordinating and details to manage (many back and forth emails, having a header designed, and then formatting, etc. making a PDF with active links). All in all, I feel it was a very worthwhile project (one we are already planning to repeat), I just needed a few more weeks than I had (or some more help) The learning curve is always surprising! On the upside, I did save some very valuable time having our template professionally designed and by calling a friend who could mentor me in Constant Contact a bit and also another friend who helped me to get the PDF created with the active links. Always good to have great Fairy Godmothers and Wizards in your life!
Today’s Magic Wand: You all know this already, but this is a mental note for myself: give new projects ample time to complete and reasonable deadlines, remembering that you have a family and a life outside of your business with lots of demands.
Please share with us: I’m curious about your experience doing new projects for the first time, what tips do you have to share that can help us be more effective? How to you prepare and stay patient with the learning curve?
