By Jessica Bledsoe
Today, we’re exploring why creating a quarterly plan is important. Here are three reasons why you should have a quarterly plan:
- Focus & Prioritize: Planning forces you to identify your most important goals and eliminate distractions.
- Accountability & Commitment: Putting goals on paper makes you more accountable and committed to achieving them.
- Motivation & Momentum: Seeing progress on a well-defined plan fuels motivation and keeps you moving forward.
Ready to transform your next quarter? Let’s dive into the steps.
Step 1: Reflect on Q3 – A Look Back
Before diving into the future, take a moment to acknowledge the past quarter. Celebrate your wins! List your accomplishments, big and small. What went well? Why?
Also take time to analyze areas for improvement. What took more time than you anticipated? Is there anything you wish you would have planned better for or approached differently?
Step 2: Brain Dump – Everything on the Table
Now, let’s get everything out of your head! What’s coming up in the next 90 days? Dump it all on a list: vacations, work travel, deadlines, self-care days – everything!
The goal is to get everything out of our brains so we can sort through it, make sense of it, and make a plan for it. Nothing is too trivial to be written down if you think it’s a goal, task, or project that you want to tackle in the next 90 days.
Step 3: Set SMART Goals – Make it Measurable!
Here comes the roadmap! We’ll use the SMART framework to set powerful goals:
- Specific: Be clear and concise. What exactly do you want to achieve?
- Measurable: How will you know you’ve been successful? Define clear metrics.
- Attainable: Set ambitious yet achievable goals that push you to grow.
- Relevant: Align your goals with your overall vision and priorities.
- Time-Bound: Set a deadline for achieving each goal.
Step 4: Prioritize and Plan – Break it Down
Now, let’s prioritize! Choose your most important goal and break it down into actionable steps. Estimate the time needed for each step. This creates a clear path to achieving your goal.
After you’ve done this for each goal, evaluate if you actually have the time to achieve everything. If not, is there anything that you can delegate, tasks you can automate, or items you can simply eliminate?
Step 5: Map It Out – Calendar Power!
Now that you’ve set your goals and priorities, it’s time to make time.
Add all of your commitments, meetings, appointments, deadlines, etc. to your calendar first, then block out time to work on your goals. These implementation intentions will help you stay on track and ensure you have dedicated time throughout the quarter to work on your goals — this way, you won’t be left scrambling and can feel confident that nothing is falling through the cracks.
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