Understanding the Difference Between the Entrepreneur Types - Planner and a Dreamer. Which One Are You?
Have you heard the adage, "A Goal Without A Plan is Just a Dream"?
I've heard it many, many times. But, quite frankly, it sounded like a boring party that I didn't want an invite to.
Talk about a fun-sucking, energy-draining approach to business!
I'm a big-picture thinker and creating big lofty goals is my jam! Surely I could maintain my carefree, spontaneous spirit and still build a successful business, right?
I wish I was here to tell you that I was right and be able to share my secret formula for "winging it to greatness" but, that isn't the case.
By choosing to believe that "Planning was for Party Poopers" what I was really doing was:
🤦♀️ Protecting myself from the possibility of failing. No plan = No accountability.
🤦♀️ Pretending that any progress was good progress - even if my efforts were in no way tied to my goals.
🤦♀️ Remaining uncommitted to achieving my goals and creating the business and life that I desired.
Alas, apparently there's wisdom in those words above.
It took me a long time to build my planning muscles but, I'm better for it (as is my business). And, because planning isn't in my natural talents, I've employed a number of strategies and hacks to keep me on track including:
✨ Sitting down on a quarterly basis with my High Impact Progress Planner. I use it to reflect on the past quarter and evaluate what I need to start and stop doing or change in the upcoming quarter to stay on track to meet my bigger goals. (I've put a link down below to get your copy of my progress planner template).
✨ Using Asana to list out all my big goals (both annual and quarterly) and create "Good, Better, and Best" metrics for each one. This works with my competitive nature (even if I'm only competing with myself).
✨ Regularly track your progress against those metrics! I like to go in every two weeks and track how my efforts are translating into results. It's encouraging to see that what I did last week is inching me closer to my bigger goals.
✨ Setting up recurring tasks in my Asana projects wherever possible - knowing that once I've planned it out once it's working for me was a game-changer!
✨ Carving out space in my calendar specifically for planning. It can be the big picture kind of stuff or the nitty-gritty details. Planning is part of the entrepreneur's job!
✨ Like planning, consistency is also an area that I struggled with. By hosting a regular virtual co-working session with others, I've created a dedicated space to knock off weekly items that are part of my plan. There's something magical about the accountability built into these sessions!
Tell me, are you a natural planner or do you work as hard at it as I do? If you feel like you resist developing a plan to accomplish your goals, I encourage you to dig deeper into what you're actually avoiding - that insight will change your business!
