We all do it – we start thinking about the future, and we get caught up in the ‘enormity’ of it. For some, the idea of trying to achieve EVERYTHING can be inhibiting from achieving anything they have set out to. “If I only had more time.” We say this a lot, don’t we? About so many things in both our personal and professional lives. I was one of these people, constantly planning – from an annualized perspective – and never really getting to achieve any of the things I set out to by the time the clock struck midnight on another ‘new year.’
And then I found the 12-Week-Year, and it changed everything. The 12-Week-Year Methodology challenges professionals to break away from annualized thinking and instead treat each 12-week block as its own opportunity to set and achieve goals.
Having used this methodology in my own life, and throughout my corporate career for almost a decade, I was convinced! The impact of this new way of thinking, and planning, and actioning my world was so significant that I needed to take the time and made the investment in myself, to become one of the few certified trainers in the 12-Week-Year in North America, and the only one in Canada. Since then, I’ve found so many business owners and entrepreneurs who have the potential to be significantly more efficient in their daily and weekly planning to achieve four times more success annually. Why then, do we insist on remaining “stuck” in our status quo allowing a lack of structure, fear of trying something new, or an excuse of time to eat away at our goals?
Being a woman in business, trying to progress my corporate job while balancing career and parenthood often times left me feeling overwhelmed. The 12-Week-Year allowed me to show up where it mattered most in both my personal and professional life, still moving forward and achieving goals without feeling like I had to give up one or the other and alleviating the guilt that went along with ‘pushing toward the finish line.’ I deserved to take my time back, and so do you! I want you to consider the frustrations associated with making a trip somewhere new without a GPS. This analogy helps us to understand the importance of creating a clear “roadmap” for yourself and your team, with defined action items and priorities which will, inevitably, lead you to increased productivity and the ability to achieve more in 12 weeks than most do in 12 months!
There are many ways that the 12-Week-Year and re-strategized planning can help professionals advance their personal and business goals. I trust you will find these tips helpful in getting you to the finish line successfully.
Focused Planning: Focused planning requires you to sit down and plot out what you need to achieve and how you can get there, not just long-term goals but for each day. Make planning a part of your morning routine by breaking down your day into distinct quadrants, decide what you need to accomplish and prioritize accordingly. If you allow yourself to visualize your plan in action, then you are more likely to earn small successes, which will contribute to the attainment of your larger overall goals.
CEO Days: CEO Days should occur once weekly, a day dedicated exclusively to working ON your business, not IN your business. This practice will ensure you are in tune with both the immediate and long-term needs of your company, reflecting on previous successes and misses and using those lessons learned to craft your path forward. From this idea, I also designed my quarterly CEO Day Mastermind Sessions. A full day session for women professionals, executives and business owners to review their progress, assess their needs, identify roadblocks, and set a plan – all with the aid and support of myself and a network of amazing professional women. For more information on the CEO Day and to download a comprehensive worksheet, email success@keyelement.ca.
Leverage Others Unique Abilities: There is clearly defined importance in outsourcing tasks you can’t or don’t want to-do to freelancers and business partners, allowing you to focus your expertise on revenue-generating areas. By capitalizing on the freelance and remote working market, you are opening yourself to a network of trained professionals whose distinct skill sets allow them to contribute to the growth and development of your business without the same capital and overhead required in housing full-time staff. Outsourcing to other professionals also opens up opportunities to network and support others with the tasks YOU are proficient in that THEY don’t want to, or can’t, do on their own.
Ask for Help: As one of only a handful of certified trainers in the 12-Week-Year I have combined my passion for empowering others for success, and building high-performance teams, with the knowledge and expertise required in driving professionals and businesses to success. Your next level requires the next level of you, but you don’t need to get there alone and unsupported. My Insight Call is designed to learn about you, your business/career, and the roadblocks that are inhibiting you from moving forward at full-speed.
Whether you are motivated to learn more about the 12-Week-Year Methodology, are interested in building a focused planning routine, are ready to ‘find your tribe’ by joining one of my quarterly CEO Days, or just need some help aligning yourself with the right professionals for your projects/needs – I am here for you! I’ve personally worked to develop and implement the most effective programs and tools in my own business and in my clients’ businesses to help individuals and teams achieve more, faster!
Don’t let another year pass you by without achieving #AmbitiousResults; it’s never too late to make the change and become more efficient and productive than ever before.
