2016 is going to be an INCREDIBLE year… but ONLY if you choose to make it that way.
I’ve had years where I seem to always be playing “catch-up” and reacting to whatever happens each day.
Endless to-do lists, pushing back deadlines, and over-committing is good for NO ONE except for Gaia when I’m over-dosing on rhodiola.
But I’ve also had years of hyper-productivity, intense focus, and feeling truly fulfilled.
I’ll tell you from experience that the second option is a much better way to go.
The difference? Having a SIMPLE strategic plan, connecting with my WHY, and having built-in accountability to make sure I stick to my goals.
Before you even start to plan your 2016 marketing and content calendar, you need to know a few things:
- Know your WHY
- Your 3-4 main objectives for 2016
- Your Action Plan & Success Timeline
- How to Measure your Results
- Accountability Plan
STEP ONE: Know your WHY (don’t skip this one)
Don’t brush over this because you’ve heard it a million times.
You first have to be empowered to be able to empower others.
If you don’t connect with your why, then tasks become just tasks, phone calls become just phone calls, and emails become just emails, etc…
If you know your WHY, your tasks, phone calls, emails, and emails take on an entirely new meaning…and suddenly, you’re doing things with a PURPOSE instead of just “getting them done” to check off your list.
If you’re struggling connecting with your why, then watch this TED talk from Simon Sinek: www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action
As part of my morning ritual, I reconnect EVERY single day with my personal vision and my why.
It only takes a few minutes, but it sets my day up with perspective and intention.
Action Step: What is YOUR “why”? What is the true meaning and purpose behind your actions? Why is it so important to you?
If you don’t know your why, watch Simon’s video from above and then sit down for a few minutes and write your why down on a sheet of paper – no judgments…just write. Then, read your why every morning.
Seriously- if you don’t know your why, you’re NOT going to reach your full potential next year- just do it!
STEP TWO: Your 3-4 MAIN OBJECTIVES
In order for you to set up your 2016 calendar. . . you have to FIRST know what you want.
What are the 4 BIGGEST things you want to accomplish next year?
This could be anything from setting up your first auto-responder series to opening a new location to systemizing your business, to hiring a general manager, etc.
Don’t let fear get in your way of doing what you’re meant to do. You’re capable of AMAZING things in this life.
One of my favorite quotes is “If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves.” Thomas Edison.
Think big, push yourself, and truly figure out what you want to achieve in 2016 (and make sure it’s in line with your why!).
Here are a few ideas to get your wheels spinning:
- Become known for over-delivering to your clients and prospects
- Systemize your entire business so it has the potential to run without me
- Commit to daily or weekly personal growth for yourself and your staff
- Open a new location
- Impact “X” number of people in 2016
- Achieve “X” in monthly recurring revenue
If you want to take it a step further, read the book The 12-Week Year. It’s how I’m personally organizing my entire 2016.
Action Step: Write down your 3-4 major objectives that you want to accomplish in 2016. Don’t worry about the action plan or how you’re going to get there just yet… just write them down.
***In a couple of days, I’ll be sharing a sample 2016 calendar. But remember- even though they will be great goals, they won’t be YOUR goals. You have to know what you want to achieve so you don’t end up living someone else’s dream.
STEP THREE: Creating your Action Plan & Success Timeline
Einstein said: “If I had an hour to solve a problem I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions.”
Taking the time to strategize and create your action plan is something reactive entrepreneurs don’t do.
Figure out exactly “what needs to be done when,” will give you a framework to be able to accomplish your goals.
For Example: If you want to open a new location, what do you need to do to make sure this gets accomplished, and by when?
- Performing Market and demographic research
- Systemizing your processes
- Streamlining your marketing and sales process
- Securing a lease
- Hiring and training the right team
- Equipping your new studio
- And the list goes on and on…
Just like you would with a personal training client to make sure they stay on track with their goals, you need to break down each of YOUR objectives into smaller, more manageable parts as well.
Here’s how to create your Action Plan & Timeline for Success:
- For each objective, do a brain dump and create your own checklist of everything that needs to be accomplished to make it happen.
- Organize your brain dump into smaller, more manageable mini-goals.
- Figure out how long it will realistically take you to accomplish each mini-goal (doesn’t have to be perfect).
- Set deadlines and dates for the completion of each mini-goal. Make sure to give yourself a little buffer time.
- Productivity Tip: Take it a step further and block out the actual time to perform each task in your schedule!
Action Step: Under each of your main objectives, create an Action Plan and “Timeline of Success” using the checklist above as a guide.
You’ll be shocked at what you can accomplish if you only block off time for your high-leverage tasks and forget about all the unnecessary fluff!
STEP FOUR: Measuring Your Success
Take a look at your 4 main objectives that you created from Step 2. How will you measure these to know if you’re on track to reach your goal?
And…how often will you review your progress?
I like to do short, daily reviews at the end of each day, 60-minute weekly reviews on Sundays, monthly reviews at the end of each month, and quarterly reviews.
If you want to download a copy of my personal weekly review, click here <—
Remember- what you can measure you can manage.
Action Step: For each of your 4 main objectives, create a way to measure your success. Complete this for each mini-goal as well.
STEP FIVE: Creating your Accountability Plan
Accountability is a MASSIVE part of success.
We all know how important it is for our clients, and it’s equally as important for us in our businesses.
That’s why weekly check-in / MIA calls with your clients are so important.
If we noticed a client hasn’t been to class in the last 7 days, they’d get a personal phone call from our accountability coach to get them back on track and check in on them.
We all know that one missed class leads to a week off, which leads to a downward spiral and then a cancellation of membership. At that point, we’ve lost our ability to help that person.
It’s ALWAYS better to have accountability measures in place to make sure we’re staying the course.
It’s a lot easier to prevent a boulder from rolling down a mountain at the top, compared to rolling it back up again after it has fallen to the bottom.
Build in accountability to your success plan.
Share your goals and plans with someone you TRUST who will hold you accountable – even when it gets uncomfortable.
You need someone who will call you out on your bull**** and someone who will be honest with you.
Action Step: Find your Accountability Partner.
Whether it’s a business coach, mastermind group, staff member, friend or family member- make sure this person won’t let you slide off track – even when the going gets tough.
Share your WHY and all of steps 2 through 4 with them. Offer to do the same for them with their goals! Plan when you’ll be checking in with this person to review your progress. (I’d recommend at least weekly or monthly)
Summing it all up…
I PROMISE YOU…if you take these exercises seriously, you will be UNSTOPPABLE in 2016.
If you take the next couple of days to complete these exercises, plugging in your marketing and content calendar (which will be released in Part Two of this series) will be the easy part 🙂
Have an INCREDIBLE day!
Alicia
