Seasonal & Quarterly Planning
Get into the swing of things, regardless of the time of year!
As I write this blog, here in the United States, we’re deep in the throes of autumn and winter is well on its way. Fall may translate to sipping your favorite Pumpkin Spice coffee drink of choice at Starbucks, cozy sweaters, festivals and home days, leaves crunching under your feet, and often with all the fall flurry comes lots of change.
The days feel shorter as the window of daylight shrinks, kids go back to school or off to college for the first time, and schedules shift and change. Our physical and emotional energy also shifts - we may feel more energy, less energy, more focus, more scattered, more reflective and inward, or inclined to squeeze in all the social activity we can before it gets chilly outside.
For many, fall comes with a desire to get back into the swing of things, set a more predictable routine and schedule, and prepare for reflection, planning, and setting goals.
Each season comes with its own set of seasonal gifts, shifts, and invitations.
Winter offers up a time for deep reflection, restoration, relaxation, coziness, time at home and with those who matter most.
Spring brings forth a fresh energy, renewed inspiration, and can breathe fresh life into your work and personal life.
Summer invites a time for adventures, fun, exploration, and feeling more social.
And fall is like a time to start resourcing, gathering, taking inventory, letting go, and preparing to reflect and go within.
We can feel resistance around the changes of season when we try to go against the natural ebbs and flows of nature and society, or when we attempt to maintain the same pace, routine, and plan all year round.
Instead of going against the flow, we can plan seasonally and quarterly by taking these transitions into account and aligning them with our goal setting, connection-building, business growth periods, and more!
Effective Seasonal & Quarterly Planning is a Key Driver of Success
In addition to setting long-term goals and a big vision for your business and company, harnessing a planning cycle that’s shorter-term (seasonal or quarterly) can help you stay more agile and adaptable. A seasonal plan can help you know where resources need to be allocated and when and to be proactively prepared for adjustments when needed. It allows for faster pivots and shifts when needed. It can also be useful for staying motivated when goal-setting and goal-tracking, as you’re setting smaller goals and achieving them faster on your way to the larger goals.
Our priorities naturally shift and evolve throughout the year as opportunities presented to us often follow seasonal patterns. At times, networking and being out there meeting people will be a top focus and abundant in possibilities. And at other times, revenue may slow down, there may be less opportunity to connect with others, and it may lend itself to more of a focus on back office tasks, cleanup, and marketing reviews.
How to Start Creating a Seasonal & Quarterly Plan that Works for You!
I recommend starting this ahead of the time a seasonal shift is occurring or the start of a new quarter so you can implement it right away. By focusing on three months at a time (approximately twelve weeks), you are able to stay clear on what your current objectives and goals are and reduce your risk of distraction.
You get clear on your “yes” and your “no” because you can filter more easily on whether or not it aligns with your top priorities for the time being. And if it’s something you want to re-review down the road, you can always jot it down and come back to it in the future when you sit down to plan again.
An example of how this might work: Decide in early September that you will start planning October, November, and December. Put a date on your calendar mid-September and create your plan. Begin implementing on October 1. This same format can be tailored to a quarterly planning session as well.
Your plan can include:
A clear purpose or goal: What do you most want to accomplish during this season/quarter? This could be a monetary goal, personal goal, professional goal, educational goal, etc.
Back your goals and purpose by solidifying your “why”: Attaching a “why” will help you to stay grounded in your goal and unwavering as you move forward in it. Why does this matter to you so much and why is now the time?
How will you define success? Pre-establish the metrics by which you’ll determine whether or not you met your goal. These might include profit or revenue increases, customer satisfaction rates, new hires, more favorable churn rate, an increase in subscribers, etc.
What specific actions will you focus on and take to achieve your goals? This might be committing to a project, setting a budget, establishing a promotional focus, increasing networking and engagement with others, or determining a routined schedule, etc.
Seasonal and quarterly planning can be beneficial in helping us achieve both professional and personal success. It can help you move more effortlessly through the natural transitions the changes of year provide and stay motivated and focused on specific tasks and that lead to a big impact.
Need help determining what your seasonal & quarterly plan should look like? I can help! I specialize in seeing the big picture you have for your professional success and breaking it down into tangible action steps that will help you get where you want to go.
