Planning is a Powerhouse Investment in Your Time (& Sanity)

In this article series, we’re giving you all our best advice to make your plans a success. Because we know everybody is unique in their approach to goals & planning, we’ve asked each of our team members to share what works (& what doesn’t) for them. Below our Digital Marketing Technician Melanie V. shares her best advice.

Here’s a recap of what our team members have to say:

This article will give you insight on:

Planning, a powerhouse investment in your time
What my planning style is like
How to plan? My best advice
Favorite tools to make life easier
Download your FREE 90 Day Planning Guide

Why bother planning, if everything is going to change anyway?

It’s a fair question.

Planning – a Powerhouse Investment in Your Time

Yet, if you’re willing to invest just 10 or so minutes into planning your day, you could save at least 2 hours of wasted time and effort throughout the day, according to Brian Tracy in “Eat That Frog.”

Creating a plan has helped me be able to see what’s ahead for the week, knowing how far in advance I need to reach out to clients for new content, if any, and staying on budget for clients as well.

Working on project management tasks actually helps me clear up exactly what each client has lined up for the month and how we can stay on top of it all (even when little things do pop up throughout the month).

Through planning, I’ve learned that I must remain flexible!

What My Planning Style is Like

My planning style is a little on the firm side. Like most people with OCD, I love rules, due dates, and set expectations. Oh, and details. I thrive on details! Overdue tasks REALLY bother me, so I make sure to try and tackle my work by (or before!) the due date.

If I’m able to get a little ahead of schedule, it’s a huge win for me. Taking off some of that pressure opens me up to taking on more tasks or having a little free time, which is great – especially during the summer.

When it comes to planning – though I could do a better job of it – having our weekly meetings, knowing what is on everyone else’s plates, and going through the fine detail of some items I may have missed is incredibly helpful. I also rely heavily on Teamwork. Seeing the whole scope of each client’s to-do lists helps put things in perspective. It also helps to know how busy my teammates are so if I do have a light week, I’m able to offer help.

My Best Planning Advice Is…

Planning is important because it reduces uncertainty and anxiety. Having a clear vision of what’s ahead allows me to feel more confident in the week/month ahead.

My best planning advice is – don’t look too far ahead! I used to do that when I had more time on my hands, and I got ahead of myself many times, missing the small goals in between. Instead, I find it’s best to look at the scope of work one week at a time. I like to use Fridays to review what’s coming up early the next week so I know what to expect in advance.

Favorite Tools I Use to Help Me Plan

Some tools that help me plan are:

Calendaring (I have a monthly desk calendar that I write on A LOT)
Sticky notes
Project management tasks
Writing down the most pressing tasks and crossing them out when they’re done. It gives me a feeling of relief when I’ve accomplished something that was important, overdue, or stressful.

Oh! And there’s our Marketecs planning guide. I love it because, like I said above, you don’t want to look too far ahead!

Our 90 Day Planning Guide makes it so much easier to actually achieve realistic goals. It’s the magic number because then you don’t get too far ahead of yourself – or lose steam when it seems like your goal is way off in the future.

You can plan your goals like a pro with our free 90 Day Planning Guide, FREE!

Start working towards attainable goals right now. Download your complimentary Guide here.

And remember, “Every minute you spend in planning saves 10 minutes in execution; this gives you a 1,000 percent Return on Energy!” -Brian Tracy