Weekly-ish notes on navigating big change

yearly planning

Get Realistic (while dreaming big)

It is possible to dream big and still set realistic goals for yourself. Allow yourself the time to make a big, huge dream - and then take the all-important step of boiling it down into what's most important and how you're going to accomplish that important thing next. More at TaraSwiger.com.

I confessed a few weeks ago that I hadn't really started planning yet, because the start of the year was crazy-busy for me.  Well, I finally got around to it! I looked at all I wanted to do this year (I use Leonie's workbooks to spark a LOT of ideas for this!) and I started to plan out the next year – what I'm going to implement behind-the-scenes (yay systems!) and what I'm going to launch and offer (yay classes!).  After listing it all, I looked at the calendar (this is a key step! don't forget this): When would I do it all?

It's at this point that I had a realization. I mentioned this epiphany on Periscope Monday and got a lot of “OMG! Me too!“, so I bet it applies to you, too.

I can realistically do about half of what I “planned” to, if I want to do it well and enjoy my life.

Due to the unrelenting limits of time and space… I just don't have time to do everything I want to do, right now.

Now, let's be clear, I CAN DO IT ALL… just not all at once. (You too, by the way.)

I CAN DO IT ALL… just not all at once. And that's OK!

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So I added some space in. I stripped my list down to what I really want to do first, and added IN a bunch more writing time (which is both what I want to be doing with my time, and the thing that helps the most people, most effectively.)

I wanted to share this revelation and subsequent adjustments with you for two reasons:

  1. I bet your plan for the year (if you haven't made one yet, that's ok, there's still time!) could use a second look. Have you tried to shove too many things in too small of a time period? How could you make your plan more doable? (The more doable your plan is, the more likely you are to DO it, and accomplishing a plan builds confidence and momentum which makes the NEXT plan even easier!)Maybe you need to break the big goal down into the next three months. Maybe you need to remove the not-as-important things and just focus on what lights you up AND is most directly related to the Mission of your business. Maybe you need to just get to work.
  1. I wanted to be honest with you – THIS is what it looks like to build a business you actually love. It involves planning and work and always paying attention to how you're spending your time. Are you planning to do things you're THRILLED about? Are you spending time on the most VALUABLE projects? Are you in alignment with your Mission? It's OK if you fall out of alignment sometimes, as long as you readjust when you notice.

Your turn!

What are you planning for the new year? Have you taken time to  map out each step and put it on your calendar? Do you need to revise your plan to make it more do-able?

If so, that's OK! Don't let that hold you back from doing the work and moving forward!

 

 

Mission, Strategy, Tactics

What do you want from this year? How are you going to get it? Let's get clear by using the framework Mission, then strategy, then tactics. More at TaraSwiger.com/podcast89/

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What do you want from this year? How are you going to get it? Let's get clear by  using the framework Mission, then strategy, then tactics. 

Back in September I wrote a post about this, about the necessity of stepping back and looking at the big picture. That post prompted so much discussion and questions and has come up again and again in conversation, so I wanted to dive even deeper into it now, as we're all thinking about what we want from the new year. I want to fully explain this framework, so you can use it not only as you plan your year, but also as you work on ANY project or have to make any decision in your business.

If you've been feeling frustrated in your business, about its growth, or how you're spending your time – this might be the problem. If you feel like you scramble back and forth between things, without seeing traction in any of them, this might be the problem.

The solution is simple: You're going about it in the wrong order. In this episode you'll learn the right order to plan your actions, and be more effective. 

 

Resources

How to listen

Find all the podcast episodes here.

7 principles to have your best year ever

If you want to go beyond overwhelm, and actually feel GREAT in your New Year, and actually create a business you’ll love, let's talk about the 7 principles of a great business, that you'll love. Apply these 7 principles to your business and you'll have an amazing 2016. More on TaraSwiger.com

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How are you doing? How do you feel about the last year in your business?
Do you feel energized and enthusiastic? Do you feel clear-eyed and action-oriented?
Or are you frustrated? Stuck? Overwhelmed by all the things you *should* be doing in your business?

 

If you're not feeling awesome about where your business is, I want to help.We talked about the three kinds of Overwhelm in Episode 85, and I shared some tips for dealing with the different kinds of overwhelm.

But if you want to go beyond overwhelm, and actually feel GREAT in your New Year, and actually create a business you’ll love, let's talk about the 7 principles of a great business, that you'll love. Apply these 7 principles to your business and you'll have an amazing 2016.

Resources:

How to listen

Find all the podcast episodes here.