Week 29 Focus – LinkedIn
Focus Question: What does your LinkedIn profile portray?

Story
LinkedIn is an important social media vehicle especially for those who are looking at working in organizations and corporations. Many HR professionals or leaders may go to LinkedIn to check out the resources.
 
What are the things you want to include on LinkedIn? You might consider:

• Posting articles or a new resource through LinkedIn Pulse
• Sharing a photo of you at work with clients (with permission of course!)
• Share an update regarding a recent award or other
• Sharing a press release
• Post in a group and keep the conversation going

​Activity
Review and update your Linked In profile. What does it showcase? What needs updating?

• Who are you connected to?
• What are the things you want to post on LinkedIn?
• How much time do you want to dedicate to it?
• What traffic do you get around what you have listed? Note these in your tracker.

Using the following chart make a list of engagement points:

Connection to the Workbook and Planner
Use any of the content scheduling tools to plan for and track your LinkedIn focus.
 
Download a one-page copy of this week's 52 Weeks of Plan, Do and Track here.

Best wishes, 
Jennifer

Read and download the initial weeks of the 52 weeks of Plan, Do and Track

​Jennifer Britton - Potentials Realized
Author of PlanDoTrack (2019),  Coaching Business Builder (2018), Effective Virtual Conversations (2017) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013). Pick up a copy of any of her books at Amazon
Book Jennifer for a coaching session to explore productivity, teamwork and business issues.
Contact her by phone at (416)996-8326
Follow the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series on Instagram

This week’s Weekly Planning Hack focuses on the Power of a Post It. From being an important visual reminder, to helping teams focus on what’s important, the power of a post-it can become a colorful way to prioritize and focus.
Here are a couple of ways you might consider using post its to help you with your productivity:

1. Grabbing a set of post-its at the start of the quarter and listing one key activity per post it. Using a whiteboard, then schedule these into each month, or each week of the quarter. Because they are post its, they are easy to move around.
2. Bring post its into your next staff meeting. As you get started have everyone write out the one thing they want out of the meeting on one post it. One at a time have them share their idea/need and have them post this on the wall or whiteboard of your meeting room. If you are working virtually, have each person write up their need/focus on a blank slide using annotation. This approach allows for more time for reflection before speaking, and also ensuring that everyone’s voice is heard and represented.

 
Here’s what I wrote in a 2008 blog posts on post its called A Facilitator’s Ally: Post Its and Index Cards:


I love post it notes and index cards! Many of you will know that it made my top 10 list of most useful tips and tools for 2007. Today's post, builds on a much older post of mine from last year, about how post it notes and index cards can be a really valuable tool in your toolbox.

Here are some ideas on how you can use post-its and/or index cards:

1. For program development. Using a new post it or index card, brain storm all the ideas you have about upcoming programs. Lay them out on a table or floor to start sorting/grouping.

2. To get quick feedback from all participants during a program. As an evaluation tool, have participants write out their responses to your evaluation questions (1 question/answer per card), and have them post them on the wall.

3. For business planning or strategic planning sessions. The photo above is from a recent team planning session I facilitated late last year. There is nothing like getting people up and moving to boost engagement, excitement and ownership of their work!

4. As a quick poll of the group regarding what questions are popping for the group.

5. To ensure that all voices of the group are being heard. It is quite common for groups to be dominated by certain members. As a facilitator it's important to ensure that all voices are heard. Having participants write out their questions or responses, and then post them, or share them, can provide participants who introverts are, shyer or those who require more time to process questions, the opportunity to participate and "be heard".

6. As a "vote" regarding where to go. Have participants show their support for a discussion item by putting up a post it note. (Different colours can represent different categories.)

7. As a brainstorming tool. You can bring post-its/index cards into exercises where participants want to/need to brainstorm. For example,

• small business owners working on their business vision
• professionals who are in career transition
• stay at home moms who are returning to the workforce
• teams working on their quarterly/annual planning
• couples who are creating their budget or a plan for their year

The possibilities are endless. How would you like to bring post-it notes or index cards into your next program?
Here’s a link to that original post.
 
Enjoy your use of post its!
​Jennifer

Week 28 Focus – Creating Your Visual Story - Instagram
Focus Question: What picture do you want to paint about your work and focus?

Description
Whether you are creating your own personal brand, or building that of your business, creating a visual story of your journey and offerings adds another important layer in communicating who you are. Instagram is currently the fastest growing social network, estimated with more than 1 Billion users. 


Story
There is no one right way to use Instagram and an increasing number of professionals and businesses are setting up accounts. Like any social media platform, you may want to develop a strategy and/or series of posts. There are many different ways to use Instagram, including creating a series of posts to:

• Illustrate what you do
• Demonstrate your work and focus
• Share testimonials about your work
• Bring your work to life
• Share quotes about topics you work around
• Build community with others who are interested in, and/or active in the areas
• Host a 30-day challenge where every day people are posting a different picture based on the prompts you provide
• Follow a 30-day challenge where you post something around the daily prompts set

 
During 2019 I am hosting a monthly series called the 1 Biz Step a Day. You can check them out here.

Activity
Research Instagram. Note the hashtags which are being used in your area of focus.

• What is your strategy for Instagram?
• How can this be different than other platforms?
• What are the hashtags you want to include? IG is all about hashtags…
• How much time are you spending on it?
• What results and business has translated to it?
• What can you do to post regularly on this?

Find 10 other companies or profiles of people who are interested in the same things on Instagram. Connect with them. Follow and like their posts.

Connection to the Workbook and Planner
Use any of the content scheduling tools to plan for and track your Instagram focus.

Download a one-page copy of this week's 52 Weeks of Plan, Do and Track here.

Best wishes, 
Jennifer

Read and download the initial weeks of the 52 weeks of Plan, Do and Track

​Jennifer Britton - Potentials Realized
Author of PlanDoTrack (2019),  Coaching Business Builder (2018), Effective Virtual Conversations (2017) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013). Pick up a copy of any of her books at Amazon
Book Jennifer for a coaching session to explore productivity, teamwork and business issues.
Contact her by phone at (416)996-8326
Follow the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series on Instagram

​Many professionals today operate in an environment of distraction and rapidly changing sands. While this may be our context, having concrete action steps to keep focusing on can mean the difference between satisfaction in getting the important things done, and feeling like we have “whiplash” when buffeted by ongoing change.

One of the sections you’ll see in some of the 28 different planning tools included in the PlanDoTrack and Coaching Business Builder are an invite to share your Top 3 to 5 goals. In offering different learning options and presentations I will also ask “what are your three action steps?”.
​
What are the action steps you want to take this week? What are you going to do to keep that visible to yourself? (Note last week’s different suggestions in Weekly Planning Hack 21 on Making It Visual.)
​
What are the three action steps you want to take this week?

Best wishes,
​Jennifer

​Jennifer Britton - Potentials Realized
Check out the Weekly Planning Hack Facebook Live each Wednesday or Thursday here. Be sure to like our page to be updated each week!
Author of PlanDoTrack (2019), Effective Virtual Conversations (2017) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)

This week’s Weekly Planning Hack is all about “Making things Visual”.
How often do you find you:

• Lose items
• Forget things
• Let non-important tasks usurp the more important tasks?

One of the reasons why I was passionate about creating an analog workbook and planner for Coaches (Coaching Business Builder) as well as Virtual and Remote Professionals (PlanDoTrack), was to create a place where what’s in our minds, could find a home on paper.

Paper planners are great for some, but even then, things can get lost.
What’s another layer to make those important things stand out? Have you considered:

• Using a post-it to highlight the things that are REALLY important?
• Using a chalk pencil to leave yourself a note on the mirror or the fridge?
• Linking a photo you love to your vision of your business, and placing it as a screen saver?

Where the visual cues that will keep what’s important to you visible and in front of you?

Best,
​Jennifer

Week 26 Focus – Mid-point Check In
Focus Question: What have you achieved so far this year? 

Description
Wow! Here we are in week 26, mid-point of the 52 weeks, and of the year.
This week you are encouraged to block off time to take stock of your achievements. First, review your annual plan. You may want to include some information around these questions:

• What have you achieved so far?
• What new items do you want to add?
• What can you check off your list?
• What have been key lessons since the start of the year (or the 52 weeks)?
• What’s different about you/your business?
• What’s really important for you to focus on in this last half of the year?
• By the end of the 52 weeks, I want to be sure I….

Research/Story
Creating intentional pause points is an important part of any coaching and learning process. Being able to stop and reflect is also critical for business success.
 
While we can keep on doing, are we doing the right things which have impact? What is working and what is not?
 
This is the premise of the Virtual Retreats I host throughout the year in the PlanDoTrack series, as well as the month end reflection and monthly planning hacks.

Download a one-page copy of this week's 52 Weeks of Plan, Do and Track here.

Best wishes, 
Jennifer

Read and download the initial weeks of the 52 weeks of Plan, Do and Track.

​Jennifer Britton - Potentials Realized
Author of PlanDoTrack (2019),  Coaching Business Builder (2018), Effective Virtual Conversations (2017) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013). Pick up a copy of any of her books at Amazon
Book Jennifer for a coaching session to explore productivity, teamwork and business issues.
Contact her by phone at (416)996-8326
Follow the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series on Instagram

​As we move from one season to another, we have the opportunity to undertake a “clean sweep”. Having lived and worked in the tropics for the first 15 years of my career, and now having been back in Canada for 15 years where the seasons are so distinct, I have come to (re) appreciate, how significant seasonal change provides an impetus for change and review. Have you done a clean sweep of your surroundings lately? Is it time to clean up your files? Your desk? Your contacts?

There is a lot written on clearing and creating order – from the work and writing of Marie Kondo to Gretchen Rubin’s new book – Outer Order, Inner Calm.

Last fall, I offered up a weekly planning tool (separate from the Coaching Business Builder and PlanDoTrack) called the Clean Sweep. Structured as a five-day planning tool, it also offers some prompts and reminders for business owners or virtual workers to take action on some of the more overlooked aspects of our work. For example, outreach and building of relationships. Taking these small steps continue to “add up”. Download a copy of the Weekly  Sweep  for your business document here.

Where could you benefit from a "clean sweep"?

Best wishes,
​Jennifer 

One of the areas many solopreneurs, individual contributors, leaders and teams find themselves involved with is project management. If this is an area of interest for you, be sure to check out the March 2019 call on Project Management foundations.

One of the tools I quickly touched on was the Traffic Light. As a former project manager, this was an essential tool for keeping many of the projects I managed rolling. The spotlight is often a visual signal for project status reports, or project status meetings, giving us the thumbs up as to how things are going.
​
Here’s what I’ve written about the Stoplight as it relates to time management in Teams365 #553.

Project status meetings are critical in project management, providing an opportunity to check in on where the project and all its components are at, as well as seeing what needs attention. The red light, yellow light and green light status updates gives us a snapshot of what's not online, what needs attention and what's going well.

Project Status meetings are also an opportunity to invest in some team development including a focus on:

​1. What roles are we playing? 

2. What are the different perspectives around the project from each one of our locations? What's similar with these perspectives? What's different?

3. Who needs different type of support than they are getting?

4. Who else, or what else, do we need on the team in order to be successful?

5. What do we need to celebrate in terms of our achievements so far?

What other questions would you want to include at your next project status meeting?
​
Whether it’s tweaking your project status meetings to make them more of a regular occurrence, or adopting the spotlight approach, what are the things you want to focus on?

Enjoy the conversations!
​Jennifer

​Jennifer Britton - Potentials Realized
Check out the Weekly Planning Hack Facebook Live each Wednesday or Thursday here. Be sure to like our page to be updated each week!
Author of PlanDoTrack (2019), Effective Virtual Conversations (2017) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)

Week 24 Focus – 9 Different Promotional Vehicles
Focus Question: How do you want to get the word out?

Description
Whether we are representing our organization, building our personal brand, or marketing a product or service, becoming savvier with different promotional vehicles can be of importance when building a business case, communicating it or marketing a product or service. Section 3 of both the Coaching Business Builder and Plan Do Track explores 9 different promotional vehicles.
​
Now that you have your message, what are the key ways you want to get your message out? Let’s explore the 9 Promotional Vehicles a little more in-depth.

Research/Story 

Activity
Identify 2-4 different strategies to help you “get the word out” this quarter. Complete the following chart:

Connection to the Workbook and Planner
Section 3 explores the different marketing approaches more in depth. Review these and the associated questions to gain further insight.

Download a one-page copy of this week's 52 Weeks of Plan, Do and Track here.

Best wishes, 
Jennifer

Read and download the initial weeks of the 52 weeks of Plan, Do and Track

​Jennifer Britton - Potentials Realized
Check out the Weekly Planning Hack Facebook Live each Wednesday or Thursday here. Be sure to like our page to be updated each week!
Author of PlanDoTrack (2019), Effective Virtual Conversations (2017) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)

This week's Weekly Planning Hack is about Time Tracking. Where does your time really go? On a Personal and Professional level, time tracking can be a significant issue. One study noted in the Harvard Business Review found that "not filling out time sheets properly costs the U.S. economy $7.4 billion a day in productivity".
​
One of the first Weekly Planning Hacks here was around the Pomdoro Technique, a time management function where you use alarms and focus in on 25-50 minute bursts of work.
Last week we explored different apps for time management. Note what you have available to you through your phone and dedicated apps to track your time through bursts of focus.

This week, consider focusing in on tracking your time. In the 19 Productivity Tips course I share a time tracking template so you can note on a 15-30 minute basis throughout the day where your time is actually being spent. This can be very instructive over the course of a week or month to note where your time is actually going.  Create your own time tracker using a blank page of paper, segmenting it into 15 minute blocks, or refer to the lecture in the 19 Productivity Course I released earlier this year.

Best wishes,
​Jennifer