As we step into year 3 of use of PlanDoTrack and Coaching Business Builder, I continue to hear from users of the workbook/planner what they enjoy using. Shaped by hundreds (if not thousands of) hours of planning and productivity work with teams, organizations and business owners, PDT and Coaching Business Builder are geared to provide you with time to focus and get traction, putting into practice “Daily Steps + Consistent Action = Momentum” Here are six of the perennial favorites which get mentioned regularly from readers and the PlanDoTrack Facilitators: Monthly Daily Planner - One of my personal favorites, the Monthly daily tracker provides a space for you to regularly review your daily steps towards key goals. There’s space for you to track movement in 11 key areas – pick some personal, pick some business, and track away. You’ll see this one in the title for this week’s post. Content Tools especially the Daily Content Tracker – The Daily Content tracker provides you with space to note what you have added to your list. Use it to list what you have created and where you are sharing it. Monthly Content Journal – One Line a Day. Another favorite of mine, I use this in two ways. The One Line a Day gives you space to note one line for every day of the month. I use one to note my key actions for the day and a second one to note one sentence around IDEAS I had. It’s great to go back to and look at over time. Monthly Content Tracker – While you may not be creating content every day, it’s likely that you will be sharing it. The monthly content tracker can be used to help you create a link to it. Metaview Annual Goals and Milestones – This page allows you to get a high level overview of all the goals you have ahead of you. Update it as you go, given that annual plans can shift and change, as we’ve seen in recent years. The Month in Focus – This is an invaluable tool used as a planner and retrospective on your week. Use it on a weekly basis to track your key priorities, successes, enablers, derailers, lessons learned and what you will do or focus on next week. ====== Pick up a copy of either one of the Planners in digital format now at our Potentials Realized site. Note they are not available as a digital edition anywhere else (at least at the moment). I’m adding onto these tried and tested resources during the 21 for 21 Co-working Series with some new resources including new 21 day trackers, as well as a couple new quarterly and weekly planning tools. Join us for the 21 day experience and follow along at your own pace at : https://jennifer-britton.xperiencify.io/21for21/ Let us know what your favorite tool or resource is – share it with us at the Facebook group or over at the Conversation Sparker Zone. Let us know what your favorite tools are!
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When I went to write PlanDoTrack two years ago, I would have had no idea just how many people would be moving to work in the remote space right now. What I have loved seeing is how people have made the transition over to remote work smoothly and are now the in mid-term of their remote work experience. With that in mind, the principles and practices which underpin PlanDoTrack become even more important for sustainability. In this week’s blog post I wanted to zoom into five areas you might explore in terms of MAINTAINING productivity in the remote space. You’ll find more on each of these areas in sections 1 and 2 of the PlanDoTrack workbook and planner. #1 - Create or Revisit the Vision In recent months I’ve been spending a lot of time with groups in presentations talking about the importance of creating or revisiting your vision. Our vision creates a horizon for us to aim towards. In times of disruption, this is even more important. What are the elements which are important for YOU to focus on? What are the elements which are important to keep an eye on? #2 - Be Crystal Clear on Outcomes Leadership and teamwork in the remote space is all about outcomes. It’s about being very clear about:
#3 - Top 3 – 5 Goals With vision and outcome in mind, what are the core essentials to be focusing on? It’s easy to get pulled into the eddies of other people’s priorities. Questions:
Note that in many of the PlanDoTrack planning pages, there is space for you to track your Top 3-5. #4 - Be Intentional (and ruthless) With Boundaries As many have seen in recent mots, creating boundaries and routines that work well for each of our individual experiences are critical. Whether we are navigating work-life issues or working in a team that runs 24/7, being intentional and focused on our boundaries is critical for high performance. We need cycles to renew as much as cycles to run. Questions to consider:
What’s important to note? Join us for more conversation around this at the Virtual and Remote Visionaries Hub on Facebook . Best wishes, Jennifer 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 Check out these Instagram accounts @coachingbizbuilder & @remotepathways! Check out upcoming programs on our calendar! Are you a remote professional? Listen into the Remote Pathways Podcast on your favorite podcast player! In recent months, the lockdown globally has led to some very interesting research opportunities. Does remote work, really work? Is it as productive as working in person? Who likes to work remotely and who flourishes? As with any type of work situation, and one that has been more pronounced, even for those of us who have always worked remotely, I think it’s interesting to explore what some of the initial statistics and studies show. Here are details from five different studies: Here’s where we were before COVID:
Today… Gallup research found that 54 percent of office workers would leave their job, if they could have one with more flexibility. And Gallup further states that “job flexibility increases engagement.” According to this article by Kellie Wong – 25 Remote Work Statistics: Gallup puts it all together: “Job flexibility engages remote workers — which drives performance.” Here are some additional statistics Kellie Wong shares in her article:
Who is working remotely? According to this HubSpot survey: Job Types of Remote Workers
What are you intrigued by? What’s important to note? Join us for the conversation at the Virtual and Remote Visionaries Hub on Facebook. It’s a new group I am hosting and hope that you will come and join us to share ideas, resources and insights. Join us here. Best, Jennifer 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 Check out these Instagram accounts @coachingbizbuilder & @remotepathways! Check out upcoming programs on our calendar! Are you a remote professional? Listen into the Remote Pathways Podcast on your favorite podcast player! In coaching, we often ask clients to think about the structure, of their accountabilities and what they have committed to doing going forward. If someone is working on becoming more efficient by doing things once rather than returning back to it time and time again to perfect it, a structure might be “better done than perfect”. If someone is wanting to become better at minimizing the paper on their desk or emails in their inbox, it might be a note on their desktop saying “Touch it once” or “Get to zero”. For someone else, productivity might mean becoming more efficient with their time windows, and having an alarm or a timer to note when it’s time to sign off. By creating more urgency, it can help us move through moments of procrastination or increase our pacing. Finally, for someone who wants to get better at getting into the routine of working out, the structure might be having the gym bag in the trunk, or a pair or running shoes in the car, to fit in the later in the day workout, after shopping or work (if you are out and about). If you are home, it might mean setting a timer and having your gym things ready for when you are ready to head out. Structures can be visible – a post it, a note on your computer. Structures can be auditory – a song, or an alarm, or even a verbal note. What are the structures which are going to support you in achieving your goals this quarter? Enjoy! 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 Check out these Instagram accounts @coachingbizbuilder & @remotepathways! Check out upcoming programs on our calendar! Are you a remote professional? Listen into the Remote Pathways Podcast on your favorite podcast player! This week’s Weekly Planning hack is about CONDENSING. To condense something is to make it more dense, thicker, or collapse it. When we condense things down, we return them to their elements. In planning, productivity and business it’s important that we condense things down to their core elements so that things are more clear. When you think about condensing things in work or business it might include:
What else could be condensed? Best, Jennifer 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 Check out these Instagram accounts @coachingbizbuilder & @remotepathways! Check out upcoming programs on our calendar! Are you a remote professional? Listen into the Remote Pathways Podcast on your favorite podcast player! “What doesn’t get measured, doesn’t get done.” When I went to name the PlanDoTrack Workbook and Planner a few years ago, it was first called Get ___ Done. The more I did work with professionals of all kinds (remote workers, leaders, entrepreneurs, the more apparent it was that metrics were an important part of productivity. We can get things done, but is it the RIGHT things, in the RIGHT ways? “Metrics that Matter” gets us thinking about the things you want to track. What’s important to you? What’s important to your work or business? How often are you pausing to see where things are at? What are the metrics that matter? As I shared in a September 2019 community call for Coaching Business Builder, metrics matter for several reasons including – they help to:
What’s important to note about metrics in your work and world right now? What are you doing to track them? This week? This month? This quarter? If you haven’t taken a look at your metrics from the last quarter, take a look back at them now. What do you notice? Best, Jennifer 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 Check out these Instagram accounts @coachingbizbuilder & @remotepathways! Check out upcoming programs on our calendar! Are you a remote professional? Listen into the Remote Pathways Podcast on your favorite podcast player! “Bottom line is, if you do not use it or need it, it’s clutter, and it needs to go.” – Charisse Ward via United Mayflower This week’s Weekly Planning Hack gets you to take a few minutes to archive materials that no longer are relevant. Whether it’s digital or hard-copy, being able to archive and/or delete information can be key to focus, prioritization and clarity. As I wrote in Teams365 Check It Off Tip: “While it might seem like adding time that you don't have, clearing things off and out, like your desk, or inbox, on a regular basis can create the space for new energy and clarity. What needs to get cleared in your office right now? Is it your inbox, old files? Take 15 minutes today to clear something and notice what new is created as a result of this.” Even businesses will have different sets of legislation outlining how long materials need to be kept for. Spend some time checking with your local level government how long you need to keep materials for. Sometimes this may be for a period of five or seven years. Check it out. Things that you might consider archiving include:
What else could be archived? What could be converted from analog to digital? Again, be sure to check perhaps with your local small business center in relation to what your local level requirements are for keeping materials and files. Enjoy the conversation! Jennifer 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 Check out these Instagram accounts @coachingbizbuilder & @remotepathways! Check out upcoming programs on our calendar! Are you a remote professional? Listen into the Remote Pathways Podcast on your favorite podcast player! Back in 2016 I started experimenting with the notion of sprints in terms of accelerating my work cycles. Sprints usually consist of setting a more condensive work boundary around a project, task or activity. Those working in the tech and design sector have been leveraging the power of sprints for a while. Sprints are based on the idea that I could get just as much done in shorter windows of time, particularly as it related to new ideas and programming. What it can look like: In the short-term, sprints might involve dedicating a 60-minute window to the initial part of design of a program, rather than giving it a whole day. While we might not complete everything in one sitting, it’s likely that it will move the needle forward. On the longer-term, some teams are moving to a process where they dedicate a week or two to a project, to build it and get feedback on it. There are multiple benefits to sprints including:
Questions to consider:
Let us know about your experience with sprints! Enjoy, Jennifer 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 Check out these Instagram accounts @coachingbizbuilder & @remotepathways! Check out upcoming programs on our calendar! Are you a remote professional? Listen into the Remote Pathways Podcast on your favorite podcast player! Clean it out to create some space! This week’s Weekly Planning Hack gets you to think about what needs a clean out to create more space, focus and/or speed. Sometimes taking 15 minutes to clean something out can be of great value. For example, if your technology is starting to slow down, maybe it’s time to ensure a back-up can clear some of the video files that are piling up. Or perhaps, emails need to be archived. Cleaning things out may also help to find things that have been “lost” or simply buried. What are the things that could benefit from getting a clean out? Consider all these areas:
Be aware of how long things need to be kept. For example, in some jurisdictions business records may need to be kept for seven years or longer. What are the things that can benefit from a clean out? What have you let pile up and really could benefit from a few minutes spent organizing? Look around with clean eyes. Take 15 minutes today, or over the course of the next several days to clean something out. Let us know what you chose and what you found! Have fun cleaning! Jennifer 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 Check out these Instagram accounts @coachingbizbuilder & @remotepathways! Check out upcoming programs on our calendar! Are you a remote professional? Listen into the Remote Pathways Podcast on your favorite podcast player! “One of the best pieces of advice I heard from a mentor was to consider the MUST do’s versus the NICE to do’s when prioritizing. It’s made a huge difference.” – Jennifer Britton With a gazillion things on your task list, what’s a “MUST do” versus a “NICE to do”? Discernment is a key topic of recent Weekly Planning Hacks here. Questions to ask yourself as you consider what is important:
Activity: Take time to note all of your tasks. What are the MUST TO DO’s vs the NICE TO DO’s? With those items on the NICE to do list, do these get DEFERRED? DUMPED? DELEGATED? Decide what you are going to do with them, and if they are to be delegated, make sure you check out this post on delegation, one of the tasks that many professionals find challenging. For more on delegation, check out these past two PlanDoTrack blog posts: If you are on LinkedIn, let’s connect and check out this older article I wrote on delegation. Enjoy! Jennifer 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 Check out these Instagram accounts @coachingbizbuilder & @remotepathways! Check out upcoming programs on our calendar! Are you a remote professional? Listen into the Remote Pathways Podcast on your favorite podcast player! |
AuthorJennifer Britton is the blogger behind the popular Teams365 blog, a daily,blog for team leaders and members since 2014. Her latest publication is the PlanDoTrack Workbook and Planner. Pick up a copy at Amazon. Pick Up a CopyUpcoming Programs
Join us for the 21 For 21 Virtual Co-working Sprints - $21 US. Want to access the recordings and bonus worksheets? Join us at the Booster Pack $79 US early bird rate. Sign up at 21for21 Virtual Co-working - STAND OUT VIRTUALLY! Stand Out Virtually - Incubator - Running an online, virtual or digital business and want to get the word out to organizations? Join us for the 8 week Stand Out Virtually Incubator. Next group starts April 2021. Build out your brand, offers and proposals. Virtual Facilitation Essentials (8.5 CCEs)- Expand your toolkit for better remote and virtual conversations. This is a virtual train-the-trainer - 5 weeks: Fall 2021 programming starts in October $495 US Learn more and register. Coaches! Register for the 60 Day Coaching Business Builder Accelerator. Join us for 60 Days support and ACTION for coaches wanting to grow their businesses. On-Demand Course. PlanDoTrack Facilitator Training Program (24 CCEs) - Starts again in October. Contact Jennifer to discuss. Month-End/Quarterly Planning Session: Thursday September 30th - 8 -9 am ET Archives
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