  Week 44 Focus — Circadian Rhythm Focus Question: Consider the rhythm of your day. When can you do your best work? Around what tasks? Description When are you at your best? There has been a lot of research done on our natural body rhythms. The study of chronobiology explores our natural rhythms. While some of us are “early birds” and love to get things done in the early hours of the morning as the world wakes up, others may find they get their “next wind” in the evening. What do you notice about when you are at your best for completing different tasks? There may be different times of the day when it is good for you to complete different tasks such as:
Activity In an ideal state, what would your ideal day or week of work look like? WHAT would you do WHEN? Make a list of the different tasks you need to complete in the next 1-3 weeks. What time of the day might you be best placed to complete them in? Connection to the Workbook and Planner Consider using the time trackers (Monthly Planning Tools) to track when in the month you are completing core tasks, but also the time of day. Instead of tracking by one color per activity, you may consider tracking by M, A, N – Morning (M), Afternoon (A), Night (N). After tracking your time of day rhythms (could be a week or more), what do you notice? What adjustments could support you in maximizing your work routine? 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 program design, productivity, teamwork and business issues. Contact her by phone at (416)996-8326 Check out the new 19 Productivity Tips on-demand program. Explore this video based program at your own pace, and join Jennifer for bi-weekly calls as part of your course. Follow the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series on Instagram
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  Week 42 Focus – Prioritization Focus Question: What do you want to focus on today? Description There are many competing priorities in a business. What are the things you want to focus on today? This week? As solopreneurs, it’s unlikely that our To-Do list will ever be complete. We can overwork ourselves to the point of burn out. As virtual and remote professionals the issue of prioritization takes on immense significance given that we are likely to be part of multiple teams, working across different time zones, with each team and leader having different priorities. Having to work more autonomously, and independently, we also can benefit from prioritizing what’s important from the “bigger picture” of what’s on our desk at any given moment of time. In Coaching Business Builder and PlanDoTrack, I share four different prioritization tools which will help you identify what is going to give you more focus:
Activity Work through the relevant tools for your work and business right now. If you are doing some longer-term planning, refer to the SWOT and/or Strategic Issues Mapping. If you are feeling overwhelmed, stuck or working on immediate priorities consider using the other prioritization tools. Connection to the Workbook and Planner You will find the prioritization tools listed on pages 114 to 119. You might consider exploring:
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 Check out the new 19 Productivity Tips on-demand program. Explore this video based program at your own pace, and join Jennifer for bi-weekly calls as part of your course. Follow the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series on Instagram   Week 41 Focus – Chunk It Down to Gain Momentum Focus Question: As you consider your big tasks right now, what are the chunks, or discrete packets, at the core? Description There are many different models of time management and one of them is about chunking. Chunking invites us to break tasks down. In chunking we may put tasks of a similar nature together. Chunking can create momentum so we may be able to quickly get those items off our list. One of the other areas that I've touched on in this book already is the notion of finding the times of day that work best for you. What does momentum mean for you? What are the top 6 you can get off your list quickly? What are the things that will help you gain some momentum and get things done on a consistent basis? Businesses are often built in spurts. Parkinson’s Rule asserts that tasks expand to the amount of time we give them. Sometimes it can be useful to “corral” a task, giving it a very fixed timeline in order to ensure that it gets one. Here are some examples of what you might do in spurts or by chunking:
Activity What are the elements you need to break down? Connection to the Workbook and Planner In your monthly planning process, break down your activities and projects into smaller chunks – tasks, activities. Use the To-Do pages to start drilling into the core packets of work. 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 Check out the new 19 Productivity Tips on-demand program. Explore this video based program at your own pace, and join Jennifer for bi-weekly calls as part of your course. Follow the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series on Instagram   Week 35 Focus – Presentations 101 Focus Question: What is important to communicate in your next presentation? How do you want to capture people’s attention? Description As a solopreneur, it's likely that you'll be giving presentations to a wide variety of audiences from webinars, to lunch and learns, to speaking at conferences. Section 3 goes into many different ways you can be thinking about creating content and positioning presentation. Fear of public speaking is usually listed as a Top 10 fear of adults. So how can we prepare to give a WOW presentation? As a starting point, take 5 minutes to brainstorm. Make a list of everything you could possibly talk about. What are the topics that your clients or customers would really appreciate? As someone who's been involved in presentation skills training for almost 2 decades, here are a couple of key things to keep in mind:
Research/Story One of the biggest pitfalls you can experience as a presenter is that no one wants to participate. Tips to get participation happening:
Activity Consider an upcoming presentation:
Connection to the Workbook and Planner Refer to Section 3 of the Coaching Business Builder and the section specific to presentations. Take a look at the textbox on presentations which you will find on page 77 of the Coaching Business Builder. 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 Check out the new 19 Productivity Tips on-demand program. Explore this video based program at your own pace, and join Jennifer for bi-weekly calls as part of your course. Follow the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series on Instagram   Week 34 Focus – Systems in The Business Focus Question: What’s working and what’s not as it relates to your systems? Story Systems help us to replicate things on a consistent basis. They also help us to:
Consider these systems for your business:  Activity Note what’s worked and what hasn’t around the different systems in your work or business. Do an audit on your systems. Consider:
Connection to the Workbook and Planner Refer to part 3 of the book and what is noted around systems. Part of doing a review is noting metrics and trends. Take a look back at your notes. What do you notice? You may want to: Review the Annual Planners and Quarterly Tools Review the Monthly Daily Planners – what do you notice? Use brainstorm lists to capture these ideas around systems. 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 Check out the new 19 Productivity Tips on-demand program. Explore this video based program at your own pace, and join Jennifer for bi-weekly calls as part of your course. Follow the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series on Instagram  In today’s uber-busy world, having huge blocks of time are often not feasible without a lot of pre-planning. Part of the philosophy of the PlanDoTrack and Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planners is that it is about taking CONSISTENT Action and DAILY steps to create momentum. Over time, we may also start to notice how valuable it is to have blocked off time so we can focus in on tasks that require more than a short amount of our attention. Some writers and researchers point to the need for 90-minute windows for “Deep Work” (as Cal Newport would say). What are the blocks of time you have available? Some possibilities include:
Best, 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)  Scattered throughout some of the 28 different planning tools of PlanDoTrack and the Coaching Business builder is the question “what will wild success look like?”. I love asking this question to people I am coaching as it gets us to think about WHAT IS POSSIBLE, often without a lot of censure. There are several ways to reword this question:
The benefit of these questions is that it:
As you go about your planning for the next month or quarter, what can wild success look like for you around your most important goals? 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)   Week 32 Focus – One Percent Rule to Business Development Focus Question: What are the consistent daily steps you want to undertake? Description Since 2005 I have been sharing what I call the One Percent Rule to Business Development. I've heard from a lot of entrepreneurs that they like this notion of incremental business action. So here it is! The 1% rule to business development consists of a series of 8 different stages: 1. Create the Vision: Our vision sets the broad swath of possibility. It gets us thinking about what is possible. It also helps to anchor us when we think about where we want to go and what we want to do. Making our vision detailed and keeping it visible can be important. How are you enshrining your vision? 2. Prepare. During the preparation phase we want to get clear on what the requirements are for our work and projects. We want to know what a successful result looks like. We want to be clear on what resourcing is needed. During the preparation phase we will gather all the information we have so we can pull together a plan. 3. Create an action plan. In my work as a coach, I usually get my clients to create a One-Page Action Plan. The value of the One-Page Plan is that it contains all of the most important information in one page. The One-Pager be placed in a visual location so that you can refer to it quickly AND regularly. What’s on your action plan? 4. Seek out support. What is going to help you achieve the key goals you have set out for yourself? Support can take many forms – financial, technical, people. What do you need to be successful? 5. Take ongoing small steps. As my father, a retired entrepreneur himself, always reminds me that “Rome was not built in a day”. The premise behind the workbook planners is about taking REGULAR, CONSISTENT action. In building a business by ourselves burnout may be a possibility if we move too fast. It can be important to take regular small steps to create the momentum needed for things done quickly. 6. Test, Learn, Retest. In the sixth step were going to test things out. Today's volatility and complexity requires that we experiment regularly. With the data we receive from the initial test or action we can learn and apply then retest and learn again. This is an iterative process which continues. Throughout the business cycle we may move through different bouts of experimentation. Each cycle creates an opportunity for learning and growth. 7. Learn, Iterate and Act. Each action creates a reaction, which over time creates its own momentum, making it easier to achieve the goal. Along the way learning and feedback will help to shape what we do. 8. Ultimately our goal is achieved. Based on our experience we will further refine the vision that we set out for ourselves, expanding it or modifying it based on our experience. This will further support and shape our actions are we move forward with the next cycle and process. This cycle may take place in a short amount of time, for example a day or it may be phased over the longer term of a project. Activity Using your business or a current project, work through the One Percent Rule. What can action and learning look like around one of your most important goals? Map out the 8 steps of the One Percent Rule.  Connection to the Workbook and Planner Refer to the One Percent Rule to Business in Section 1 on page 29 of the Coaching Business Builder, or page 31 of PlanDoTrack. 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 Check out the new 19 Productivity Tips on-demand program. Explore this video based program at your own pace, and join Jennifer for bi-weekly calls as part of your course. Follow the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series on Instagram  In today’s Digitally Disrupted world, the skill set of discernment and focus are taking precedence. The ability to find “micro-pauses” where you can stop, assess and make decisions plays a critical role in productivity, teams and leadership. Here’s what I wrote bout the skill of discernment earlier this year here at the PlanDoTrack Blog in February: “Leveraging our time is as much about getting organized, as it is getting clear on what’s important. Against the backdrop of complexity, ongoing change and disruption, getting ruthless with our time management can be so important to many. As a business owner, or remote worker, this is especially true. We can’t get out time back. So, when we go down a rabbit hole (whether it’s doing too much research online, following a shiny red object or thinking we just need to learn “one more thing”), the costs can be tremendous. Not just in NOT getting things done, but in terms of our focus, our motivation and also our profit line! Discernment is about getting clear on what’s important and what’s not. It is about being clear of what’s going to provide impact now, later or never. As a remote worker or virtual business owner, we are quite control of our time. Our colleagues and/or superiors may be hundreds of miles away, or several time zones ahead. As remote workers, it’s not always about how we manage our time, but how we get our results. Those who feel the crunch in getting something over the finish line is usually only us (and those loved ones around us!). With this in mind, what is the cost of not being discerning around where your time goes, or how clear your projects are, or what is a more important priority than another? As we embark on new projects, or start a new week, it can be useful to be asking (ourselves, and our stakeholders):
What questions do you want to consider asking as you decide one priority to another?” How can discernment help you in your work and focus right now? Let us know! 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 31 Focus – Marketing Review Focus Question: What needs a tweak with your 5 P’s? Description Last week we started to take stock of where you are around dialogue and marketing of your work. Whether you are internal, or external, we are regularly marketing ourselves. Internally we may be focused on personal branding and/or creating and positioning a business case for our work. Externally, we want to offer the best item of value to our customers or clients. When we explore the topic of marketing and program/product design, we often talk about the Marketing Mix or the 5 P’s– Product, Placement, Promotion, People, and Price. Knowing our 5 P’s and reviewing it regularly ensures that we are on target with what our customers or stakeholders want. This week, as review, note what’s worked, and what hasn’t recently in the five different areas of the 5 P’s.  Activity Use associated worksheet to note what’s worked and what hasn’t around the 5 P’s around your product or service offering. Undertake a review of your metrics. This could include numbers of subscribers, engagement, posts, views, follows, comments etc. What do you notice? What’s working around your marketing right now? Consider the business which has come in, over last six months. What sources led to it? What is in the pipeline? What has shaped this? Do an audit on your content. Consider:
Connection to the Workbook and Planner Part of doing a marketing review is reviewing metrics and trends. Take a look back at your notes. What do you notice? You may want to:
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 Check out the new 19 Productivity Tips on-demand program. Explore this video based program at your own pace, and join Jennifer for bi-weekly calls as part of your course. Follow the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series on Instagram |
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 Copy
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PlanDoTrack Facilitator Training Program (24 CCEs) - Starts November 15th (Friday evenings 530 - 9 pm and Saturdays 930 - 330 pm ET): November 15, 16, December 6 and 7, 2019 Next PlanDoTrack Virtual Retreat: Thursday November 15th (1 - 5pm ET) Month-End Planning Session (October 31st - 6-7 am Easter) Archives
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