Quit Autopilot and Take Back Control of Your Life

It’s officially fall and the demands on your time are in full swing. Work. School. Board meetings. Sports. Date Nights. Travel plans. Cookouts. The list can go on and on. As you react to everything that needs to be done, it can feel like you don’t have enough time to do it all. That feels overwhelming at best and debilitating at worst—especially if you lead a business. 

If you ignore the imbalance, it can just lead to burnout. That’s why it’s the perfect time to pause and reflect on your current reality and the progress you’ve made so far this year. The Quarterly Preview is a tool that walks you through the process of evaluating the past three months. 

How to Step Back and Plan Better 

There are three main components of the Quarterly Preview. 

1. Review the past. 

Take the time to list out your wins so you give yourself credit for what you’ve accomplished. Maybe you were able to end the workday on time and get home for dinner most weekdays. Or maybe you stuck to an exercise routine. No matter how small, count it. 

Check in on your goals. Did you have goals you planned to achieve by the end of the past quarter? Did you get there? Be sure to celebrate! Were you close? What can you tweak to get past the finish line? Is one of them not even relevant anymore? Update it or just remove it. Goals are supposed to work for you, not against you. 

2. Evaluate your reality. 

 Determine what worked and what didn’t. Then figure out what needs to change moving forward. Are you sticking to your daily routines? Are you satisfied with the time you spend your family and friends? Did you unplug on weekends and vacations? Is your business hitting its revenue goals? Do you feel your team is on track to accomplish what you have planned? 

 Maybe you scheduled a date night with your partner every week and that has really helped your connection. That’s something you want to be sure to continue. Or maybe you didn’t make it to enough of your child’s baseball games. What could you do to better ensure you leave work on time? 

3. Plan the future. 

 Now is the time to figure out how to build the life you want and take the steps toward living it. If you write it down and plan for any obstacles, you’re much more likely to accomplish what you want.  

 Maybe you didn’t work out as much as you wanted because you kept hitting Snooze on your alarm. Could you put your alarm across the room? Could you preset your coffeemaker? Determine what is most likely to get you out of bed and do it the night before. 

 Did your business miss a profit goal? Review your financial data and speak with your leadership team to get to the bottom of what happened. Do you need to focus your efforts on a more profitable product? Are your processes working in sales and marketing? Once you find out the why, you can plan the how and prepare for the obstacles you know, which makes success much more likely. 

If you are interested in improving your planning and business insights—and as a result increasing your revenue—check out our Strategic Planning Workshop. Fill out this form for more information. 

What If You Have More Control Than You Think? 

Try an experiment. Complete a Quarterly Preview and see how it affects your productivity and balance this current quarter. You can download a free Full Focus Quarterly Preview Template and Sample here. And if you want to learn more about the Full Focus Planner and how to use it effectively,  join our wait list for our next public  Full Focus Planner Training!