Planning Your 2022

Are you looking at planning your 2022 soon?

Planning ahead can be a powerful tool for achieving what you want, but where to start, what to cover and how do you make it happen. Joolz shares a simple guide to planning effectively.

Your annual business plan should consist of goals and milestones to guide your operations for the year ahead. It will help guide you and your staff in the right direction.

I have been refl ecting on why I haven’t done what I wanted this year (too busy with other things which is great but frustrating at the same time) and it made me realise why I need to plan properly. So I thought I would share it.

Where are you now?

For many people, this year’s new year begins with a review of their previous year. What went well, what could you improve on? Anything you want to avoid at all costs? We have previously written about the power of refl ection and it’s a good thing to do before you start planning. The Wheel of Values is a good way to do this as it looks at different aspects. It can be done on a personal or professional basis. The Wheel of Values

In each of the 8 sections, write one of your values and mark the number you feel you are at right now. 1 (inside) being not happy and 5 (outside) being that you couldn’t be happier. Once you’ve circled the numbers, join the dots (and maybe colour it in).

In an ideal world you’ll be balanced in your responses. A bit like a literal wheel it needs to be well-shaped and balanced to turn. When you look at your wheel, if anywhere stands out as needing some work that may be where you want to focus your efforts.

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This actually has 2 purposes - what do you want to achieve with your plan and what do you want to achieve in 2022?

If you are happy with the last year and want more of the same and growth in a similar way then great. Your plan is about that. If you have some serious rethinking to do, then you need to focus on that within your plan and how you do that.

Then set some goals for the business but also for you personally. I won’t bang on about SMART goals here but do think about if your goals do meet the criteria.

Especially are they specifi c enough and achievable. It can help to set a big goal for the end of the year but put in the milestones in between to help it feel more manageable and keep you on track.

What will help or hinder you?

One of the mistakes I have often made is to try and do everything on my own. I get in my own way, get distracted and overwhelmed.

So spend some time thinking who or what will help you achieve your goals. Additional staff, a coach or a power hour with an expert maybe.

Also, what will hinder you? Do you have the time, knowledge and motivation to do it or will lack of any of these stop you reaching your goal. Spend the time planning out the detail of your goals - what, when, who and how are the questions you need to answer and write it down.

For example, a growth plan may have weekly or monthly goals as rows in a spreadsheet with columns for each of those.

As someone who always had the prettiest revision plan at school this is something I do well!

Refl ect and Refi ne

But this is where I struggle...

It’s important to make time on a weekly or fortnightly basis to revisit your plan and reassess how you are doing. Refl ection is vital to keep moving forward. What is going well? What isn’t? Why not? How can you change things?

If possible think about some kind of accountability as well. That may be joining a local business club or accountability group. It may be an informal agreement with another business owner or 2. But this how to ensure you achieve your goals!

Whatever you want to do in 2022, good luck!

To fi nd out about email marketing training, or any other questions please get in touch.

hello@joolzjoseph.com

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