Typically at the start of a new year everyone tries to start planning to achieve something. Inevitably these plans end up going belly up. Whether that’s stopping going to the gym or the healthy eating that never really started. Without a proper plan and strategy they are never going to last. And you don’t need to wait till the New Year to start planning. Many people feel like you need to have a specific starting point like a new year or new month. But there’s nothing stopping you starting tomorrow, or even better, right now! And having a plan for your business is so essential that you really shouldn’t put it off any longer! So grab a cuppa, take yourself off to a quiet place and read these tips below before you start planning:

1. Ask yourself why: Why do you want to achieve this goal? Is it what you think you’re supposed to be doing or is it something that you actually want to do? Ignore what everyone else says, what do YOU want to achieve? Without any emotions behind your goals, you’ll never be able to motivate yourself to keep going with them. So if your goal is to earn £50,000 next year, why? What can you do with that money once you have it? How will it change your life?
2. Set yourself only a few big goals: Too many big goals and it’ll start to feel unmanageable. Try and keep to having no more than 2 or 3 main goals to achieve. If you think you need more, will they fit under the heading of one of the other goals? For example, making £50,000 next year and reaching 1000 sales could fit under the one heading.
3. Break them down into smaller and smaller chunks: Once you’ve chosen your main goals, you need to start breaking them down into smaller and smaller chunks. £50,000 in a year is a big ask but £4,166 a month, or £961 a week appears much more achievable. Keep going until you get to a target that feels comfortable for you.
4. Assign tasks to each target: Once you’ve got your smaller targets you need to put tasks with each one. How are you going to achieve £961 a week? What do you need to do in your business to get that? How can you make more sales? Make sure each task is very specific so you can easily cross it off when it’s done. For example “sell more” is not great! But “upload more listings to Etsy” is a task that can be ticked off when it’s done. It could also lead to more sales.
5. Work backwards: Now that you’ve got your list of tasks to complete, you need to work out when you will do them. A simple way of doing this is to start at the end and work backwards. So when you do want to make your £50,000 by? Put that end date in your calendar. Now work backwards and fill in all the tasks you need to do and when.
6. Carve out time in your diary: Having the task on a to-do list is not going to make you actually do it. You need to put time into your diary and make it non-negotiable. Find a time every week, even if it’s just half an hour that you focus on these tasks. Don’t do anything else during that time. Don’t be tempted to “oh I need an extra few minutes to finish what I was doing so I’ll just use this time here”. This time is sacred and should not be used on anything but tasks to get your goal.
7. Find an accountability buddy: I find the best way to keep me focused and on track is to have an accountability buddy. It’s amazing how motivating it can be to have someone you can tell your plans to. They can help keep you on track each week. If you can’t find anyone to do this for you, you can pay for services to do exactly this.
8. Give yourself a break: Things aren’t going to go perfectly every week. Achieving a big goal is hard work and if it was easy everyone would do it! So if things do go sideways, give yourself a break, dust yourself off and get back up. However many detours you take and extra time you need, as long as you keep going forward you’re amazing!

Next time you want to start a planning session, read these tips over first. This might just be the year you achieve your goals!