It’s time to plan your quarter (here’s how)

The second quarter of 2020 is about to end, which makes this an excellent time to plan your next three months.

In Big-Picture Productivity, I teach a quarterly planning process. At a high level, it goes like this:

1. Get clear on what your goals are
2. Make (or update) a list of actionable projects to achieve those goals
3. Choose a few actionable projects to work on this quarter
4. Create those projects in your task manager

The key is distinguishing between actionable projects and goals.

If you set a goal like “lose weight” for Q3, or even “lose 5 kg”, that is admirable—but how will you do that? A goal like that describes what you want, but now how you’ll get it.

Instead, create an actionable project that will help you achieve that goal. For example, your actionable project might be “Set up twice-weekly sessions with a personal trainer” or “Make a nutrition plan with a nutritionist”.

Focus on which actions will help you achieve your goals.

In the course we go into much more detail: how do you make sure your actionable projects have the right scope? How many should you schedule each quarter? How do you choose what’s most important to you? How do you make progress on your actionable projects day-to-day?

Maybe now is a good time for you to enroll. Either way, plan which actionable projects you’ll work on in the coming three months.