One of the things my brain struggles with is quarterly planning. I know it’s a great strategy for organizing goals and objectives into a 90-day action plan. At least that’s what my friends tell me. They also tell me that being organized is a key for actually getting stuff done. But my brain really has a problem with planning that far out when most days I honestly don’t have a clue!

The strange thing is that where in years past I would’ve done the whole lay everything out and get it all down on a Trello board or something and know exactly what I’m going to do every day for the next 90 days. Sorry, no sorry, but I’m just not that rigid.

If my son calls and wants to go golfing, I’m going the throw the to-do list for the day out the window. And now that I’m a granny, I’m going to be even quicker to shift my plans when I get a chance to spend time with my granddaughter.

That all being said, I do actually do a bit of quarterly planning but not in the way that you might think. And since I realize not everyone is as weird and “anti-schedule” as I am, I’ve got six “standard” quarterly planning tips for you – but I’m also going to share what I do alongside them.

Are you ready?

Here are six quarterly planning tips to help you be more productive…

Tip #1: Have a clear vision for what you want to accomplish

Clarity is everything. And this is one tip I agree with wholeheartedly.

You really do need to have a clear idea of the success, dreams, and aspirations you want for your business and your life. Write it down, visualize it, make a vision board for it, and really feel what it would be like to have what you’re dreaming of. Then hold on to that feeling as you get to work.

Tip #2: Work to your own schedule

Okay, I get that the easy way to set up your business is by the calendar year. In a lot of places, that’s what the tax department requires. And while you may have to follow the standard quarterly divisions for tax purposes, no one says you have to follow them for the creative side of your business.

In my ideal world, the new year would start on July 1. And the reason for that is because it takes me from January to June to get really clear on what my big goal for the year is. That doesn’t mean I don’t work for the first half of the calendar year; it just means that work is not going to be anywhere near focused because I’m still working out what the focus is going to be.

For me January 1 to March 31 and April 1 to June 30 are the calendar quarters where I’m experimenting with new ideas and things I want to try. The only one constant from year to year is that I always host a bundle event at the end of January. But even with that I’m always experimenting with new ideas to make it better for contributors and customers alike.

By the end of June, I’m pretty clear on what the main goal is for the rest of the year, and I’m ready to get down to work. And that was really brought home to me this week when I was talking to my business coach.

When she asked me what my quarterly planning goal for Q3 is going to be, I started out saying I wasn’t sure, but by the end of our conversation I was clearly saying “This. This is the only thing I really want to be working on, and this is how I’m going to do it, and this is how I’m going to talk about it with my Extra! subscribers.”

Let me tell you, that felt really good. And we went from discussing the idea of having a board style system where I could lay it all out to realizing that probably isn’t going to work for me and as long as I know what the end vision looks like, the steps to get there will flow the way they’re meant to.

It’s definitely not the way most “logical” people work, but it works for my brain and for my energy, because I have to feel like I’m free enough to be able to follow the whims where they lead. Because one thing I’ve learned in my 25+ years of working online is that when you find the idea that lights you up, you want to dive on it and see where it takes you.

Tip #3: Create your outline

Standard quarterly planning practice here would tell you that you need to develop three main objectives and focus on one of those each month.

Okay, I can see that. But here’s my dilemma… what if I wake up on July 1 and the thought of working on what I’ve said that monthly objective is going to be makes me feel sick. I’m dreading the thought that I have to do this thing I really don’t want to do for thirty-one whole days.

So, while having objectives is a great idea in theory, for people like me, it doesn’t work so well. I’m not saying I don’t write things down or have a list of things that need to be done, because I do.

But I would never tie myself to one idea for a whole month without leaving a ton of room for flexibility, for new ideas that might work better, or for scrapping the plan altogether if it’s just not fitting.

Because really, if I wanted that kind of rigidity in my day to day life, I’d have stayed at a 9 to 5 job and let someone else tell me what to do all day.

So, while I definitely agree with the concept of an outline and setting some objectives, I always leave myself lots of room for how to accomplish them and when they are going to get done.

Tip #4: Set your priorities, make lists, and journal your progress

Now, this is probably going to sound weird to you, but this is the part of the quarterly planning process I love the most! Granted, the plan might get shown the door on the second day, but I like making it to at least have a starting point.

Even though I don’t set rigid schedules for anything these days, I do outline my objectives for the quarter, and I do have step by step lists for everything that needs to get done.

This is where having standard procedures really helps because there’s a format for everything. For example, when I go to create a PLR product there’s I have a checklist for that. When I’m creating a KDP book, I have a checklist to follow there too. When I’m organizing a bundle event, that has a completely different checklist. Everything I do has lists attached and I have a whole shelf of journals with lists, progress reports, color charts, and all manner of things to refer back to when needed.

See, I’m not as disorganized as you were thinking!

I also run with a to-do list every day where I take the items I know need to be completed and copy them over from the checklists into my daily journal. Because even though I love being flexible and not tied to any schedule, I do know that no one is going to ensure my success besides me.

Tip #5: Be mindful, and be honest with yourself

Pay attention to your energy and how you’re feeling. I’ve learned the hard way that the worst thing you can do is push yourself when you know you don’t have the energy to work on something.

You also want to be really honest with yourself about what you can realistically get done in a day. Don’t schedule 10 or 12 hours of work for yourself when you know you usually can do 5 or 6 on a good day.

Yes, that’s another lesson I had to learn the hard way. I’m getting older in body, even though my soul still feels like I’m in my 30s. And I really didn’t want to admit that I can’t pull all-nighters anymore.

Tip #6: Reflect and pivot when you need to

You only really know if your quarterly planning works or not by the results you’re getting. But, if you don’t take the time to reflect along the way, how will you know if you are getting closer to your goals.

This is something I wholeheartedly agree with and also don’t do enough of myself.

Make time to reflect on at least a weekly basis. Daily is better, and it doesn’t even have to be a long drawn out process. Asking yourself a few basic questions and journaling on them is enough.

And, if you find that something is not working for you, don’t be afraid to pivot and make changes. The goal of having your own creative business – aside from the whole money-making part of it – is to do what you love and feel good about it. So don’t force yourself to do something that doesn’t make you happy.

As the old saying goes, “No plan survives contact with the enemy,” even if that enemy is your own mindset.

Final Thoughts

Despite my issues with setting rigid plans, I do believe that quarterly planning is a good thing. It gives you a goal to shoot for, and if you do a broad yearly overview, it also gives you great checkpoints along the way.

Each quarter is an opportunity to reset and change direction if you need to.

I like to think of a quarterly plan like a road trip. You know you have an end goal in mind but allow yourself the flexibility to check out the side-roads on the way there. You never know what gems you find if you follow an idea and see where it takes you.

And above all, do what makes your heart happy.