The problem with annualised thinking
I’m not going to lie, I had to significantly cut my time on social media over the last week.
I love seeing recaps and hearing about the positive moves people have made, and I understand that everyone has their own individual experiences and it’s their own right to share it.
But, I have little time for people that make the same complaints about the world, months later, without taking any responsibility for their own outcomes.
The one thing I noticed was consistent, was that the people that were complaining in March, were still complaining about their circumstances in December.
These same people that repeatedly said
“I can’t wait for 2020 to be over”
“This year has been the worst”
“2020 strikes again”
“Cya 2020”
Some even started as early as the bushfires in January 2020.
It’s like their entire existence was engulfed with 2020-ness that painted every experience with a grey tinge.
No wonder they had a miserable time...
They were convinced that it was days of the year and external circumstances that ruined their time, and not their own perspective of what was happening.
Please note I am not discounting the severity of the situations, the impact of this on our mental health, or that people have faced hardship and stresses that are incomparable to others.
My response to this is the public complaining consistently for the year and waiting for it to be over before doing anything about their situation.
Those that wait until January 1, 2021 to change their perspective and start anew, are far less likely to achieve it, because they have bought into the narrative that “timing” is more important than “time in” (i.e. DOING the thing, refining, reviewing, continuing, improving).
This narrative doesn’t help anyone.
One brilliant quote I heard the other day is
“Our life is not what happens to us, but what we pay attention to”
I’ve never been a fan of annualised thinking, purely because there is so much time between starting and finishing, and it’s usually blanketed with vague statements and the opportunities to shirk responsibility, and put things off.
If we’re behind schedule on March, we’ve still got 9 months to distract ourselves with whatever comes our way until we strap back in December to ‘finish what we started’ right before the deadline.
There may be revenue or sales goals that we scramble for in November or May (dependent on if our year is defined by calendar, or the financial year).
In this time,
We may finally run some online campaigns, or promotions
We could put in better dashboards to increase transparency across team and clients
We might but together a client appreciation program to boost retention and experience
We should definitely make a concerted effort to build relationships with strategic partners...
All of which could be done in a much more effective, efficient, and consistent manner throughout the year.
We forget time is a human made construct, all we have is our ability to manage ours, and control our own perceptions of reality.
To be content with today, while striving for a better future.
It’s the critical few activities that we commit to consistently that yield the desired result.
Now, as always, there is a caveat in the type of action you must take.
It must be rooted to a greater strategy.
So how to solve the problem?
It starts with a concept of Periodisation, a concept introduced to the world via Eastern European athletes in the 1970’s.
This style of planning has made me infinitely more efficient and impactful, and that’s from simplifying and executing consistently.
The principles of periodisation are focus, concentration, and overload on a specific skill at a time for a limited period of time, usually 4-6 weeks.
Anyone that understands my method knows that I typically look at things in 1 day, 7-14 day, 30 day, and 90 day increments.
The right strategy allows for efficient, impactful execution.
What do I need to get done every day?
What do I need to get done every week / fortnight?
What do I need to get done every month?
What do I need to get done every quarter?
Systemise the rituals and habits, schedule in time ahead of that to get those done.
Then, from there allocate the time to plan and review some higher level goals and projects that can move the business forward.
Start with just one per quarter to start with, and they could be driven around;
Brand / Messaging
Sales
Product / Offerings
Lead Generation
Team & Client Experience
Operations & Delivery
Finance
From here, I like to break it into 2 x 6 week projects, or 3 x 4 week projects, and allow the last week for a full review and set up for the next quarter.
Some questions to ponder in developing yours;
What is the name and intent of this project?
What is the outcome that we are trying to achieve?
Are there two major components (Prep & Launch), or is it a continuous project with small refinements and reviews? In this case, 6 weeks is the time to cut, or continue (i.e. lead gen campaigns)
What itemised steps do we need to take to implement?
What actions are involved in those steps?
Who is responsible?
Do we need any external help to get this done? Contractors, Professionals etc.
What defines success?
What are the key performance indicators?
Are there any adjustments we would need to make based on a positive or negative result - can we define and plan for these ahead of time?
Next, document the above in an easy to follow, structured format.
I use something similar to the below to write things out and plan
Sometimes just documenting it can provide a ton of clarity and direction.
Put aside time each week to review progress and schedule in time to get things done.
While the above sounds simple - 4 key ‘on the business’ projects delivered across the year is significantly more than
Some businesses don’t even complete one.
While there may be a flurry of motivation and inspiration to get all of the things and ideas done - if we’re honest with ourselves, 4 good projects executed well, is better than a list of ideas that never see the light of day.
If you have any questions, or want a copy of a blank template to write in, just let me know
Zac