Making a plan for the season ahead

Ideas for gentle and effective planning

I hope you’re doing well! If you took a break over the summer and are about to get back into your regular routine, I wish you lots of space and gentleness—these first weeks back can be intense!

In my last newsletter I wrote about getting into the swing of things after a break. Today I want to give you a little bit more support in making a plan for the coming weeks.

Make a list of all the things

I like to start my planning sessions with a long list of everything that I’ve thought of for my business. All the newsletter topics, any 1:1 mentoring offers I want to add, marketing strategies I want to try, people I want to reach out to for collaboration, website tweaks I want to make.

All the things.

Especially after a break, this list can be quite long. Don’t overthink it yet, just write it down. And: bonus points if you also write down the things that scare you a bit. The things that came to you spontaneously, but which your inner critic shot down (like pitching to a podcast, offering something that you haven’t seen anyone else do, doing something that feels big).

What is already in your calendar?

In order to actually make a plan that feels good, you need to know how much time you have. So take a moment to look at, or update, your calendar with all the external demands that you need to take into account. This can be anything from a market that you’ve already committed to, to school holidays, to knowing that your energy levels are lower at a certain time of year. Write it down and be honest with yourself—this is you taking care of yourself and protecting your sanity.

3 priorities for 3 months

Go back to your list and pick 3 things to work on over the next 3 months. If you’ve already committed to a big project over the next 3 months, consider selecting 2 things from your list (or smaller to dos). What gives you energy? What are you looking forward to? Pick those things.

Using project lists works really well for me for those things that are not urgent or important right now, but that I don’t want to forget. Some people also use a “later” list that they review a couple of times a year to see what they want to prioritize, and what they want to take off the list.

Make a plan (and be gentle with yourself)

Once you know which things you want to focus on, make a plan. I’d recommend doing this in pencil first. Take a moment to step back. How realistic is your plan? Knowing if you have a tendency to overschedule can be really helpful: if so, add more space, double the time you think you’ll spend on something. Discuss your plan out loud with a friend, business buddy or mentor. How does your plan make you feel? If you feel claustrophobic, or stifled, take things out, move them to a “later” or “nice to do” (but not “need to do”) list.

If you’re ready to dig into this, I have a free worksheet with these steps and more questions around prioritizing and planning (and some of my best tips!) for you.

I love supporting small business owners in making a plan for their business and deciding on priorities—scroll down for more options to work together, or check out my website.

a book | I got a nice stack of books for my birthday. One of my favourites so far is Jessie Burton’s The House of Fortune, which is detailed and incredibly readable (affiliate link).

breakfast in the garden | I’m not a huge fan of hot weather, but the warmer summer days have meant breakfast and morning tea in the garden and I love it.

a list | I’ve updated my ‘looking forward’-list with things I’m looking forward to over the coming months.

What are your favourites this week? Do share in the comments and inspire us ✨

A focus + follow-through session gives you my support when you need it without the long-term commitment.

Clients have used these sessions to make a plan for the next steps in their business, reviewed their marketing strategy with me, gained focus on the boundaries they need to set and more.

a 60-minute call, followed by a 30-minute accountability check-in a few weeks later

£150 | €170

How do you feel about the coming weeks? Have you got lots of plans and are you ready to go, or do you feel a lack of focus? And are you going to try to free worksheet? I’d love to know and cheer you on.