Better Results, Less Time: Pitch Your Annual Plan

Have you read The 12-Week Year? Honestly, I bought the e-book a few years ago and skimmed it because it was getting a lot of hype, and I was curious.

The core concept of the book is what I have been coaching my clients about for years… it’s time to pitch the traditional annual plan that you were taught about during your Franklin Covey time management training (however many years ago,) and focus our attention on the most immediate horizon: the next 3 months.

Our world is moving far more quickly than 30+ years ago when a lot of “time management” theory was developed. This is particularly true for digital nomads and location-independent entrepreneurs who are frequently changing even our physical locations.

Many of the digital nomads I talk to are almost allergic to structures or schedules let alone rigid annual plans. But, they still are seeking a way to be fully committed to creating a successful business and lifestyle very intentionally, which means they do need some kind of plan. They just have a sense that there has to be another way. 

That’s why I want to share with you a different approach that I’m now teaching to my clients and students that focuses on Seasonal Planning. If planning for your goals or results a year in the future feels confusing, unclear, or unnecessary.

Or, on the flip side, perhaps you have realized that completely “flying by the seat of your pants” without any clear plan or direction isn’t working or getting you the results that you know you’re capable of creating. If either of these feel true for you, then you’ll want to learn more about this alternative approach.

If you asked me a year ago what my life would look like right now, then any answer that I might have given would have been WAY off! This time last year I was barely out of the hospital with two drains coming out of my body after a very complicated and unpleasant gall bladder removal. What should have been a 1-day outpatient surgery turned into 4 days in the hospital, almost 4 weeks of highly painful and invasive procedures, and about 2+ months of recovery.

There is absolutely no way that I would ever have imagined that one year later Brian, Pumpkin, and I would be living as full-time digital nomads spending the winter in Sedona, Arizona. A year ago, just being able to take a shower without help was my focus. Being able to pick up my 9-month-old daughter from the floor was a goal that took me roughly 6-8 weeks post-surgery to achieve. I never would have imagined that our digital nomad life was less than one year away at that point. 

I share this story because it’s such a perfect example of how our life can change dramatically in the course of a single year, and those changes might both thrill you and be completely unexpected. I never would have guessed in January 2018 that spring 2018 would end up being entirely about recovery for me. It took the help of an amazing community (largely of my MomTribe and many other good friends) to get me through that season of challenge. Had I put together an “annual plan” for my business in January 2018, then by March 2018 I would have pitched it out the window because recovery and physical self-care were all I could care about for months.

In the past several years (both before Pumpkin and since) I have been instead focused primarily on planning for this season. You can call it a 12-week year if that feels good to you. Personally, I don’t even put that level of rigid structure around it. Possibly because I’ve lived most of my life in areas of the world that have four clear seasons (winter, spring, summer, & fall), or maybe it’s my modern Pagan background (nature-based spirituality for those who are confused), but for whatever reason, I love to plan for this season. It create a sense of nourishment, flow, and power to focus on the immediate mid-length horizon. A week or a month are too short to get anything significant accomplished, but a year is just far too long.

You choose the beginning and end of your seasons. If a traditional “quarter” feels right to you, then January-March might be your first quarter. Personally, my seasons run roughly between the solstices and the equinoxes, but it isn’t really about those “dates.”  For me those times mark a natural shift from fall to winter, winter to spring, spring to summer, etc. As the season shifts, it feels quite authentically like a good time to pause, reflect, check-in, and recommit for the next season.

I allow it to be fluid and flexible, which is something digital nomad & location-independent entrepreneurs all learn is essential. So, if winter has a couple extra weeks this year and runs until early April rather than mid-March… all good! No problem. Similarly, if spring then gets foreshortened by a couple weeks… that’s what’s in the flow for me this year.

Maybe for you there really are only three seasons in your year and each of them is 4 months long. Sounds good to me… you do you! But, if there’s only 1-2 seasons each year, then well, you’re almost back to an annual plan and kinda missing the point *wink*.

I believe that we need to keep things both very focused and very simple… so here’s the idea:

I can hear some of you saying “WHAT?! Only one project per season?” Yep, one passion project that you are fully committed to pushing forward strongly in your life this season. That doesn’t mean that you are ignoring everything else, that just means everything else should be in “maintenance mode” in the background for right now.

This level of focus is critical, and I truly believe that it’s part of what’s dramatically missing from our lives these days. We are constantly trying to do too many big things at once. I think of it like trying to drive 4 cars simultaneously… crazy image I know… but you really CAN’T push on the accelerator pedal of 4 different cars at once. You hop into one, throw it in gear, and hit the gas. Then, hop out and switch to another car, and do the same thing again… wash, rinse, repeat for cars #3 and #4.

How much time is wasted shifting between vehicles (aka goals)? How much further might you have gotten in that same amount of time if you just floored it while you were still in Car #1? The same is true with our focus and effort. When we try to push too many different projects forward during a single season, then what we tend to get are mediocre results.

Seasonal planning is first of all about hyper-focus on one specific outcome that you are committed to making powerful progress towards. When you choose one car to drive, one outcome to work toward for a whole season, then you have time to get some serious traction and create some powerful results.

Last year when we decided to become full-time digital nomads, we went all-in, and in less than 90-days we had sold, stored, or given away everything we owned. We booked places to live for Oct 2018-June 2019, and completely changed our day-to-day life. During Summer 2018 that was my complete focus. Of course, I still met with clients, took care of Pumpkin, and many other essential activities during that time, as did Brian. But, that transition was our one passion project for that season.

Now, we’re heading into Spring 2019, and while we’re in the process of transitioning from Sedona, AZ to South Lake Tahoe, CA (in fact this post will go live while we’re on our road trip), the focus for this season is entirely on developing, scripting, and recording the course we’re going to be launching this fall:

That’s my “one thing” which doesn’t mean that I won’t be writing blogs and doing Facebook lives. Heck, I’ve even ripped off the bandaid and started an Instagram Account (@ChosenCourse if you’re on IG.) But, those activities are background “maintenance” tasks that are just part of how I serve my Chosen Course community, while I work on the primary outcome of our upcoming course launch.

How do you decide what your passion project will be this season? You may already know your answer. If you had to choose only ONE project to focus on for 3 months, then you might have an immediate and obvious answer: hiring and onboarding your first VA, improving your personal health and building your exercise and healthy eating habits, working intentionally on your relationships (whether that’s caring for your spouse/partner or getting out more consistently to meet new people and create new friends.)

And yes, I really do mean from your whole life… Your one passion project can be personal or business, but choose one and give it your whole heart and energy for this season.

If you are struggling to choose one, then make your list (hopefully only 2-3 possibilities) and ask yourself: Which one of these would make a huge impact if I gave it my ALL for the next 3 months? If you truly don’t know the answer to that, then flip a coin, draw straws of try a technique my wonderful husband, Brian, taught me. Give each of your answers a number (1, 2, 3), then ask a friend to choose a number. When the choose a number if your heart say, “awww, drat, I wanted a different answer.” Then, you know the other project is your top choice right now. If your heart says, “Yes!” All good! It’s a great way to check in with your gut instinct if you have trouble listening to that response.

I’d love to hear about your passion project in the comments below or shoot me a DM on the Chosen Course Facebook Page or Instagram. Otherwise, if you haven’t yet “Liked” Chosen Course on Facebook, then make sure you do that so you get notified each week when I go live.

I’m planning to go live (barring WiFi disasters on our road trip) on Wednesday, April 2rd from Sequoia National Park (or nearby), and we’ll talk more how to get started with seasonal planning and choosing your passion project. I hope I’ll see you there!