12 Months On a Single Piece of Paper? How To Strategically Plan Your Year To Fit Everything In
12 months, 1 piece of paper, A4 only.
Does it fit?
Can you write a plan for your next year on a single piece of paper?
If not, then… your plan is too complex.
(This is coming from a guy who LOVES spreadsheets.)
Your next 12 months are going to fly by whether you want them to or not. The question is: Are you going to get 12-months’ worth of life out of them?
In business, it feels like everything has attachments, pivot tables, linked documents and subfolders. We’re used to overcomplicating things.
But when you’re faced with a decision that you have to make on the spot, does that overcomplication help?
No.
This is when simplified strategies work best.
It’s why I advocate for systems, models and playbooks in business. It takes that complexity and purifies it into something manageable.
Same with planning your life.
Years ago, my wife and I were struggling. I was building my company Clarity.fm and she was growing her agency.
2 entrepreneurs, with 2 kids… and LOTS of demand on our time.
It was hard to live an integrated life with the right balance of work, family and fun. So we had to get serious about planning our future in a way that was manageable.
We had to make it fit on a single page.
I learned this strategy from Taki Moore and it’s made my life so much more streamlined.
Want to know how you can do it?
Get yourself a piece of paper and pen (or a Google Doc), and follow along with this video:
Exclusive Download: Preloaded Year™ Template — 1-Page Visual Color-Coordinated Outline of Your Full Year Mapped Out Around Your Business & Personal Life
Here’s the steps to get 12-months of life-planning on a single piece of paper.
- Big Rocks First
- Revenue Milestones
- Think Once
- Stress Test
- Work The Plan
Now I know what you’re thinking:
“Rigid plans don’t work, Dan…”
That’s just it. You’ve got to plan for flexibility and for things to change. I expect 10% of my year to change. The other 90% might get shifted around, but they’ll happen… because I’m planning for it.
If something dramatic changes (like Coronavirus) in your life, that’s totally ok…
Just pull out the paper, reset and you’re good to go.
This is a system that reduces stress, streamlines your decisions AND is flexible enough to know that your year is going to change… all while getting the most out of it.
Your time is yours. It’s up to you to use it well.
See you in the comments.
P.S. Prefer audio? Subscribe to the SaaS Growth Stacking Show directly on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and make sure to leave a rating and review if you find the show helpful.
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Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. (Get access to all my latest business hacks.) He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited three tech companies: Spheric, Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.
Originally published at https://www.danmartell.com on June 15, 2020.
