If you’ve ever found yourself drifting in + out of overwhelm as you try to do “all the things” … then today’s Quick Start Planner Plan will take the guess work out of knowing what to focus on so you can do the things you need to do instead of whatever comes to mind in the moment.

It’s so easy to find yourself scrolling on Instagram just for a few minutes as you “take a break” from your looming todo list.

But wouldn’t you rather be excited about the things you’re doing today because you know that they are the tasks that will get you to your goals.

If that sounds like you, it’s no coincidence that you’re reading this today.

What I have to share with you can change the way you see your todo list.

It’ll help you take the guess work out of knowing what to focus on so you can do the things you need to do instead of doing whatever comes to mind in the moment!

When you use this simple framework you can free yourself from the drift of overwhelm, distraction and achieve your goals.

Your Quick Start Planning Plan

There are 5 Steps in the Quick Start Planning Plan. They will help you  :

• find a planner that fits you like your favourite pair of jeans
• know what to focus on to free yourself from overwhelm
• organise your day in a way that helps you do the things that matter so you can achieve your goals

Sounds good doesn’t it, so let’s get started!

Create a planner that suits you

The first thing you need is a planner. It can be digital or paper, whatever suits you best.

You want a planner that feels like your favourite pair of jeans … you know the one’s that make you feel confident + comfortable to be yourself when you’re out with your friends … because it makes staying focused and getting things done so much easier.

Whichever one you choose it should help you turn your goals into plans that you can take focused action on.

That’s it’s goal, to help you achieve yours!

You can download a free planner to get started here. Or if you’re ready to experience the full FUSElife experience you can shop the range of planners here.

And if you’d like my insider tips + tricks on creating your own unique planner, you can join the Paper Planner Workshop for free here.

Plan your big rocks

Just like in the rocks, pebbles and sand analogy, you’ll want to put the important things in your schedule first.

Stephen Covey taught this concept in the 80’s with his 7 habits of highly effective people.

The big rocks are the things that truly matter … like your goals, family time, vacations, birthdays and events, spring cleaning or your taxes.

In business it might be conferences, your product releases, peak and special sale times and when your customers are online and off.

These are the important events and times you’ll plan your business + life around.

Create a time map

The next step is to create what I call a Time Map, or a blueprint of your ideal week.

Be sure to include “all the things” that make up the routine of daily life, at home and for work. These may be things like your personal self care, family time, regular meetings, and other weekly commitments like sports and church activities.

I found this exercise really helpful when planning out new consulting packages for my business. I knew exactly how much time I had for work in any given week and how I needed to break it down to have time for my client design work, creating new products, taking care of the general day to day activity and what time I could give to consulting.

Seeing what you have time visually helps to calm the fears about how we’re going to get everything done. And it is essential if you want to know what to say yes to and what to gracefully decline.

Have a weekly meeting

With your time map outlined, you’re ready to plan your week. This is a great time to combine your work and family together in one schedule to eliminate double booking and over scheduling your time.

We have created a delicious weekly tradition in our home. Each Sunday we cook breakfast together and chat before our family meeting. I don’t know how we got things done before we started doing this.

Actually, that’s not quite true!

I use to do the thinking for a few of us, I was the reminder app and the one who kept things on track. Then when our car went in for an extended repair we had a lot more time at home and our weekly family meetings were born.

We’ve never looked back and can’t believe all that we’ve accomplished together since living life this way. And what’s even more valuable than getting things done is how it’s brought us together more. It’s such an easy and non intrusive way to check in together and support each other.

We take turns each week leading the meeting, which is a great experience for kids. Our meeting cover things like our schedules, work and school updates, bills to be paid, decisions about vacations and invitations, plus we review the week and highlight anything that needs changing. And we finish off with everyone saying something they’re thankful for and prayer.

Use your time map to know how much time you can give to the different activities and tasks in your week.

Even if it’s only you, having a consistent regular time to plan your week ahead will help you be so much more focused and productive.

Check your daily plan

Life happens.

There’s not a lot we can do about the unexpected things that do pop up in our day. And sometimes things will need to be rescheduled. It’s easier to make those adjustments when you check in on your plans each day.

And when you take a few minutes at the end of the day to plan your tomorrow, you can drift of to sleep easier since you’re not running through your todo list in the dark.

It’s also a lot easier to make small adjustments along the way than it is to make major corrections when you get further down the track and realise that you over planned what you thought you could get done.

It’s true, people overestimate what they can get done in a year and underestimate what they can get done in a decade. Or you could say, we overestimate what we can get done in a week and underestimate what we can do in a year.

Each evening list out the top 3 tasks you need to do tomorrow, note what big project you’re currently focused on so if you happen to have some free time you know what to work on, and check the appointments you have.

Success comes when you #takeAction

Isn’t it time to take the guess work out of knowing what to focus on so you can do the things you need to do instead of doing whatever comes to mind in the moment!

Use the 5 Step Quick Start Planning Plan to lay out your goals in an organised way and take the steps towards achieving them.

Let’s review the five steps :

• Create a planner that fits you like a pair of your favourite jeans
• Plan your big rocks, aka the important stuff for business + life
• Create a time map of your ideal week
• Have a regular weekly meeting to plan your week ahead
• Check your plan the night before

And don’t forget to … check in regularly!

There’s no point going to all the effort if you don’t check in with plan as you go about your day.

For the complete FUSElife framework, pick up your copy of the Planner Playbook in store today

It’s time to flourish!