What happens when you set a goal to do something in a year?
Often times, you procrastinate before you even commit. “I’ll work on it tomorrow – next week – next month.”
You put it off. And put it off. And ‘in a’ year, you’re in the same situation.
What about a 5-year plan? That hardly works for anyone (though I’m an advocate for looking at, and, outlining your overall vision), because things change during a year, much less 5-years… many things change.
But, if you give yourself 90-days, you put yourself in a better position to take action now, not tomorrow, not later today, but right now, since you can further break it down into smaller, doable achievable tasks during a monthly>weekly>daily>hourly, basis.
Most people function better working in 90-days increments. It’s difficult to plan to lose 50 pounds in the next twelve months, because you’ll continually eat the wrong things, thinking that you’ll eat right later and exercise later.
However, you can lose 25 pounds in that time period; you’ve got a deadline that is close, and that in itself will motivate you to get moving.
Once you’ve lost those 25 pounds, you can lose 25 more in the next 90-days.
What about starting your online business? Can you ramp it up in a year? Probably, but it’s unlikely, because again, the deadline is too far out of sight and seems unattainable. You’ll do everything but work on your business.
In 90-days, though, you can build a website, build a list, create your first, or three digital products, or a service program and recruit joint venture/affiliate partners.
And that’s just the beginning.
Once you’ve devised a framework and laid the foundation in those first 90-days, you can level up and leverage what you’re already done.
Maybe you earn an average of $2,000 a month during your first 90-days. Now you have products/services, joint venture/affiliates partners, a growing list, a growing reputation, and people who trust and want to work with you; Can you earn a lot more in the next 90-days? The odds are certainly in your favor.
So, decide what you want, get into action and you’ll go places. Don’t get distracted. Don’t buy things you don’t need, or, spend time on things that won’t move your business forward.
Focus on your goals for 90-days.
- Decide what you want.
- Ask, “What’s in my way, or what’s stopping me from getting there?”
- What do you have to do to get there?
- Are you willing to do what it takes to get the results you’re after?
- Write it all down.
- Now, create a framework/plan to accomplish it in 90-days.
- Break it down into manageable increments – monthly>weekly>daily>hourly.
- Do it – in 90-days.
You might also like: How A Business Plan/Framework And Coach Can Help You Succeed.
© Cherry-Ann Carew
Cherry-Ann Carew is an Online Business Strategist & Amazon multi-bestselling author. She supports emerging business owners simplify their start-up journey, by customizing a business framework that aligns with their vision and goals, so that they can earn uncapped income and live life on their terms.
Photo by Emma Matthews on Unsplash
With your 8 steps, I have created a list for my first goal – Finish making all Christmas presents (there are a few) by December 16. I will let you know how it goes. Thank you for the incentive!
Oh, brilliant! I love it. Yes, please do let me know how it goes. I’m sure it’ll be less stressful with your list to guide you.
I like your idea of the 90-day plan. It is satisfying to see the progress and it builds momentum. I would still think of the five-year and one-year plans to help focus on what is best to do in the first 90 days. There is no point is working 90 days if it is not in the direction of your long-term goal. The end of the first 90-day plan should just roll on into the next 90-day plan. The best way to do that is to review and revise the plan every month. It is easier to build a plan if you are making a plan for now and understand it can be changed if it is not perfect yet.
I agree, Dough. It’s important to have a 5-10-years framework/plan, which I wrote a short article on here: http://cherryanncarew.com/how-a-business-plan-framework-and-coach-can-help-you-succeed/
Breaking it down into 3-months increments is less overwhelming and, of course, should lead into the next and the next as you stated. There really is a sense of achievement when one can see how much one has accomplished upon reviewing.
i love this! 90 days seems to be that amount of time which is not too long in the future and the time in which we can accomplish some of those grand goals we always seem to have lying around.
i am going to try this out and update you too.
Yes, Vidya, that time frame is less intimidating, and is easy to build upon. Please do keep me updated:)