(Re)treat yourself
I did my first author event in a bookstore last Wednesday. It came together almost effortlessly. A facilitator who works with my Dallas-based client owns a bookstore with her husband as part of their semi-retirement. She invited me to do an author event as soon as she heard about my book, and I happened to be coming back to Dallas to facilitate a workshop.
The event was lovely. I’m always humbled and surprised when people show up, but this newsletter isn’t actually about the author event.
I’m normally “a fly in the afternoon/evening before an engagement and head straight to the airport after facilitating” kind of gal. This time was different. The author event was on Wednesday night, and I didn’t facilitate until Friday.
So I gave myself a little end of quarter retreat. Here’s what it entailed:
A moment of pride.
I wrote what happened this past quarter and honed in out what I was most proud of. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a tendency to move onto the next big thing. For example, I may or may not have developed a strategy for an Inner Workout tech product during book launch week because my brain has no chill. That’s why grounding myself in pride and celebration is such a necessary part of my process.
A moment of clarity.
I took some time to get clear about what I want in the next three months. How do I want to feel? How do I want to spend my time? How do I want to make money? I answered these questions by reviewing what didn’t work last quarter, checking in with my inner compass, and considering what excites me in the short and long term. By the end of my reflection, I had a few stated goals as well as a few questions I wanted to explore over the next few months.
A moment of planning.
I packed a stack of sticky notes and wrote what needed to be accomplished in order to achieve my goals or answer my questions. Then I grouped the tasks by month—ordering, re-ordering, and scrapping tasks to ensure that my approach to this quarter’s work reflected my priorities.
Eventually, I jumped over to Amie to give my tasks and sub-tasks a digital home. I ended by blocking time (and buffer time) on my calendar for April’s tasks. It puts me at ease to know that I have more than enough space to get everything done.
In reality, the process is more fluid than a three-step checklist makes it appear. I jotted down some tasks on Post-its before I started reflecting. I clarified and re-clarified while planning.
What’s most important to me is that I’m excited for what the next 90 days have in store, both personally and professionally.
How do you approach quarterly planning?
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