Guest post by by Cass Mullane, Entrepreneur Coach, Right-Brain Business Plan® Licensed Facilitator, Prosper Creatively, LLC
I’m launching some new things soon… a book, a podcast, plus awesome art and business retreats for busy entrepreneurs… totally delicious additions to my current coaching practice.
In the process of doing this I have only about a jillion things to get accomplished. Naturally I feel pulled in many directions all at the same time as I must keep a plethora of plates all spinning at once. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed, but more often I’m fairly comfortable because I know I am well equipped to figure out how to get all this juiciness completed and ready to serve.
So how do you learn how to stay relatively calm in the face of all the things that need to be done?
- Know where you want to go
- Plan how to get there
- Get help with the things you’re not good at or don’t want to do
- Do only what you’re really good at
- Check in regularly with everyone (including yourself)
- Adjust the plan
Everything else is just noise.
Know where you want to go
This almost goes without saying… you need to be crystal clear on where you want to go and what you want to accomplish. This will serve you immensely when things get tough. It will also help you very quickly identify what’s important and what’s fluff. Plus, it will help you get back on track when you get derailed or distracted.
Plan how to get there
Since I’m a visual planner, I whip out my whiteboard, the big calendar, my foam core and my sticky notes and go to work. I start at the 30,000 foot view to identify the big projects (like book, podcast, retreats), then give each project a big piece of foam core. Then I used my sticky notes to list the major tasks and milestones. I figure out where I’ll need help and identify who I should get in touch with. I figure out when the tasks need to start and to be finished and continue to dive down and down and down until I’m ready to go to work on it.
Get help with the things you’re not good at or don’t want to do
During the planning process I show the relevant parts of the plan to various members of my team and get their input on priorities, scheduling and content. For example, I know I need to plan a social media campaign for the book, so I let my book coach and her team handle designing that piece for me. I also know I need a redo on my website, so I need to find someone to help me design it and make it a reality.
Do only what you’re really good at
Now I can already hear some of you saying, ͞”I don’t have a team.͟” I’ll bet that if you really think about it, you probably do. Does anyone help you with your website? Does anyone help you with your bookkeeping? Does anyone help you with your social media? Your graphic design? Your writing? Your mindset? Your brainstorming? Your business? Does anyone guide or mentor you? Then you have a team. They may be paid or unpaid, they’re still part of your team. Pay attention to others who have good results and get recommendations from them about who to consider engaging.
Check in regularly with everyone (including yourself)
Staying on top of things and holding your team, including yourself, accountable is essential when you have a lot you want to accomplish. I’m definitely NOT talking about you micromanaging everything or doing everything yourself. I AM talking about being a good boss and managing your team by letting them do what they do best while making sure they’re on track with what you want them to accomplish. Remember to turn the accountability mirror on yourself as well. You need to keep your focus on doing what you do best and only overseeing what other people are doing.
Adjust the plan
You will need to review your plan regularly to figure out where you need to make adjustments. Practically every plan will experience a few major glitches and will require adjustments. (Note: One of the beautiful things about sticky notes is they can be pulled off and moved easily.) Your goal is to minimize the disruptions by keeping an eye on what’s going on and by making adjustments before you hit a crisis.
Stay laser focused on what’s important and do the work. Everything else is just noise.
Cass Mullane’s calm, comfortable approach consistently yields positive results for clients. Her business and personal coaching practice, www.ProsperCreatively.com, specializes in delivering solid left brain business skills to right brainers and creatives in a fun, visual way. She’s an artist with an MBA, a best selling author and creator of the Cool Stuff Jar™ Retreats.You can also visit Cass on Facebook!
