#46: Vision and Planning: The Big Goals

Introduction

Do you feel overwhelmed when you think about planning for the upcoming year? There is such a big push at the end of the year to begin thinking about that next and that can be overwhelming, but today I’m going to share with you the first step of my process for planning with clarity and confidence for the upcoming year. 

You don’t need to feel overwhelm, frustration, or worry about being unsure of those next steps and in the new year, I’ll even take you a step further to help you craft your Mindful Vision for your business.  But first, let’s keep it simple.

Three 2022 Pillars

Welcome back to a new episode of the Coaching Hive podcast.  As I mentioned in the intro for this episode, today is all about starting a 3-step process that we will continue through the end of this month.  

Planning is an essential part of building a thriving coaching business and has the added benefit of helping you to feel more comfortable each step of the way with a clear path to walk.  

This week we will look at the big picture and then over the next two weeks we will steadily move toward a clear focus with more and more details.  How does that sound?

A little simplicity is a good thing.  And when you think about your business simplicity, clarity, and confidence create the trifecta for action and progress.

Without further ado, grab a pen and paper.  Even if you typically take notes on a tablet or other kind of device, if you are able, I strongly encourage you to grab a piece of paper for this activity.  The physical process of writing can often unlock ideas and paths that we otherwise might not uncover.  It can be so much easier to get closer to your truth and your desires for your business with the action of writing. 

Now, you might be thinking that a blank page is not your thing.  Grab a small sticky note, a scrap of paper, or anything that you have laying around.  It doesn’t have to be a big blank sheet of paper.  You could open your notes app, but give the paper method a try first.

What we are focused on this week are the big picture goals for the year.  This may not sound tricky, but what if I said to keep this list to 3?

Chances are, you will not start there and that is ok.  If you are using sticky notes, grab a pile.  If you have a sheet of paper grab your pen.  Now take 5 minutes and be sure to set a timer.  Jot down one idea per sticky note of what you want to accomplish in 2022.  If you are using a sheet of paper, just jot down your list.

Once that five minutes is up, if you find that your ideas a slowing down go ahead and stop.  If you looked at that timer and seriously contemplated adding another 5 minutes because your ideas are really flowing, go ahead and add another 5 minutes.  BUT no more than an additional 5 minutes.

Once you have your initial list of what you’d like to accomplish in 2022, I want you to take another look at the ideas that captured your attention.

If you are like many, you listed more than 3 things.  I know that I do that when I first start this process.  In fact, I often have 10-15 things.  Can you imagine implementing 10-15 major items next year?  It sounds exhausting and walks the line for overwhelm.  Definitely not the simplicity that we are after when crafting a path forward.

This brings me to the next step, look at your list and see how they can be lumped together.  The idea here is to simplify the list you have.  It is likely that several of the items you have identified are actually part of a bigger concept.  It is that bigger concept that becomes one of your 2022 goals.  Think of it like a pillar.  The pillar will contain more detail, which we will talk about in coming weeks, but right now we want the big picture view. 

Can you identify 3 main concepts or pillars that arise over and over?  

Perhaps you’d like to expand your network – this might include online, in-person, email lists, and other ideas, but they all come back to the concept and pillar of expanding your network.

Maybe you’d like to add a course to your offerings – this might include researching the topic, identifying your audience, crafting slides, scripts, and filming, but once again it all comes back to the concept and pillar of adding a course or possibly expanding your revenue streams.

Are you seeing the idea here?  You want to look for the themes and those main themes will become your 3 big ideas for the year.  When you have these in place it becomes easier to make those quarterly and monthly action steps that we will discuss in the next two episodes.  And if you find that you still want more guidance as you craft your vision for 2022 and for your business, I have just the workshop for you.  Keep your eyes and ears open for more information or send me an email at moira [at] coachinghive.com if you don’t want to wait.

Conclusions

Now let’s do a little recap before wrapping up this episode.  We started by exploring what you’d like your 2022 goals to be.  What do you want to accomplish?  This is a complex question but can be simplified by understanding that you often have pillars that can house several tasks or ideas.  The key is to make sure that these ideas are aligned with your coaching vision as you understand it today.  

What do you want to accomplish in 2022?  The top 3 goals?  It is tempting to make this list longer, but think big picture and how these 3 items will help you get to your vision of your coaching journey.  Remember that this will need to align with your personal goals so that the two aren’t trying to stomp each other out.

If you haven’t outlined your personal goals or pillars for 2022, this is a great time to do this same activity but focused on you instead of your business. Who knows, maybe you will find a piece of alignment that you never anticipated or discover that a business pillar needs a little fine-tuning to be in better alignment with your personal pillars.

I can’t wait to hear about brainstorming process!  Until next time, I hope you have a healthy, safe, and happy week.