It’s sooo easy to work on just what’s in front you that day, what feels most urgent.

I’ve been there. You’ve been there.

You see a super small issue with your website, perhaps a non-vital plugin needs updating.

And instead of waiting for another day when there’s more time in your schedule.

You drop everything to check that item off your to-do list.

Ahh, that’s felt great, right?

But growing your business isn’t about working in the moment.

The secret sauce is actually in the laser-focused goals and long-term vision and planning.

That’s where the tracking we talked about last week comes into play.

It keeps you honest.

It shows you when you’re operating too much in the daily weeds.

It forces you to continue taking actions to meet your goals.

It allows you to step back and ask, “if I say ‘yes’ here, what are the consequences or what am I not going to be able to do”?

If you find yourself scrambling from one task to another or not making daily progress towards your goal, here are a few questions to ask yourself as you plan your day:

• What is non-negotiable today? What is a must-do for today?
• What is negotiable today, or could be put off until tomorrow (or another day)?
• Which of my negotiable items are supporting my long-term business vision? (hint – consider re-evaluating if you even need the negotiable items that aren’t in that supportive bucket)
• Have I budgeted enough time to complete the top 3 tasks on my list? (bonus points if the allotted time has padding so that you do each without rushing)
• Have I allowed myself time for breaks throughout the day? (hint – if this is a ‘no’, go back and re-evaluate your negotiables/non-negotiables)
• What did I do today? What did I learn from it?

As you go, you’ll pull your top priorities more and more into focus.

You might find that items you thought were super important go completely off the radar because they actually are negotiable and not even a little supportive of where you’re heading.

Or, you could see what items you’re viewing as negotiable are really non-negotiable if you want to keep steering toward your long-term vision.

When planning for your day and what’s on your calendar, do you find yourself with too much to do?

Or are you the opposite, and have too much unplanned time?

Tell me about it below – I’d love to hear from you!

(h/t to Michael Bungay Stanier and his book, The Coaching Habit)

Photo by Hannah Olinger on Unsplash