Your Second Half Success Plan

We are continuing our July series on the Mid-Year Business Reset. Today we’re going to talk about your Second Half Success Plan, and why I’m planning the rest of my year in two 12-week sections.

You might remember that, when we started this month, we talked about the mid-year check-in: looking back before moving forward. And last week we talked about the power of letting go: five things you might need to stop doing in your business. So, if you have not listened to those episodes, I encourage you to go back and listen, and now it’s time to decide what we’re intentionally going to focus on moving forward.

Plan Success in Shorter Cycles

When you look six months ahead in your business, that can be a little bit overwhelming, and it can be incredibly productive when broken down into manageable seasons. So that’s why today I want to share with you a planning method that’s transformed the way that I run my business. It’s called the 12-week year, and it’s something that I have personally done for years.

If you think about it, if you set New Year’s goals every year, January can feel very exciting, but by March you’ve lost your momentum, and by July, which is where we’re at now, you will often feel guilty and just give up. So, I still set annual vision goals, but I don’t manage my business by annual goals anymore.

I manage it by 12-week cycles. When you’re managing it by 12 weeks, it helps to increase that urgency that you feel without becoming overwhelmed. It’s also more manageable because you can break it into action steps, which is what the 12-week year teaches. And if you get an accountability partner as I do, you can help each other to stay accountable for the goals and to even encourage each other to keep going.

A Successful Planning Mindset

So, this is why six months equals two opportunities. Instead of saying, “I have six months left,” you can think, “I have two complete 12-week sections remaining, or 12-week sets remaining.” And that mindset can change everything for you. So, you get two planning sessions, two executive seasons, and two opportunities to course correct, to get right back on track.

Two opportunities to celebrate your wins. And you don’t have six months left; you have two fresh starts, because when you set your 12-week goals. If you don’t achieve something that you want to, you have a fresh start 12 weeks later. Maybe you decided after listening to the last episode on focus and the power of letting go, “Okay, I’m going to focus on one strategy or one goal.”

So, we talked about maybe that being grow your email list, finishing a manuscript, launching a course, booking speaking engagements, whatever the case may be. Then you are going to focus on that, and honestly, fewer goals usually equal better results. So you build out your weekly action steps. That’s why the 12-week year works so well.

Instead of asking yourself, “What do I want to do by the end of this year?” what must happen every week? So instead of saying, “I want to make,” or, “I want to have 500 new subscribers,” you would break that down into a weekly action. So post one blog a week, send one email, create three social media posts, guest on one podcast each month. You know, whatever the case may be.

Successful Planning Routines

If you remember in one of the last episodes, I talked about how one of my coaches, Theresa Taylor, always talked about mastering the mundane. Success usually isn’t about doing something extraordinary once. It’s about faithfully doing the ordinary over and over again, and that is about building consistency into your business.

I track weekly commitments that I have. Some of those are to stay on top of my budget, because I need to manage my money well in my business and personal life. Another one is to send a weekly email. I also put out a weekly podcast like you’re listening to. And finally, I write daily because I am working on finishing a book.

I’m actually just finished, or really, really close to finishing, writing chapter 15 of 17 chapters. That was my goal for the last 12 weeks before this set, and I ended up having to have surgery during the middle of those 12 weeks. Which meant that I took about a week or a week and a half off. This time I had to move that goal into the next 12 weeks, but by the end of July I should finish writing the book.

That is an example for you of if you don’t get something done in the 12 weeks, you can move it forward. But basically, what you do is set weekly action steps or commitments that you’re going to make. I write these in my planner, and my goal isn’t just checking off random tasks; it’s checking off tasks that actually move my business forward so I can look back and I can say, “Did I send my weekly email? Did I record my episodes? Did I write this week?” And consistency beats intensity every time.

So, it’s not about doing more, as I’ve said before; it is about doing what matters and mastering the mundane. And so, think about this verse, which is Proverbs 16:3, “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.”

A Plan for Success is Good Stewardship

Planning isn’t unspiritual. Planning is stewardship. So we make plans while remaining open to God’s direction. Instead of creating six months of goals, I want to challenge you to spend one hour this week planning the next twelve weeks. Ask yourself:

What is your number one goal?
What weekly actions support that goal?
What distractions do you need to eliminate?
How will you measure progress? Will you write it down in your planner and check it off?

And then remember, don’t worry about finishing the entire year. Just faithfully steward the next 12 weeks, then do it again. So small, consistent steps taken over time often produce the biggest results.

I have done episodes in the past that explain, in more detail, the twelve-week year. You can listen to those here. And that way you can get a little bit more detail if you’d like. Or you can check out the book, “The 12 Week Year” by Brian P. Moran. It is absolutely one of my favorites.

If today’s episode encouraged you, subscribe to the podcast. And if you’d like support in building a simple, sustainable marketing system for your book or your business, you can connect with me.