12 Week Year Planning System

How to get more of the RIGHT things done in LESS time!

What I LOVE About This… •  Very systematic approach

•  Aligns the big picture with simple day-to-day tasks

•  It’s visual… you can see at a glance what you need to do and what’s coming up

•  The end is in sight, which makes it easier to stick to (12 months is too long for most people to stick to a plan)

•  Forces action (no time to procrastinate… the weeks fly by!)

8-Step Overview + Workshop •  Based on best selling book by Brian P. Moran

•  Uses sophisticated (but simple) planning processes to help give clarity to otherwise over-complicated business plans

•  We’ve summarized the process for you into 8 simple steps

•  Download the planning sheets and resources at the end of the presentation

Step 1: Map Out Your Vision/Goals •  Start FAR out… 10 – 15 year aspirational goal

–  “buy a home for each of my 3 children when they each turn 20 (between the years of 2030 - 2035)”

–  “set up a elementary school in the Philippines for isolated areas that don’t have education systems in place”

•  Then scale that back to create 5 year goal –  “grow my online limosine rental website nationwide so that

it earns $1,000,000 profit per year by the year 2020”

•  Turn your 5 year aspirational goal, into a shorter term 3-year goal –  “expand my online limosine rental business across the

state of Florida so that it earns $300,000 profit per year by 2018”

Step 2: 12-Week Objectives •  Write 1-5 goals for different areas of your life that you

want to achieve over the next 12 weeks –  SMART: Simple, Measureable, Attainable, Realistic,

Timely

•  Break goals out into different areas of your life – ONLINE BUSINESS: “Launch 1 new product on

Amazon and by April 1st 2016” – HEALTH / FITNESS: “Lose 10lbs by April 1st 2016”

Step 3: Write Action List For Each Goal ONLINE BUSINESS “Launch 1 new product on Amazon and by April 1st 2016”

–  Make list of 20 product ideas –  Order samples for 4 best ideas –  Place bulk order for one of the products –  Build a website for the product –  Trademark a new brand name –  Create product insert –  Send products to inspection center –  Get product photos –  Write descriptions –  Add listing to Amazon

Write the “to do” list detailing every

major step you need to take to reach your goal

(doesn’t need to be in a specific order)

Step 4: Identify Critical Tasks •  Eliminate any actions that aren’t absolutely critical to

your success •  BE RUTHLESS!

GOAL: “Launch 1 new product on Amazon and by April 1st 2016”

–  Make list of 20 product ideas –  Order samples for 4 best ideas –  Place bulk order for one of the products –  Build a website for the product –  Trademark a new brand name –  Create product insert –  Send products to inspection center –  Get product photos –  Write descriptions –  Add listing to Amazon

Step 5: Assign Weekly ‘Due Dates’ GOAL: “Launch 1 new product on Amazon by April 1st 2016”

–  Make list of 20 product ideas (week 2 – 17th January) –  Order samples for 4 best ideas (week 3 – 24th January) –  Place bulk order for one of the products (week 5 – 7th

February) –  Get product photos (week 5 – 7th February) –  Write descriptions (week 6 – 14th February) –  Add listing to Amazon (week 8 – 28th February)

Step 6: Add Action Items To 12 Week Plan •  Transfer all your action tasks to the weekly plan •  This is where you start to see the big picture, things

start to fall into place •  If some weeks are too intense, adjust your plan

accordingly

NOTE: We’re working backwards to create a roadmap that’ll get you to your goal!

Step 7: Build Your Weekly Plan •  Can use Google Calendar or Google Docs, whichever you

prefer (I use Google Calendar)

•  Build out ALL 12 weeks at once (not just upcoming week)

•  Three key types of recommended time blocks: –  Strategic Blocks – 3 hours of uninterrupted time. In these time blocks,

all energy goes to pre-planned tasks. Normally 1 per week is enough. –  Buffer Blocks – These are used to handle miscellaneous and

unexpected tasks (replying to emails is one example), most people need 1-2 per day, 30 minutes is usually enough for each block

–  Breakout Blocks – 3 hours of non-work related activity during your work day (not really applicable unless you are your own boss)

•  15 minutes of planning time should also be allocated at the beginning of each week, use this to check what you have planned for upcoming week.

Example: Week 1

Example: Week 2

Step 8: Scorecard / Review •  How many of your tasks did you complete? •  What went well, what could have gone better? •  Do you need to add in more buffer blocks?

Resources Plan Template:

http://blueprintproaccess.com/bpa12weekplan

A Few Final Tips •  ‘Buddy System’ is a great idea (helps hold you

accountable) –  Gym workout partner –  Business partner

•  You need to look at your 12 week plan on a daily basis… you really need to embrace it...

•  Takes time to set up and requires some discipline, but is the BEST system I’ve found for systematically planning out 3 month periods, and getting more done.

•  Read the book J

Q&A

WORKSHOP Time to build your plan!

Step 1: Map Out Your Vision/Goals •  Start FAR out… 10 – 15 year aspirational goal

–  “buy a home for each of my 3 children when they each turn 20 (between the years of 2030 - 2035)”

–  “set up a elementary school in the Philippines for isolated areas that don’t have education systems in place”

•  Then scale that back to create 5 year goal –  “grow my online limosine rental website nationwide so that

it earns $1,000,000 profit per year by the year 2020”

•  Turn your 5 year aspirational goal, into a shorter term 3-year goal –  “expand my online limosine rental business across the

state of Florida so that it earns $300,000 profit per year by 2018”

5 MINUTES!

Step 2: 12-Week Objectives •  Write 1-5 goals for different areas of your life that you

want to achieve over the next 12 weeks –  SMART: Simple, Measureable, Attainable, Realistic,

Timely

•  Break goals out into different areas of your life – ONLINE BUSINESS: “Launch 1 new product on

Amazon and by April 1st 2016” – HEALTH / FITNESS: “Lose 10lbs by April 1st 2016”

5 MINUTES!

Step 3: Write Action List For Each Goal ONLINE BUSINESS “Launch 1 new product on Amazon and by April 1st 2016”

–  Make list of 20 product ideas –  Order samples for 4 best ideas –  Place bulk order for one of the products –  Build a website for the product –  Trademark a new brand name –  Create product insert –  Send products to inspection center –  Get product photos –  Write descriptions –  Add listing to Amazon

Write the “to do” list detailing every

major step you need to take to reach your goal

(doesn’t need to be in a specific order)

7 MINUTES!

Step 4: Identify Critical Tasks •  Eliminate any actions that aren’t absolutely critical to

your success •  BE RUTHLESS!

GOAL: “Launch 1 new product on Amazon and by April 1st 2016” –  Make list of 20 product ideas –  Order samples for 4 best ideas –  Place bulk order for one of the products –  Build a website for the product –  Trademark a new brand name –  Create product insert –  Send products to inspection center –  Get product photos –  Write descriptions –  Add listing to Amazon

4 MINUTES!

Step 5: Assign Weekly ‘Due Dates’ GOAL: “Launch 1 new product on Amazon by April 1st 2016”

–  Make list of 20 product ideas (week 2 – 6th March) –  Order samples for 4 best ideas (week 3 – 13th March) –  Place bulk order for one of the products (week 5 – 27th March) –  Get product photos (week 5 – 27th March) –  Write descriptions (week 6 – 3rd April) –  Add listing to Amazon (week 8 – 17th April)

5 MINUTES!

Step 6: Add Action Items To 12 Week Plan •  Transfer all your action tasks to the weekly plan •  This is where you start to see the big picture, things

start to fall into place •  If some weeks are too intense, adjust your plan

accordingly

5 MINUTES!

Step 7: Build Your Weekly Plan •  Build out ALL 12 weeks at once (not just upcoming week)

•  Three key types of recommended time blocks: –  Strategic Blocks – 3 hours of uninterrupted time. In these time blocks,

all energy goes to pre-planned tasks. Normally 1 per week is enough. –  Buffer Blocks – These are used to handle miscellaneous and

unexpected tasks (replying to emails is one example), most people need 1-2 per day, 30 minutes is usually enough for each block

–  Breakout Blocks – 3 hours of non-work related activity during your work day (not really applicable unless you are your own boss)

•  15 minutes of planning time should also be allocated at the beginning of each week, use this to check what you have planned for upcoming week.

5 MINUTES!

Example: Week 1

Example: Week 2