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Should You Spend Time Planning This Year?

Written by: Laura Posey

Article Overview: That seems like a silly question perhaps, but so many business people don’t bother really planning their year (much less their entire business) that I have to ask. If you don’t have a plan yet, here a few of the best reasons to make time in the next two weeks to get one done.

Should You Spend Time Planning This Year?

That seems like a silly question perhaps, but so many business people don’t bother really planning their year (much less their entire business) that I have to ask.

If you don’t have a plan yet, here a few of the best reasons to make time in the next two weeks to get one done.

Focus Changes Everything

Having a plan forces you to decide where to focus your time, energy and money in the coming year. Focus is the force that drives all things to greater power and success.

An unfocused stream of light creates a gentle illumination while a focused stream creates a laser beam capable of cutting through any obstacle. An unfocused team of rowers wanders around the water, while a focused team can conquer any ocean.

Writing Goals Down Changes Your Brain

For years, scientists have known that the act of writing things down changes the way they are stored in your brain. That’s why you had to spend so much time in school writing out your multiplication tables, etc.

Writing your plan plants seeds in your subconscious that can dramatically increase your likelihood of achieving. Even if you fall short of your ultimate goals, you’ll likely far exceed what you would have accomplished had you not bothered to plan.

Planning Doesn’t Have To Be Hard

When I ask people why they don’t have a plan, many tell me they don’t have time to write a huge plan and, even if they did, they probably wouldn’t use it anyway. It is just to easy to go back to winging it as real life deviates from what you planned.

Proper planning doesn’t have to take tons of time or result in the death of a hundred trees. You can create a complete annual plan in just 20 minutes and use only one sheet of paper. Best of all, the plan you create will be flexible enough to accommodate changes in the economy and your business as the year progresses. A plan shouldn’t be a prison but rather guardrails on the highway to your goals.

So, what’s your plan?

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Article Tags: marketing, motivation, sales, sales tips, small business



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