Quarterly Goal Call!

Last time I wrote about quarterly planning, and today is about breaking down quarterly goals into monthly goals. 

To recap, quarterly planning provides a high-level view of things to be done in a challenging-but-doable timeframe. The next step is to actually get things done, or at least make progress on them, in a tighter timeframe and narrower view.

Here’s my example, focusing on just two areas for simplicity’s sake:

Q2 April - June

1. Business related projects

• Ongoing newsletter

• Podcast pitching

• Workshop/webinar pitching

• Ongoing social media

2. New writing projects

• Novel

• Nonfiction content

A strategist told me that one can reasonably accomplish 1-2 projects a month. Already I can see I’m not setting myself up for success with my high-level plan. 

Some things are dependent on other things. For example, to pitch or sell a workshop, I need to develop the content and next steps for writers to take. 

So, I reorganized and reprioritized what to do month by month to help me meet my quarterly goals:

April

1. Turn existing nonfiction content (that I developed in Q1) into workshops and podcast pitches

1. Create next steps for each audience

2. Ongoing 2x/mo newsletter and social media posts

3. Ongoing novel project

May

1. Pitch podcasts and workshops with content and next steps in place

2. Ongoing 2x/mo newsletter and social media posts

3. Ongoing novel project

June

1. Plan newsletter and social media content in advance

2. Update backend systems

3. Ongoing novel project

All of this is to illustrate there are new things that need to be done in a step-wise fashion while still doing the ongoing things, whether you’re writing or running a business. 

A quarterly plan is WHAT you want to do; a monthly plan is HOW you will do it. You could replace my goals and tasks with your goals and tasks: what do you need to do this month to make progress toward your quarterly goals?

Did you know there are two short-term ways you can get help from me?

1. I offer a free 30-minute call where we’ll talk about what you want to accomplish and whether coaching will help you reach your goals. 

2. I offer an hour-long session where we work on whatever you bring – could be your opening pages, an outline, or even just an idea you want to run by someone – and we solve your most pressing problems through collaboration and coaching.