At least once a year, I gift myself space for my own reflection, new ideas, and growth.
Why do I do this?
It’s essential to make sure I’m feeling purposeful and taking deliberate decisions that help me have a wonderful time in business and life.
It’s an important part of giving to myself what I advocate and offer for others. After all, my business is entirely based on creating spaces for individuals and organisations to clarify what matters to them and guiding them to take confident and conscious steps forwards.
It brings me clarity, creativity, and transformation.
It guarantees progress on my journey towards greater purpose, ease, fulfilment, and freedom.
This is what I wish for myself and for everyone I work with.
So what do I need in order to access these benefits?
Here are 7 features of productive planning time for business, career, or life.
1. Space
I need to be physically away from my desk, from my home, my phone(!) and the spaces where my day-to-day work and life usually takes place. I create space to be with my own thoughts and to allow inspiration to come. I consciously choose surroundings that I know make me feel good, such as beautiful countryside, comfortable rooms, or sunny climates. The space and surroundings you select for this work can really contribute to calming your nervous system and boosting your motivation.
2. Accountability
I tell others what I am doing so that I actually get on with it. This could be your partner, family, friends, colleagues, or your peers. I’ve previously taken one of my business besties with me on my time out, working alongside each other on our own business development. There was nowhere to hide, we encouraged and held each other to account. Putting my time and money into planning makes me want to maximise the benefits and not waste what I’m investing in the process and in myself.
3. Connection
Firstly, the most important part of this whole process is the connection with myself. I explore my own needs and wants, I acknowledge where my inner critic is raging and where unhelpful beliefs are holding me back, and I contemplate the life and lifestyle I am striving towards. Whilst I mainly do my strategic thinking and planning by myself, I also need to spend time in community with others. We are social beings and aren’t designed to be cut off entirely. Plus doing this sort of work completely alone is HARD! So finding the balance is important. Sometimes I meet people along the way, other times I’m with my business pals, or I join a group workshop or retreat. It prevents me from falling down the rabbit holes, getting lost in my own thoughts, and gives me the chance to test out my business ideas with others so I can refine my thinking and my planning for the future.
4. Movement
Movement makes me feel good and feel connected to my physical body. Depending on which space I’ve chosen, I will walk, swim in the sea, stretch my muscles, or climb trees. Consciously moving and nourishing my body helps me feel present, energised, and ready to work
5. Play
This is one of my core values. For me, play, playfulness, and providing opportunities for my inner child to flourish helps to boost my creativity and connect with what feels fulfilling and fun for me. Everyone has their own definition of play. It can cover a huge range, which for me is anything from skimming stones, playing games with others, being in nature, or exploring new places. Whatever it is, I know that having fun and being productive definitely go hand in hand
6. Focus
Entirely on myself. Without guilt. But with a lot of purpose. This is time and space for me to unapologetically explore my past, present, and future and to focus on what I truly want to create for myself and for my clients. So often we (especially women) are carrying an enormous mental load for ourselves and for those around us. Being able to put this down, for a short time, allows me to connect with what else is desired and possible without these distractions. Then I can hatch a clear plan free from the ‘buts’ or ‘what ifs’
7. Structure
I ensure a daily programme to make sure I factor in all 6 of the above features and so I blend a focus on my personal and professional growth. I deploy some of my favourite and most effective strategy exercises, often the ones I use with my clients – these help me to recognise my progress over the last year, to reflect on what I have found fulfilling, frustrating, fearful, and fun, to identify my priorities for the year ahead, to think creatively and develop new or bold ideas, to determine what to leave behind and what to take forwards, and to set myself some manageable and meaningful next steps. I also ensure there is time without an agenda to process what I’m finding out and integrate those important shifts in how I think and feel
Your life is so precious. Choosing to create some time and space to determine what you truly want out of it is the ultimate act of self-respect. It’s what will lead you closer to a life of purpose and joy.
I know how hard this can be to do alone. And I would be delighted to hold this space and time for you. You can contact me or explore ways I can help you on my website.
And if you want to really see what my 2023 productive planning week looked like in practice, check out the short video below where you can see all 7 features in action! Can you guess where I was??
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