While I was flying to Atlanta to brainstorm with top-gun marketers Andy Jenkins, Jerry West and Leslie Rohde (of StomperNet), I invested time in creating a Game Plan using an Excel Spreadsheet.
(Here's a quick tip I learnt from Andy Jenkins - buy another laptop battery, because you can never be certain if your airline seat has the power ports. This way you can be certain to have enough 'juice' to work on your laptop while in flight. Thanks Andy!)
– The Problem:
Without a game plan or system of organization, projects and deadlines can easily slip and will cause an avalanche of overwhelm, frustration, a poor reputation, and business, family and health crises.
– Why Hasn't It Been Solved:
Many of us don't plan. Some of us enjoy flying by the seat of our pants. If you do plan, then we don't look at our plans often enough to check if we're still on-point, on-purpose or on-track.
In addition, many of us weren't taught in school/college/university or growing up how to plan and execute effectively, let alone what systems and processes can help us plan efficiently.
– What's Possible:
Planning (or using sports terminology, 'game planning') can be much easier with simple, cheap and effective tools available to us today.
If you have the desire to move forward in your business or personal life, then the following tip may be of value to you.
– Sherman's Solution:
There are many tools available - whiteboards, whiteboard wallpaper (stuck to your walls so you can write on them), portable planning journals, PDAs with planning software etc.
I use Microsoft Excel.
It comes standard in your PC, MAC or laptop, so it's zero cost to you and me.
I use Excel because its portable on my Mac laptop. I could plan on a board or whiteboard wallpaper in my office, but I don't work in one place. Sometimes I work in my office, most times in the living room or on my bed. And as my laptop is portable, it suits my style and preferences. If you prefer to work from one place only, then a fixed planning device may work to your advantage.
Here's what I do…
I use separate Worksheet tabs (in the footer of your Excel spreadsheet) to segment all my major involvements. Eg. "Products", "SEO", "JV", "Team" etc.
Then in each worksheet, I list in the top row all the Clients, Partners or Products I'm working on or planning for. Eg. in the "SEO" worksheet, I list all my client names in the top row.
In the left column, I list all the Strategies & Techniques I'm going to deploy for all my clients or campaigns. Eg. "Article Marketing", "Blog Marketing" - with all its corresponding sub-categories and strategies.
In the middle of the spreadsheet, I color code the boxes that apply, with:
Green - for 'Go' - meaning its in progress or in deployment
Orange - for 'Pause' - meaning … well, er it's Paused.
Red - for 'Stop' or 'Done' - meaning the project is halted or its complete.
The key is to use it and reference it often to keep a bird's eye view of your projects and your progress.
You can even project business interests for the entire year, including projected resources and revenues. If you want, you could even plan out the next 3-5 years on this spreadsheet.
Simple but effective, eh?
– Sherman's Suggestion:
Start your free Excel "Game Plan" spreadsheet today and test it out for yourself.
Then review it daily, weekly, monthly.
Modify as you go. It's meant to be flexible and adaptable to you, not the other way around.
If you do this, you'll find stronger focus, minimal time-wastage and distractions and actual progress towards your goals and results. (Of course, this assumes you have a vision and goals set for your business. If you don't, read my blog post about planning: www.wordpresstutorials.com/99/backtoyourfuture/)
– What Now:
Start your Game Plan. Customize it how you wish, so it works for you. Review it daily, take action and breakthrough.
And please give me your feedback on your experience with this tip. I'd be interested how you're using it. Maybe you'll have an interesting way to use it that I might like to try.
Give me your feedback here:
==> www.wordpresstutorials.com/102/productivitytip2-excelingameplanning/#postcomment
View the other Plate-Spinning Tips here:
==> www.wordpresstutorials.com/wordpress/productivity/
Stay tuned for next week's 'Plate-Spinning Productivity Tip #3: 30 Boxes Simplified'.
Chat with you soon.
My good friend and Top 40 Radio DJ, Wayne Kelly, wants to give you his $24 eBook "Insider Secrets to Radio Interviews" for FREE.
