Welcome to the Rooted Business Podcast with Rachel and Jess! In this episode, they dive deep into the importance of planning in your business. They discuss how planning can support your creativity, intuition, and overall success. By setting realistic goals and prioritizing self-care, you can harmonize your hustle while achieving long-term growth.

Here’s what we dive into this episode:

- Planning is an act of self-love that supports both personal well-being and business success.

- Annual planning sets the vision for your year, considering seasons, energy levels, and life events.

- Quarterly planning allows you to set achievable goals based on revenue needs and project priorities.

- Project kickoffs help break down big projects into manageable tasks for better execution.

- Weekly realignment calls keep everyone on track by reviewing progress and addressing issues.

- Daily check-ins ensure alignment between tasks and energy levels for optimal productivity.

We encourage you to take some time this week to evaluate where you are in your business journey. Set aside intentional moments for reflection, plan out realistic goals for the next quarter or month, and schedule regular check-ins with yourself or your team. Embrace planning as a tool that empowers you to achieve balance while growing your business.

Rachel and Jess are excited about the growth of their podcast and share their enthusiasm for future episodes. They promise to explore a wide range of topics related to marketing, operations, and intentional business strategies, all aligned with their energy and expertise.

Stay tuned for the next episode of The Rooted Business Podcast! Don't forget to subscribe to catch all the valuable insights and advice from Rachel and Jess.

Note: The show notes are a condensed summary of Episode 10 of The Rooted Business Podcast. The actual podcast episode would contain more in-depth discussions, anecdotes, and examples from Rachel and Jess.

Welcome to the Rooted Business Podcast.

2

I'm Rachel, your intentional

marketing architect.

3

Jess: And I'm Jess, your

systems and ops guru.

4

Rachel: In this podcast, we'll

talk through our experiences as

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seasoned business owners open up

about our triumphs and challenges.

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We'll share candid conversations and

invaluable insights to help you establish

7

a business that stands the test of time.

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Jess: Together, we've navigated

the ups and downs of running a

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successful online business, and

we know firsthand the importance

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of finding harmony in your hustle.

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Rachel: In each episode, we'll dive deep

into the inner workings of your business

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operations and marketing strategies

while we peel back the layers to reveal

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actionable advice and practical tips

that you can implement right away.

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Jess: But we won't stop there.

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We believe that true success goes

beyond profits and the growth charts.

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That's why we'll explore the

critical role of wellness and

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mindset in your entrepreneurial

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Rachel: journey, because burnout

is a real threat and we're

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here to help you avoid that.

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Together we'll uncover the strategies

and practices that prioritize your

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wellbeing, ensuring you have the energy

and resilience to thrive in the long run.

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Jess: Join us as we delve into intentional

business growth, sharing personal

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stories, lessons learned, and expert

advice that will empower you to make

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informed decisions to grow your business.

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Rachel: So if you're ready to harmonize

your hustle and create a business that

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thrives while honoring your inner balance,

don't miss out on the Rooted business.

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Subscribe now and embark on this

transformative journey with us.

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Track 1: Hello.

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jess_1_09-29-2023_131115: And

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Track 1: We made it.

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We made it.

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These weeks are flying by, but

I'm actually like very grateful.

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This week went by really fast,

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jess_1_09-29-2023_131115: I know me and

my daughter were talking about how it is.

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Have just been zooming by, can't.

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Track 1: Oh, I know.

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She's the one that like

makes me have to mute myself.

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'cause she'll bark at the mailman

when he pulls up and all of that.

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So yeah.

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jess_1_09-29-2023_131115: So I do feel

like life is getting really fast right

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now and that the holidays are quickly

approaching us and the end of the year.

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And we talked about Black Friday

like a couple of episodes ago, and

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the next big thing that you're gonna

hear people in this space talk about

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is

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Track 1: yes.

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jess_1_09-29-2023_131115: Manager.

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I love to plan.

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It's one of my favorite, most

favorite things in the world to do

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is to come up with a giant plan.

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But I know a lot of people

don't feel that same way.

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How do you feel about planning.

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Track 1: I am.

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I'm like a love-hate relationship to it.

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Like when I do plan, it

makes me feel more confident.

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It makes me feel like I have some very

obtainable goals in place, but I also

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get very overwhelmed with planning

and like the execution side of it.

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So I think we'll, . We'll talk about

all of that today, but I think it's

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gonna be very interesting perspectives

of how I'm very love-hate and

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you're like, give me all the plans,

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jess_1_09-29-2023_131115: Yes.

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Yeah, so I actually, when I did

a post about this recently is

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five types of planning meetings

to have in your business, which

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sounds like a lot, especially if

you're a solo entrepreneur like me.

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But you do still need to have

planning meetings with yourself.

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And I just was looking up like some of

my notion like brain dumps about planning

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when you type planning into my notion,

like all the content ideas just show up.

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And one of the things that I wrote

was, when you approach planning from.

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A place of self care.

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That's

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where magic happens.

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And I think that a lot of

people look at planning as,

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something else they need to do.

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Or if you're a creative person or

a very intuitive person, you feel

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like maybe you don't wanna plan

because you feel like that will.

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Stifle your creativity.

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And I'm here to make a case for that.

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Planning will not stifle your creativity.

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It will not stifle your intuition.

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It will not hinder your flexibility.

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It really will lay the foundation for all

of that to occur because what's really

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stifling your creativity is not the plan.

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It's that you have.

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So much stuff in your brain, right?

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That's why the self-care practices

we talked about like journaling and

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meditation are so beneficial and so

calming because you're getting everything,

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like you're giving your brain a break,

and I think when you take a moment to

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use a project management planning tool

and then get it all out of your brain,

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you're just making more space for

creativity and intuition to flow in.

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Track 1: Yeah, and I think the shift of

just getting away from the reactive side

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of business and how, when . Reach a low of

whether that's leads or whatever that is.

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Really making sure that you have

a proactive plan in place to

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reassure those just from an energy

perspective so you don't get so down.

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But also it really allows you

to like embody that like c e O.

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Energy in your business because

you're like, we got this.

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There's a level of confidence that

I can now say this might be a low

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right now, but I have this plan in

place that's going to counteract

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this current season in business.

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jess_1_09-29-2023_131115: Yeah.

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I think another reason why some of my

clients will resist planning is they feel

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like it's like they're approaching it

from a more like, Capitalized approach

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like I'm planning so that I can be super

productive and get more stuff done.

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But really when I look at planning and

planning it from a space of self-care,

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like I am planning, like my me time,

my time that my kids are off, and then

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trying to, strategically place in all

of those business revenue generating

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activities around that so that you

can really build that integrated.

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Work life relationship.

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Track 1: Yeah.

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I think one of the biggest pieces

of feedbacks that I just got from

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my Black Friday alternatives post

was that they didn't realize how

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planning can be such a revenue

generating . Component in a business,

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or even they didn't realize how rest

can be a revenue generating component.

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And I think it's just one of those things

that maybe it has such a stigma attached

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to it of like heaviness or corporateness.

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But I think once we go through, how you

approach planning, how it can really

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just change your whole perspective on

. Planning in general in your business.

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jess_1_09-29-2023_131115: Yeah.

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I think that planning, tends

to have more of that like

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masculine energy, which I think.

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As a project manager, that's

what I lean into more.

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But because I've had all these

experiences where in Yoga Ave.

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Practices wisdom.

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They talk about like rituals and routines

and aligning yourself with the seasons

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and even doing like seasonal detoxes

or resets as you shift from one season

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to the next and then honoring like your

energy and those different seasons.

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So I think planning is something

that one, you have to give yourself.

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The stakes that you're gonna make the

first time, whereas you're probably

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like off way than you can choose.

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Oh no.

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Oh, a reflection of oh, I put eight

projects on my quarter to, on my 12 week

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plan, and like I got one of them done.

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That helps you like shift in and ground

into that like reality and give yourself

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compassion about what you're doing.

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I think it also just keeps like

protecting, especially those seasonal

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resets of it is human nature for you

to get unfocused and thrown off course.

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Have shiny object syndrome, but when

you set aside those intentional times

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of I'm gonna revisit my plan because

I think that's mistake people make

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a, so that's why You're really just

checking in with that overall plan,

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setting aside that intentional to check

in, make adjustments needed, so remain

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flexible, but in your approach to.

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Track 1: I think we should start

where most people . Probably are more

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familiar, which is what you had just

said, of adding those 10 plus things to

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their plan and thinking, okay, great,

I'm gonna accomplish all of these.

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So maybe let's start with the

biggest mistakes that come

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with . Planning backwards.

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I don't wanna say wrong 'cause everybody

has their own approach to things,

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but like planning in a way that's not

supportive of the various seasons or

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your energy levels or anything like that.

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'cause I know when I first started

planning my, in my business, I was like,

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oh, 10 things like, I'm gonna reach this

goal, I'm gonna drive this much traffic.

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I'm gonna do dah.

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And then, I think my business

coach reframed it for me.

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She goes, that is one giant project

that this goal is now on your like plan.

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And that project has about 25

different sub tasks that come with it.

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So when you have one project with 25

different sub tasks, the amount of

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workload you're putting yourself through

when you have 10 goals on your annual

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plan is almost like immediately setting

you, you setting yourself up for failure.

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So I wanna, let's start there.

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'cause I think that's probably

something people can most identify with.

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jess_1_09-29-2023_131115: Yeah.

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Yeah.

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So I.

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Knowing yourself and your own, we talked

about your cap capacity, but knowing

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yourself, knowing your energy, knowing and

not letting the outside forces of should

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Pull you off course.

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And it's like being really clear

about what season of life you're in.

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Do you have kids right now because

that's, Shrink how much time you have

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to actually work in your business.

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Are you in good health?

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Like just knowing are you getting married?

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I know you dealt with that.

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Do have other big life things where you're

gonna like kind shift back in your work.

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So knowing if this is like a.

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Or if this is a pullback mode,

and then also knowing like how

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the different seasons affect you.

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Because we're all made up of

different constitutions according

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to Ayurveda, earth, wind, fire.

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So different seasons are gonna

have different effects on people.

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So for me, this fall and spring is

like when I really come the most alive.

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I joke with people all the time.

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It's like you'll only see me posting

on Instagram like April, may, June,

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because that's like Vada season.

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That is my, like airy,

my birthday's in April.

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Like I am just feeling myself

and I am all out there.

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And

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then, yeah, and then like

also just like where you live,

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like for me July and August.

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I know a lot of people like take summer

breaks during that time, but for me

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in New Orleans it's five degrees.

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Like I don't even wanna go outside.

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You live in Texas, you know it too.

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So like I stay inside and

work a lot during those

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times, but I know so I can take off

when during Mardi Gras or holidays

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or that's a busier season for me

where I wanna have more space.

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So I think it's like knowing yourself,

knowing your values, knowing your

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unique energetic blueprint, and taking

that all into account when you're

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determining what your plan is, and then

giving yourself the grace that, like as

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humans, we're always gonna overestimate

what we can get done in one year.

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But the great is what in three.

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The way I approach planning is

like setting like an annual vision.

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I don't really get, and I'd love to hear

this because I know you get a little more

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planful of like when you're doing certain

like launches or revenue generating

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activities, but for me, annual planning

really is about revisiting, like my

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overall vision, shifting that if it needs

to change, revisiting who I'm serving, how

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I'm serving them, if any of that needs.

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To change and then revisiting like

how much I'm working when I'm working

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and if anything that needs to change.

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It's like that overall intention and vibe

of how I'm feeling working in my business.

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And then loosely planning out based on the

seasons and what's going, like when the

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revenue generating activity is like how

many clients I can take off, take when I

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know like I'm gonna, on clients because.

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Take Mardi Gras.

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Do I do every year?

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But that's more what, like

that annual planning piece is.

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Track 1: I always start with a word

of the year that I want to like always

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come back to this word of the year

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And so every day I would put out my plan,

or every week I would put out my plan.

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I say, how am I.

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Embodying the word of the year as

just like a constant reminder to

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it because I think in business some

of the most important things to

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like , Respect are the seasons of

your own in particular business.

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And I think really making sure that

you're saying, okay, I'm going in a push

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season this year, so I'm gonna be making

you know myself a little uncomfortable.

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I'm going to be pushing

revenue generating activities.

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I'm doing this, and this.

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Or I'm in a pool season

where I'm just chilling.

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I'm pulling back my energy

to build up and recharge.

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And I think like really making

sure that you're like honoring

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the seasons of your business.

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And I think we've talked about this a

lot of how there are certain trends that

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happen uniquely in your own business

based off of what you sell, based

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off of how your customers respond.

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All of that.

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And really making sure that as your

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Being aware of these, you're also not

putting into putting things into your plan

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that are going to like work against the

trends and the seasons and all of that.

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Like I think that's probably

the most important thing.

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But I definitely think setting

that tone overall and then

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always checking in with it.

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Like you had said, you're not creating

several plans throughout the year.

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You're creating one and you're having

check-ins with that constantly.

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So yeah.

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jess_1_09-29-2023_131115: Yeah.

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My word of the year was blossom

this year, which I thought was.

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Track 1: I.

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jess_1_09-29-2023_131115:

Because I had spent putting down

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roots and now we're blossoming.

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Jess is out here, podcasting,

posting on social media.

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We're opening up.

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But yeah, so my word

of the year is blossom.

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And then in that annual plan, like

there are certain projects and That I

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put like almost like on a vision board.

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I have it in Notion as my ideas

parking lot, it could be things

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like start a podcast, rework,

website, update my service guide.

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These are all things that

were on my to-do list.

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So then when I go down into

quarterly planning, that's

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really when I can pick out.

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And this is where the overwhelm is,

like giving yourself some boundaries,

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especially if you're creative or

intuitive person, can be so helpful for

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you because it's not if you pick three.

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Projects to work on, and you finish

them all before the 12 weeks are up,

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that you can't start something else.

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But if you put eight projects on your

list and try to start all of them and

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don't get anything done, then you're

gonna feel like crap about yourself.

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So it's give yourself some little

restriction and Out based on your

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data, your analytics, what season

of business, what do you need?

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Do you need more revenue?

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Do you need more, to pull back and

reframe your operations like where,

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check in, where you at, and then

determine these are my top three

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priorities for the next 12 weeks.

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Grow the list, do this, and then

going, drilling down to what projects

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or processes support those goals.

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So if your goal is that you need to.

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Like you could probably come up with 10 or

15 projects on how you're gonna do that.

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Like picking one project to

experiment with that quarter or

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create so that you can kind move

yourself closer to that goal.

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And that's really where.

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Quarterly, 12 week planning comes into

play, and then at the end of the 12

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weeks you're evaluating what worked

with that, what didn't get done?

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Did I bite off too much

more than can I chew?

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Whoa.

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That was, that project took so much

longer than I initially expected.

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And just learning from that you're going.

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Track 1: Yeah.

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I think to give real life examples of

this, like at the beginning of, I think

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it was last year, I was like, okay, great.

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I'm gonna start TikTok.

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I'm gonna do SS e o, I'm gonna

. Tackle and it was like all of these

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different like workflows and things.

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I'm gonna redo all of my like dub sodo.

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Those are massive projects and

they all have a place that like

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can fit inside of the year.

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Not saying I can't get them all done, but

if I'm gonna plan out my year and think

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I'm gonna hit the ground running and

I'm gonna get this done and this done,

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that's a surefire way to get burnt out

instantly at the beginning of the year.

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And that's like setting the tone

for you to just like energetically

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catch up to like you trying to push

yourself so hard at the very beginning.

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So I think it's more of an act of love

to plan in your business than it is.

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This kind of Ugh, boring, boring.

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I don't wanna have to plan.

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I don't wanna have to do this.

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And I will say, there's a lot of

people who, and I'll use content

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creation as an example, where they

say I don't post unless I'm inspired.

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You can still use that like inspiration to

flow in your business, but it doesn't have

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to happen everywhere in your business.

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It can be . In certain elements like

content creation, but honoring the

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fact that you may be inspired to

post here, but if your revenue goals

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are X and you're only inspired one

time, you're probably gonna have

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a disconnect there in how you're

accomplishing and reaching your plan.

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jess_1_09-29-2023_131115: Yeah.

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And I think that's another place

where planning can just open the

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space for creativity to flow, because

you don't pressure on yourself

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like I have to post today, but.

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Or I've got eight posts that

are like banked, ready to go.

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But now I'm creatively

inspired to post this.

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Like you can easily plug

something, shift the stuff back

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and plug that inspiration in.

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It's a lot harder to open up a blank

page with the pressure knowing that

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you have to post today because you're

trying to generate that revenue.

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More pressure's.

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Not going to open you up to creativity.

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And , I can speak to this from personal

experience, is that I did a whole

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month of social media planning and I

probably used about half of the post,

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but the other half were inspired posts.

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But guess what?

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Now I have 12 other posts that are

ready to go when I need to whip them up.

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But it opened up so much more creativity

because once you start gaining that

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momentum and getting that feedback from

your audience, you're just going to,

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the ideas are gonna naturally pour in

and flourish, and because you've already

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done the work and taken the pressure

off yourself, your brain is gonna be

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open up to so much more creative space.

331

It's just like meditation is,

it's not that you're overwhelmed.

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Space.

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That's where the magic is.

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Track 1: I love that bridge.

335

I love that.

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Let's get into these five planning

meeting, 'cause I'm very intrigued.

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jess_1_09-29-2023_131115: All right, so

we talked about annual planning already,

338

which is just setting your big vision for

the year, picking your word for the year.

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I love that.

340

Like really evaluating like each part

of your life, like we're, I like to

341

look at it's holistic view, right?

342

Especially if we're like

entrepreneurs, like our business is

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our life, or life is our business.

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So like evaluating like how.

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How, am I spending too much time

working or do I need more time with

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my kids, or do I need more time with

my partners, or I'm having any fun?

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Or like, how is everything working?

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And evaluating what shifts you can

make because one of those things is

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gonna influence the other because.

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Time is, we don't, we only have

so much time in the day, so you're

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gonna have to make trade-offs.

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And that's what it goes back to.

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What you were talking about

is what season are you in?

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Are you in a, a mom season?

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Or are you in a, because I think a lot

of people are like, you can have it all.

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You can have it all, but

you can't have it equally.

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You're still gonna have to like,

make trade offs and balances.

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So that's really what I loved

for the beginning of the year,

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is like evaluating where I am.

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And then vision setting, what would

I love to do, this year, what would

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I be so happy to be celebrating

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So that's where I wrote things like

start my podcast, all these big projects

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that I know that need to happen, and

then planning out my sales and revenue.

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So based on like your business

model, what you like, what clients.

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For everything.

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But like planning out that, and then

you can start planning out, your

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sales launches if you're doing a

launch model you can start planning

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out like other creative, like other

like admin projects that you're going

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to, be able to do and pocket them.

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Like I just make a little

like grid in my notion.

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Oh.

372

My camera just turned on.

373

I make a little grid in my notion.

374

It's create, planning, creating,

launching, and I just map out each month.

375

And then I have the revenue that

I made last year and then what

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my goals are based on how much I

wanna grow my revenue this year.

377

And that just gives me like a.

378

It changes so much throughout the year

and that's why don't get like stuck.

379

I feel like so many people might get stuck

on annual planning because it's like, how

380

do I dunno what I wanna do in six months.

381

That's a big commitment to me.

382

But just have a loose frame of

what you would like to do and

383

then take it quarter by quarter.

384

And so that's when we move into, I call

them seasonal resets, where you are

385

really taking a look at the past 12 weeks.

386

Always the same steps.

387

Evaluating what are you celebrating?

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Where did you get stuck?

389

What needs to change?

390

What did you hit your revenue goals?

391

Did you, do you need to

pick up some more money?

392

So set some new revenue goals.

393

Okay.

394

What projects and actions do I need

to take to set those revenue goals?

395

I really like to look at and I, my,

my business coach has us check in

396

every Monday with what our goals are.

397

Do, because I like to look at it

as a holistic goal, is I look at

398

health, wealth, and happiness.

399

So I, every week I'm setting three

goals for, one for health, one

400

for wealth, and one for happiness.

401

So that's how I approach

my quarterly goals too.

402

What am I gonna do?

403

Because I think one of the things that

I see so many of my clients get stuck

404

in is that when you take on these

additional projects, In addition to

405

your client work, it's like you have

to be very realistic about how much

406

time you have to work on your business.

407

So it's if you're a small business

owner, if you're a solopreneur,

408

that's why I think one or two

projects a quarter is totally fine

409

because you probably only have at

most, I would say, eight hours a week

410

to work.

411

On your business.

412

So it's like when you're doing

your project planning, really

413

being realistic about yourself,

about, okay, I've got eight hours

414

a week to get these projects done.

415

Is the, is this even like

feasible with what you know, I.

416

Track 1: Yeah, I think as a service-based

business, it's very important to

417

realize that as you get more clients

and as you become more successful in

418

your services, That very typically

your business kind of falls to the

419

wayside , and that happens with a lot

of people and there's no shame in it.

420

It's something that I see in the

business communities that I'm in,

421

in like my, like mentor space.

422

Like it's a normal thing.

423

And so really making sure that you're not

setting yourself up for that Negative.

424

Oh, I didn't get my goals right.

425

Oh, I didn't reach them.

426

you're practically running

multiple businesses if you are

427

a service-based business with

very big like retainer packages.

428

Like whenever I try to describe to

someone, because of course people don't

429

get it when they're not in a business.

430

They're like, what do you do?

431

You do marketing?

432

I'm like, yeah, I do marketing.

433

The way I describe it is like I'm

literally planning . I have 10

434

clients on my roster right now.

435

I'm planning 10 client, 10

businesses, marketings right now.

436

That is a lot.

437

And like really making sure that adding

one more, which is my own business to it.

438

don't let myself down in that plan.

439

And so like you're saying, like being

real realistic about . How much time

440

you have as a service-based business or

as a business with client work of some

441

sort so that you're not allowing your

business to just be neglected and ignored.

442

So that's what this planning process

really is about, is that it's giving

443

your business the opportunity to also get

some of your love in a way that you're

444

not . Having to make that decision every

week of oh, I don't have time for this.

445

Oh this can easily be pushed 'cause

it's not my client's work or whatever.

446

So it's really reframing it in that

way that you're showing your business

447

love when you're honoring your

plans and you're not over planning.

448

jess_1_09-29-2023_131115: Yeah, for sure.

449

Okay, so then after seasonal planning,

we've identified the projects

450

or our goals for the quarter.

451

And then I love to have project planning

meetings, kickoffs for each project

452

that we're gonna do, even if you're

executing this project by yourself.

453

And we did a episode, I

think it's coming out.

454

Two weeks from now two weeks ago from

when you're listening to this in the

455

future about breaking down big projects

and what my project planning process is.

456

But those are so important because that's

when you're gonna take those, that's

457

where you're gonna find those 95 subs

that you didn't see in the giant projects.

458

Then that's, I'm gonna schedule all

these project tasks of like how much I

459

can realistically get done each week.

460

So project planning and then

I do monthly planning, which

461

that's more of Content focus.

462

When I do it with my clients we, we're

checking in our goals, that sort of thing.

463

But the bulk of that is based on what

we're launching, what we're trying to sell

464

right now, how our numbers are doing, what

content can we push out to support that.

465

So that's really what my monthly is.

466

And then laying out like.

467

Individual project plans that we've

created and like shifting around the task

468

if we need and really trying to determine

like when each thing is gonna get done.

469

Track 1: So it's annual

470

jess_1_09-29-2023_131115: Annual

471

Track 1: seasonal slash quarterly

472

jess_1_09-29-2023_131115: Yeah.

473

Track 1: monthly

474

jess_1_09-29-2023_131115: Up monthly.

475

And then individual

476

project.

477

kickoff.

478

Track 1: Okay.

479

jess_1_09-29-2023_131115: It sounds like

a lot, but they do save you time when

480

all, when you can open up your laptop

and know exactly what to work on you day.

481

So then we're doing weekly, I love to

call them realignment calls or momentum

482

calls, and this is where you're just.

483

Planning out your week, you're

looking at your appointment calendar,

484

you're looking at the task you

have to get done for your clients.

485

You're looking at your projects task,

and you're just laying those out to what

486

day you're gonna get each thing done.

487

And if you wanna be even more

granular, could you like what.

488

Time block, you wanna get things done.

489

And I think the more and more you do

this, the more you learn like your energy

490

and how your ebbs and flows and you're

able to set yourself up for success.

491

For me, like I'm probably, and

probably most people Mondays

492

are like a slower start, so I'm

not gonna give myself 18 task to

493

do on a.

494

It's really what, just when I'm doing

like some review and some reflection, we

495

can probably do a whole nother episode

on like the energetics of the days

496

and the times, but and how it aligns.

497

But Tuesdays for me are like, Tuesdays a

fire day, so I don't know about you, but

498

on Tuesday I can, I have all my client

calls that day, but I can also get done

499

like four, five tasks in between all.

500

Track 1: Yeah, I think my Mondays

are . I have a section and like I wanna

501

make sure that we can position this

for the solopreneur who is actively

502

like doing all of these meetings alone.

503

But every Monday I have a 30

minute block on my morning

504

calendar that says brain dump.

505

Any tasks that came up, last week

that aren't already on the to-do list.

506

I'll brain dump them and I

have a few zaps in place.

507

I drop everything in notion.

508

I have a few Zaps that send it to

a to-do list inside of my Google so

509

I can drag them onto my calendar.

510

And so brain dump is

like the first section.

511

Then getting them time blocked

is the second section, and then

512

I have the rest of the week.

513

Organized with the things that

I need to get done, including my

514

work, like my marketing, my client

work, my calls, all of that.

515

So you have a very clear plan.

516

I know for someone like me who is very

neurodivergent, when it's not on my

517

calendar and it's not somewhere on a

list, my immediate reaction is avoid,

518

we don't know, we forget about it.

519

If it's not right in front

of me, I won't do it.

520

If it's on my calendar, oh, if it's

on my calendar, I will not avoid it.

521

I'm like, gotta get it done.

522

It's like this little, like dopamine

hit of hitting completed task.

523

It's so much different than having it in

my notion, which it exists there too, but

524

having it there compared to my calendar,

it's a different, it's a, I don't know

525

how, I don't know why neuro neurodivergent

people are the way they are.

526

Why I am the way I am.

527

But having it there is . Game changing.

528

And if you get into this process of just

doing it for yourself, and again, it's

529

that c e o hat versus employee hat, like

you have to do these planning meetings

530

as an employee so that your boss, your

c e o, will be proud of you and be good.

531

Oh yeah, you're kicking it.

532

You can get promotions if

you're doing your employee job.

533

jess_1_09-29-2023_131115: Yeah,

for me to, for me too, like my

534

brain, if I can prepare my brain

for what's coming that day.

535

It does so much better than where

I'm like, I'm just gonna wake up

536

and figure out what I'm gonna need

to do if I'm like, Nope, tomorrow

537

you're, I offer these like integration

days, which are very work heavy.

538

Rachel even was like, maybe you

should give yourself two days to do

539

But it's like I am like the Super

Bowl preparing like the night before.

540

I'm gonna knock all this stuff out.

541

So it's funny how my brain

works like that and my notion,

542

my integrations actually go.

543

Different.

544

I zap my calendar invites into my notion,

545

And then I do everything.

546

But I have all my clients

set up in notion too.

547

So they like come into my notion and I

have this big board, but whatever I love.

548

I do a lot of dragging and dropping,

and this is where I think people

549

don't like to plan because they

think it'll stifle their flexibility.

550

But really it's setting the

foundation of your flexibility

551

because it's least it's there.

552

And if you wake up and you decide you're

not in the energetic mood to do that

553

today and maybe tomorrow or you wake

up with a migraine or something like

554

that, like you can just drag and drop

the next day, but you don't lose it and

555

and I feel like it gives you so much

peace of mind that it's still there.

556

People that don't use calendars.

557

Like I don't understand

558

Track 1: I.

559

jess_1_09-29-2023_131115: I

don't understand how we live.

560

And I know it's not everybody I

know it's not everybody because

561

everyone's my boyfriend the

other day, he is you're good.

562

This calendar stuff.

563

Can you write that?

564

We need to give the dog

like his flea medicine here.

565

And I'm like, I don't even understand

how you don't like, Have a calendar and

566

I probably annoy people with my calendar

because like I have my daughter's dad,

567

like on a shared Google calendar, so

I'm putting all her events in here and

568

like I've got our family events in here.

569

My calendar is crazy.

570

And then I use Notion as well, so that

is, Planning that is weekly planning.

571

And if you have a team, so Rachel went

through solo planning, if you have a team

572

of these weekly alignment calls, as I have

them, are like a great way as a C E O for

573

you not to be inundated with questions

throughout your week while you're

574

trying to get your focus and work done.

575

It's one day where your

entire team can come together.

576

Everyone can share their project updates.

577

If there's any issues they're

going on, the issues call.

578

Any issues that are there in real

time versus trying to like Slack and

579

then having to wait and like that.

580

Those weekly alignment calls are really

just setting everybody up for success,

581

making sure that everybody has what

they need to complete their task.

582

At the end of the time.

583

It creates that accountability

loop for your virtual assistant to

584

know that like they're gonna get,

they're gonna commit to three what

585

they're gonna get done this week, and

then next week it's on the agenda.

586

So you're gonna have

report back on what done.

587

A c e o that kind of gives you peace

of mind where you're not having to

588

like, remember everything that you

delegated through Slack or through email.

589

It's put it in one call,

put it on one agenda.

590

I have a integration set up from

my Slack to a Notion database

591

that has issues and ideas.

592

So anytime one of my CEOs that

I'm supporting has like a idea or

593

issue, Speak with the team about.

594

They can just, or anybody really, they can

just put it into the issue in idea Slack.

595

It goes into the database, which is

embedded in our planning, do our meeting

596

document and everything is there.

597

And it's so much like the name

of the game is externalize

598

your brain as much as you can

599

Track 1: Yes.

600

jess_1_09-29-2023_131115: And to

think, to be creative, to serve your

601

clients, to do all of those things.

602

So anything that you can do planning

wise to support that, like clear mind.

603

In yoga, they call the whirlings of

the minds, and that is the object of.

604

Yoga is to calm your, so you,

and that's really what planning,

605

Track 1: I love.

606

jess_1_09-29-2023_131115: and that's

why I think it's self regularly.

607

Daily planning, which is basically just

looking at your task you set up for the

608

day, checking in with your employee self.

609

How is your employee self feeling?

610

Does she have need to have a

discussion with your boss self

611

about I just woke up with the worst.

612

I've been getting migraines lately.

613

That's why I keep using this example, but

I've been woke up with the worst migraine

614

and I really need to push this off.

615

Is that okay to push it off or,

I'm not feeling creative today so

616

I can't write all of this copy.

617

Can I push

618

this?

619

Is like you start to realize like

how your cycle affects, like your

620

creativity, your productivity, but as

you like, begin to tune into confident.

621

My to-do list will get start

to get like really long.

622

But then like my what's the one right

before you even straight lu deal?

623

My lu phase.

624

That's great for like just knocking

stuff down and finish your do list.

625

I'll knock everything out that week.

626

It's like I will procrastinate and

just be moving from left to right on

627

my notion calendar, like bumping it

down a day and then all a sudden day

628

comes and like I get everything done.

629

Track 1: Yeah.

630

jess_1_09-29-2023_131115: That's

really what the daily check-in is.

631

And then if you can remember to do

it, it's great to end your day with

632

what got done today, marking that off

your to-do list, give yourself that

633

little dopamine hit and then planning

out like, okay, based on what got done

634

today, what needs to get done tomorrow?

635

And then that's just how you keep that

momentum and that stable energy going.

636

Track 1: I think it may, as we're going

through this, it may feel like a lot,

637

but it really is this kind of cohesive.

638

System in your business if you do the

bigger plan, everything else filters

639

down into supporting each other.

640

It's not, you're coming up with brand new

projects every single quarter or coming up

641

with brand new things every single month.

642

It's literally keeping yourself on

track without this big looming plan.

643

It's.

644

Taking essentially what we talked

about two episodes ago, it's taking

645

this large kind of goal, which

is a successful business, and

646

chopping it down into bite-size,

digestible that you can say done.

647

Instead of being like, okay, I have a

goal of reaching multiple six figures.

648

That's that's a big goal and

you can't just be like, all

649

right, I'm gonna go do it now.

650

There has to be like workings and like

meetings and little shifts that happen

651

along the way because if you don't

come back into that and you like wing

652

your plan and your business goals,

you're left with a lot of uncertainty,

653

a lot of like lacking of clarity

and it really just creates, you're

654

working against systems essentially.

655

And then I will say obviously as women

business owners, we have various levels

656

of like our cycle that you would, like

kinda what you were just talking about.

657

When you have these like bigger plans in

your quarterly plan, if you're tracking

658

your cycle, you could easily be like,

I'm not gonna launch during this time

659

because this, that sounds miserable.

660

And honoring the energies in

advance, rather than putting

661

yourself in a position where you're

like, Why did I do this to myself?

662

jess_1_09-29-2023_131115: Yeah.

663

yeah.

664

For me I do those integration

days and it's times I, those

665

are don't right energy to.

666

Approach it and like it's never

gonna be perfect, but it's always

667

just about learning yourself.

668

And I think the biggest thing is about

setting aside that intentional pause,

669

which we talk about a lot, to reflect, to

see how things are going and to be really

670

intentional about your prioritization.

671

And then you know, the

actions that you're taking.

672

Track 1: Totally.

673

This is such a great, like I hope

people take away at least one thing from

674

it, but there's so much meat in this.

675

Like I can't wait to re-listen to

it and actually set my, I'm gonna

676

set up reoccurring meetings on

my calendar just for me to that

677

get these five meetings done.

678

jess_1_09-29-2023_131115: Yeah.

679

Yeah.

680

And I think too, it's like even

when I think like you can start

681

with if annual planning, like

depending on where you're at in.

682

If annual planning seems too big

right now, or maybe it's like the end

683

of the year, like you can start with

daily planning of just, I feel like

684

there's just so much value of just

like brain dumping, like you said,

685

everything that you need to get done

and like setting aside like a spot.

686

And of course if you need more support

to do that, definitely seasonal

687

planning and annual planning is like

my absolute favorite thing to do.

688

Like when people are like, what could

you do all day and get planned for it?

689

Sustainable and energetic way.

690

So definitely reach out to me.

691

And there is a project, there'll be a

project planning notion tool that you can.

692

Track 1: Yeah.

693

And on the Instagram post, that always

goes with every single episode drop

694

questions you might have about planning.

695

I think that this is something that

can really be demystified and actually

696

implemented in so many businesses and

it'll make such a valuable impact on

697

like longevity of business sustainability

and like just overall energetics.

698

'cause it doesn't need to be hard.

699

You really can harmonize these

different things that feel

700

like sticky in your business.

701

jess_1_09-29-2023_131115:

All right, until next week.