New Year’s Resolutions vs. Planning for Q1

TL;DR: Here’s the Skip to Recipe Link that will get you to my 1^st Quarter Planning Process

For the past few years, I haven’t made any New Years resolutions. I have felt like I was doing a lot already, didn’t need another goal, didn’t want anything else to track, and didn’t need any more stress in my life, let alone more of a feeling that I was not doing enough. New Years resolutions stressed me out. Also, the vast majority of people don’t keep them, so, why bother? 

This year is different. WAY different. 

This year, yes, I have goals (BIG Goals), and I am resolved to accomplish them, and to make that happen, I am planning for Q1. January, February, March, here I come! (Does this count as a resolution? I think it’s even better.)

Let’s sink into that a little.

I have goals, and for 2025, I am giving myself the gift of making a clear, detailed and tangible plan for accomplishing those goals, and also setting myself up with systems that will support my success. 

I am both a city planner and a coach, and what I do is help people with complex problems (running a city, running their own lives) work out plans that BOTH set fantastic, energizing goals for the future AND help people know what to do on Monday. 

Big goals with no plans are overwhelming and stressful. Big goals with a plan to go along with them turn you into a force of nature who can’t wait to get started, and who can keep going when times get hard. 

What better time of year to take a bit of my own medicine?

So, how am I doing it, and what do I really do? 

Have a read about my process below, but if you’re out of time, you can skip to the bullets. 

Let’s get this story going with some context.

2024 was a big year for me. I have been a city and strategic planning consultant for 15 years, and in 2024 I added one-on-one coaching to my professional services. Organizational development has long been a major part of my work and a personal passion of mine, as has working with coworkers, managers, and direct reports to discover how we can best support each other and work in environments that provide joy and challenge. I also transitioned away from being embedded within a firm for much of my working hours, and came back to my own business. Big news and big change for me, and I’m hugely grateful that this is my path. 

In 2025, I am growing my private coaching and planning practice, and I have big plans for this work and a huge amount of excitement to offer my expertise and care to current and new clients. 

Also, WOW, I AM STARTING A BIG NEW PHASE IN MY BUSINESS. And, while I am super pumped for it, there is a fair amount riding on it, and that can bring up a lot of feelings and bizarre urges to get up at 5:00 am and write a blog post.

What I am doing, truly and honestly, is throwing everything I have at this. While raising three kiddos, which is, actually, relevant, in that I need to ensure that my family and my business coexist and support each other. 

My Q1 Planning Process

I think that the easiest way to think about this is to think about the stripped-down version of creating a Q1 plan, then talk about what wraps around it. 

1. First: Existing Conditions. Where are you now? I’m a fan of the Wheel of Life for this. Here’s a PDF Version for you.
   1. Look at your life.  What matters most to you? 
   2. For each of these factors, rank where you are on a 1-10 scale. What would make it a 10, in theory? You can change the topics if you like, but these are fan favorites
      1. Finance (Money is real. Be friends with it.)
      2. Work Position
      3. Work Projects
      4. Learning and Growth 
      5. Health
      6. Family
      7. Hobbies and Community
2. Second: Goals. What would you like to do?
   1. Do you have multi-year goals? That’s great. Today we are focusing on planning for the next three months. You can keep the planning going and repeat the cycle! Planning likes to be nested- you develop levels of detail around how you will do things as the time is right. 
   2. For three-month planning, pick three goals for the three months. Remember, you can do anything, but you can’t do everything all at once. Give yourself the gift of choice and focus. 
   3. Say “not right now” to other potential goals. Smile and them and pat them on the heads and tell them you can come back later. 
   4. Make your goals specific and measurable. What, exactly, would you like to do, and by when? Being specific feels good, and helps your mind focus. 
   5. Reflect: what is in your control, and what can you do within the constraints that will be in place for the next three months? For example, I cannot work 80 hour weeks because I have a family I care for, I like to enjoy my life, and no matter how overachiever-y my brain gets, my body will go out and run in the sunshine and take showers, which I respect. 
   6. Refine those goals. 
3. Third: Break it down. What do you need to do to accomplish your goals?
   1. Define at least three key actions to take to reach each of your goals. What are the key drivers, or determinants of success? What are your milestones? 
4. Fourth: What will you do to reach these milestones?
   1. Break down your actions into workable chunks. What feels doable? With this level of detail, would you know what to do on a given day?
5. Fifth: When will you do this by? Please pardon the emphaticness, but do try this on for size…
   1. Calendar. Your. Quarter.
      1. This may sound obvious, but really go through the exercise. When will you do what by? What is going on in your personal or work life that you will need to be aware of or accommodate? Put your milestones on your calendar. Post a calendar for three months that you can look at to see the whole picture. Use pencil or dry erase markers, because you will need to adjust. You won’t have all the details, but put in what you can. Do you have repeating events you need to plan around, like meetings or pick ups or chores? Calendar them, and plan for travel. Plan for cooking, grocery pick ups, anything else you can get out of the way and not have to think about over and over. Do you need to coordinate with a partner? Do it <3 
   2. Calendar. Your. Weeks.
      1. Every week, plan in more detail for the week ahead. Has anything changed? Do you need to adjust your three month schedule? When will you exercise, see friends, etc.? 
   3. Calendar. Your. Day.
      1. Experiment with planning out your day in half hour resolution at the end of the previous day or first thing in the morning/at your desk. I am often both optimistic about what I can accomplish, and delighted by how quickly I can get things done when I focus. Learn about yourself. What are your patterns with the use of time? What does and doesn’t work for you? Consider going through your calendar with anyone else it will impact to make sure you have shared assumptions and can support one another’s use of time.  
6. Sixth: What are your support and iteration systems?
   1. Reaching a new destination of position or achievement requires doing things differently than the ways you have done them before. After all, if you keep doing things the same way, you will keep getting the same result, so the opposite must also be true. Change can be difficult, of course, as we’ve spent our whole lives creating the reality we are currently in, and don’t always know how to do things differently. I am biased, of course, but getting coaching is a fantastic way to get yourself into a sustainable new growth pattern because your coach helps you identify what is and is not working in the present, what other options are, and helps you be aware of the ways you may be stopping yourself from leaping in. Of course, there are other tools you can use as well…
   2. What will help you to keep your focus and energy up? I am throwing everything I have at this, as I mentioned, and here are a few thing I’m doing that support me
      1. Mastermind group of like-minded professionals at a similar point in their careers and financial expectations
      2. Networking groups
      3. Mentoring and business development programs
      4. Ongoing learning and courses in psychology, coaching and organizational development
      5. (mostly) Daily Meditation for 5-15 minutes
      6. Daily (or minimally before I start work) intention setting/goal reiteration and gratitude writing. This reminds me what I want to do, why and how delighted I am to be alive in my life, and be able to do the work I am doing.
      7. Coaching (of course)

Try it out and let me know how your progress goes via email, and reach out if you’d like some guidance and support through the process. I really would like to know if this is helpful.

Secret Weapon: Best Self Journal

I started my own consulting business six years ago, and somehow or other (I’m going to credit my husband, an expert in all things Productivity related) I ended up with a Best Self Journal.

These journals help you plan out your next 13 weeks, and I have been making full use of mine recently.

The first time I used one, I founded my consulting practice and brought in six figures in the first year. Not bad.

The second time I used one, I brought in enough to clear six figures tidily when restarting my consulting practice after a few years of being embedded with another firm (that’s a story for another post), and gained a huge amount of flexibility to choose my next steps. Again, not bad.

This time around… I’ll let you know when Q1 is over!

I do recommend the Best Self Journal (They don’t pay me, I just think the product is great). I have the pretty teal one. With the journal you get:

• A quick start guide
• Various visioning exercises to use
• Goal articulation area
• Habit tracker pages
• Monthly planning pages
• Weekly planning pages
• Daily planning pages
• Reflection section
• A pull-out 13 week calendar (my favorite bit, to be honest). Mine is up on my wall.

I don’t use my Best Self Journal with total consistency, but as I’ve mentioned I do get remarkable results when I involve it in my work. Let me know how this works for you, as well!

Best Self Journal on Amazon (US)

Best Self Journal on Amazon (UK)

While Best Self doesn’t pay me, I’m happy to earn affiliate money if you buy the book using my Amazon link. As a coach who encourages a positive money mindset, I don’t think it serves me or you to shy away from receiving money in a mutually beneficial way. After all, if you see money lying on the street, you should pick it up and give it a good home, and this is very much the same. It costs you nothing, and I get funds. Win, win! So: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Because, why not? If you don’t like Amazon, you can find the book online with Google. No worries.