Why You Should Plan in 12 Weeks and Not in 12 Months

In the end, failure comes from a lack of execution and not a lack of knowledge. You can have the best system but it is useless without the execution. To execute well, go all-in on what you can control and ignore what you can’t. When executing, always just plan in 12 weeks instead of every year.

If you plan in years you will have the illusion that there is a lot of time. Thus, as months go by, you’re always behind in terms of pace. Deadlines should be near enough to be urgent but far enough to be significant. Also, it should be near enough that you can account for the rapid change.

Even quarterly goals are not good because you think you can catch up. Planning needs to be shorter than quarters to have more urgency. If plans are so long, then there’s no urgency to motivate you anymore. Thus yearly goals create that feeling that “I don’t have to do this today”. Execution does not happen yearly or quarterly but weekly or daily. Thus planning should also be weekly and daily to be effective

People can be good with yearly goals but they’re not optimizing productivity. So many people have done so much more in 12 weeks than 12 months. This is because a deadline brings a certain deadline on you that is clear. However, this needs to be long enough for there to not be too much pressure. Planning in just 12 weeks also allows you to celebrate more in the year. Thus, you gain more momentum and more feedback from the reviews.

Like any plan, 12-week plans start with a vision that you want to achieve. Then, think about how much you can progress in 12 weeks for that goal. With this shorter time, you can be more granular and tactical. Thus, it’s clear what you need to do and you’re motivated by the deadline.

Not knowing what you need to do for your plan, makes reading the first step. Alternatively, you can ask an expert on how you should shape your plan. With this, you’re taking the overall goal and you’re breaking it down into steps. This way, there is no question about what you need to do at every moment.

Source: Brian Moran