How to Plan for Success by Cara Lumen

If you want it to happen, you'll have to schedule time to make it happen. That's common sense, but there is an art to creating time to do all the things that will assure your success.

I didn't start out to put this at the top of the list, but if you don't schedule this in, you will end up as a puddle in a lonely corner. Take care of yourself first. If that means meditation and journaling time, schedule it, if it means contemplative walks or long runs, allow time for it each day. Add to this the taking-care-of-yourself things like shopping for and preparing nourishing meals and keeping your home environment tidy. It includes family and relationship time. Schedule it first!!!

This is your creative time. It is the time to write your workshop, teleclass, e-book, or audio book. Schedule time to create downloadable items that bring in passive income while you sleep. I have one whole day set aside for writing and it is my favorite day in the week.

This could take the form of making calls, writing and posting articles, optimizing your web site, contacting venture partners, strengthening your affiliate program, or creating sales pages and other new marketing materials. This would include attending networking events and giving talks and writing an e-magazine. If you create or strengthen one new marketing aspect a week, you'll have added 52 new marketing approaches in a year!

Pick specific times you want to be available to clients and then schedule them there. You'll be amazed at how much time you free up when you ask them to adhere to your schedule rather than allowing yourself to schedule according to theirs. Of course, you can make acceptation's, but you get to have first choice of the times you will be available. Pick two or three days a week for clients and schedule to those until they are filled. Then look at how you might need to raise your prices to increase your income while still having two days left to create new products and market.

Delivery is about completing the things necessary to put your product or service up for sale. It could be a sales page, a CD cover, or a new web site opt-in offer. Delivery would include selecting delivery process for a new product, ordering the blank CDs or the covers. It could be about exploring the various mailing services. Sometimes it's just about finishing your product, like editing a CD or proofing an e-book. This may not take up much time, but do be aware that it is necessary to schedule this completion time.

Organization is one of those places in which you might hire some help. If you do it you have to schedule in time to answer e-mail, research on the internet, pay your bills, put your files away and create new organizing systems for a new project. Sometimes simply putting off answering e-mail till noon gives you a free morning when you are at your freshest to devote to a project. One very good technique is to take the last 15 minutes of your day to straighten up and put away. Then create your To Do list for the next day. It's invigorating to begin your day in a neat environment. I have a TV in my office, so sometimes organizing can be combined with entertainment. I also listen to classical music a lot. Turn up the music and dance around putting stuff away!

There is so much information available to us on the Internet, in great business books, in conference calls, that it is invaluable to grow your understanding as well as your business. Schedule time to read. Read for inspiration too. Learning is a vital aspect of business growth.

If you are launching a new project, schedule time for the meetings, discussions, thought process, drafts, investigation of new resources, etc. that you can think of. You may have to put this in first if the project will be especially profitable for you. For instance, I want to create a lot of audio products in the coming year. In addition, I want to make a membership site for people to log on and listen to a lot of free material. I absolutely must schedule three to four hours a week for every one hour of audio I want to produce. Make a plan for your new project and schedule all the aspects into your calendar.

We are the creator of our own business. We are the source of the new ideas, the inspiration, the drive, and the enthusiasm. That's what I call staying close to the money. This is how your business grows. As you schedule these aspects of your business life look for things you can delegate. These will be things you don't like to do very much, are not very good at, or that are taking up too much time away from creating new products.

I made a typical weekly schedule in Excel and used colors to delineate the time spent on each project. I work at home. I am at my desk at 9 AM, take a 15-minute Falun Gong movement break mid-morning, a half hour for lunch, and stop around 5 PM Often I go back into my office for another hour and a half at 7:30 or so. Saturdays are absolutely set aside for creativity and Sundays are lie-about-smartly days. Here are some suggestions. Adjust them to your needs and expectations.

Make this schedule fit you and your lifestyle but schedule it in your calendar. I find it really helpful to set aside a whole day for a certain activity. For instance,Mondays are about writing an e-magazine and posting articles to the Internet.

The time you spend planning is time well spent. Remember, you can always create and then adjust what you have created. If your project changes, or a new opportunity shows up, rearrange and prioritize. As you do, choose the projects and activities that speak to your heart and bring you the most income. Plan for success!!!!

Cara Lumen, MA, Your Idea Optimizer helps you turn your ideas into steady profit. As a business developer, content developer and educator, Cara helps you make money from what you already know. You can learn more about how to put your wisdom to work through her radio show www.blogtalkradio.com/passioantelyonpurpose and her Passionately On Purpose emagazine at www.caralumen.com