A 6 Month Overview

Note: I realize that this type of exercise can be limited too specific job responsibilities. However, I would encourage anyone to spend some time looking ahead. Whether it is to overview a week, month, quarter, etc. This can be a valuable exercise that helps you to identify your upcoming season and to stay on top of your deadlines!

I am a little late with this exercise, but late is always better than never. Twice a year a get out the whiteboard and begin looking out over the horizon of the next 6 months and to anticipate what projects, deadlines, and events are coming up that I need to plan. On the flip side, if there are any gaps then I can insert projects that have been sitting on the back burner. Typically, I will look at January through June in the month of December and July through December in the month of June. However, because of time out of the office this summer I was not able to look at the next 6 months  until this week. (And I thought summer was going to be a "catch-up" season!) 

Here is a walk through of what I do:

1. Create 6 columns (one for each month).
2. Under each month I write down a date and the activity or meeting I have scheduled. When I have exhausted all of my scheduled events, meetings, and deadlines for each month I will then draw a line at the last entry. 
3. Under this line I will then write down what Action Steps or projects I need to accomplish during that month. These action steps will correspond with all events, meeting, or deadlines for the current and future months. (Read my post on tackling projects.)
1. When writing down these action steps I keep 3 things in mind:
1. What prep work and/or follow up needs to happen with each activity in the corresponding month.
2. What prep work needs to take place for the next month(s).
3. What seasonal projects should I be working on or allow for? We have annual events and defined seasons that help me breakdown projects and plan for events.
4. I then draw another line under the action steps. In the space left I will identify how many weeks I have in each month and assign up to 3 action steps per week. I make these a priority each week.
5. Next, I input this information into Smartytask which organizes my action steps by context and deadlines. Smartytask is the platform I use for my "to-do" list and project organization. (I wrote a post about this as well.)

This six month overview helps me to take a step back and grasp what is coming at me over the next "season." It helps me to keep my head up and see what is all around me (see my previous post). This simple exercise, if done properly and not rushed, almost always eliminates any surprises and will give me enough time to make sure I am meeting my deadlines and moving my projects "down the field!"