You have exactly 34,877 things to do this week for your brand, right?
😳 😳 😳
Which to tackle first?
Which are most important?
Which ones will actually move you closer to your goals and impact your revenue?
You’re just not sure where to get started. And – to add to the mental clutter – you don’t know how to structure the upcoming week so that it’s productive.
Or maybe the norm for you is that you’re filling your weeks with a bunch of activity, but your business isn’t actually growing? (I see you, stepping quietly back into the hedges 🌳🌳🥴🌳… you can’t hide from me. Come back here and read this article. I’m here to help!)
Seriously. Don’t fret. If any of the above sounds familiar, I have a framework to share – and I know you’re going to love it. I’m opening up a window into my office… and giving you a peek at how I organize my tasks and projects over here at KP HQ.
🎥 As per usual, if you’d prefer to watch the video, it’s here for you. (Pop some popcorn; this one’s good!) If you’re a reader, continue on…
Okay, let’s dive in. With no further ado, I present to you: My F.O.C.U.S. Framework.
This is the exact schedule I go back to when I need a re-set of sorts. It never fails to bring my intention – and my attention – back to the things that really move the needle in my business.
Now I don’t use this week framework every single week. Some weeks are different than others. (And, that’s the great thing about entrepreneurship, ammiright? #Choices!) But whenever I feel a bit scattered – or unsure my actions are aligning with my priorities – I go back to my FOCUS framework.
Each letter of F-O-C-U-S corresponds to a day of the working week. Let me show you what I mean…
MONDAYS: The F in F-O-C-U-S is for Fulfillment.
I like to start Monday off – if I haven’t already started this process on Sunday night – by figuring out exactly what needs to happen this week – what people need from me. I survey my organization and get really clear on what deadlines are coming up, what we’re launching, who’s doing what, and where I am needed.
The “where I am needed” part drives what fulfillment activities I’ll execute on today.
So, Mondays often find me doing client work (analyzing client homework, reviewing designs and providing feedback to my team, infusing on-archetype language into client website copy…)
I also love to schedule VIP Clarity Intensives for “fulfillment” Mondays. (These are the results-oriented 1:1 sessions in which I work with a client 1:1. We craft a step-by-step plan to increase impact and income through brand strategy, stories and content, offers and messaging.) There’s something about Mondays… all the possibility and energy of a new week!… that make it a great day for these calls.
This is also the day I’m delegating work to my team. To set the week up for success, I’m making sure that each team member knows exactly what needs to get done. This often looks like refreshing everyone’s memories of our long-term plan, and ensuring the tasks on tap are aligning with them.
Today I’m also asking what the team needs from me. Have I provided the information and resources they need to execute? If there are items they’re waiting on me for, I’m delivering those today.
Pin this article to reference later! 📌
Pin this article to reference later! 📌
TUESDAYS: The O in F-O-C-U-S is for Offers.
On Tuesdays, I focus on making offers. (And crafting and scheduling them, too!) Through lots of entrepreneurial trial and error, I’ve learned it’s really important – for overall productivity – to front-end my week with the most important tasks. And, this one is perhaps the most critical of all.
Because here’s the thing: If you are not consistently selling in your business and creating new sales offers, you will eventually see your sales pipeline dry up, right? You have to have sales conversations with people. You have to have sales mechanisms in place to consistently make sales.
So my “O” day is all about offers. This is the day when I’m working on those mechanisms – webinars, sales emails, launch content, etc.
It’s also my day for personal sales – reaching out to potential clients, following back up with potential clients, referral partners, etc.
Essentially, I’m asking myself, “Self, 🤓… What I can do to move people closer to the sale?”
And I’m doing that.
Main takeaway here: I have a day that’s dedicated just to sales, and you should too.
Putting guardrails up around this time will ensure you don’t let making offers go by the wayside. Even when you get really busy with client work, this needs to be a priority if you want consistent revenue – and to avoid that “hustle-do seesaw” we’ve discussed before. 😉
WEDNESDAYS: The C in F-O-C-U-S is for Creation.
On Wednesdays, we create! (Mean Girls reference, anyone? 👱🏻♀️👱🏻♀️👩🏻👩🦰)
If you want to be a leader in your industry, you literally have to create things. You have to build a body of work. You have to share your point of view. You have to share your expertise.
Otherwise, how is anybody going to know what is in that beautiful brain of yours?
BUT! (No worries… this is a good ‘but!’)…
That doesn’t mean you have to be in constant creation mode. (That would be exhausting… even for the Creator types! 👩🎨)
I don’t write these articles each and every week. I batch them so that I can schedule them ahead. (In fact, my team and I have a content batching process that is frankly pretty darn genius. It’s a well-oiled machine that’s both complex and easy – at the very same time.)
Why? Because I have a life! I’m a mom of two, we travel a lot, I co-manage a household… you know, #life.
And, I bet you have a life, too. 😉
So, I do suggest carving time out to publish blog posts, film and edit Youtube videos, write emails and social posts, etc. In my world, I’ll spend an entire Tuesday on one platform – so videos all day, email campaigns all day, or the like. This reduces context switching and increases my capacity for output.
Most importantly, this ensures that I’m consistently showing up. I’m always providing valuable content. I’m literally getting what I know out of my brain and into a format that’s consumable by other people – which is 100 percent necessary as an entrepreneur.
(Psssst… If you want to learn more about how I stay visible without actually being online 24/7, this article reveals some of my secrets.)
THURSDAYS: The U in F-O-C-U-S is for Urgency.
No matter how much you plan, time block, and set boundaries around your time… there will be urgent matters that pop up in your business.
Maybe you didn’t finish client work on your version of a fulfillment day – because someone came home sick from school…
Or maybe your CRM decided to break (Dang that moody tech! 🤣) and you need an hour to call the help desk…
Or maybe you’re offered a last minute podcast appearance (Dooooo it!)…
Now, if you are too reactive to aaaallllll those urgent things, they can easily take over your week… and you’ll look back on Friday and think, “Ummmmmm… where did the time go? What do I have to show for it?” (Been there. Done that. Got the ugly T-shirt.)
But, some of these “detours” really are necessary or worth re-routing for…
So, to manage to this fact, I like to relegate any urgent matters – plus any clean-up or other miscellany – to a single day. That means I’m doing whatever I need to do just stay on top of things. I’m scheduling random calls. I’m working on client work that didn’t get done on Monday. I’m fixing tech.
I’m taking advantage of the fact that Marie Forleo’s branding expert canceled and she needs a speaker. (MARIE!!! Call me! Even if it’s not Thursday. I was born ready.)
FRIDAYS: The S in F-O-C-U-S is for Strategy.
And then there’s S… my favorite day of the week!
I save this for Fridays as a reward… I’ve spent the week taking action (more on that below!), and now I get to dream – and translate those dreams to future actions.
So on Fridays, I strategize. I look into the future to plan for the weeks coming up. I revisit my big picture goals and plan actions that will get me closer to them.
For the future-focused Magician part of me, this is my dream day! 🎩✨
This is also the day on which I’ll reorganize anything that needs to be re-aligned with my plans – or things that got really messy during the week or the previous month.
It’s also the day that I spend on learning. So, I read, work on courses I’m enrolled in, do course or program homework, do the reflection needed to make sure that I’m learning and growing…
We all want to make sure that we’re going in a direction that feels good and that we’re excited about. We all want to be intentional and have our actions roll up to our goals. For me, when I’m F-O-C-U-S-I-N-G, this is what Friday strategy day is all about.
So there you have it! This is my F-O-C-U-S formula for a productive week. Fulfillment, offers, creation, urgency, and strategy.
This is the framework I go back to – time and time again – when I need to hone back in on the activities that move the needle in my business.
But, before I let you go and work on your own F-O-C-U-S framework…
A Word About Planning – and Action.
I want to leave you, Dear Reader, with one final thought.
I love planning, dreaming big, strategizing… and if you’ve enjoyed this article, I’m thinking you do too.
But, I’ve also learned that planning is not truly where the progress is made – or where the true brand clarity lightbulbs 💡come on.
So, while I want you to get very intentional about how you spend your time, I don’t want you stuck in perpetual planning mode.
You know that mode…
Notebooks upon notebooks of ideas. Good idea fairies left and right of brilliant things ‘you could do’. A stack of planners a foot high. #guiltyascharged #planneraddict
Creating your weekly F-O-C-US framework, or your 90-day plan, or your 3-year vision ( for the upteenth time)… Or putting images of speaking on stage or publishing a book on your vision board… all very valuable.
But none of that planning will pay off if you’re still spinning in circles.
That’s why I’m designing my new course, the Brand Advantage, to be a “learning BY DOING” system instead of “procrastination by planning” model that many of us get stuck in.
It’s coming soon, so watch my social channels for it!
One great place to be – so you don’t miss anything? Inside my private Facebook group – The In Demand Brand Mastermind. It’s a community full of entrepreneurs who are dreamers and do-ers, and you can join here. (I’ll see you in there!)
