"I set these amazing goals every January, and by March I've completely forgotten what they were."

Sound familiar? If you're nodding your head, you're definitely not alone. After working with dozens of small business owners, I've discovered something that might surprise you: your brain literally can't maintain focus for 12 months, but it CAN laser-focus for 90 days.

That's why I completely ditched traditional annual planning and started using a quarterly approach that's been absolutely revolutionary for my business—and now I’m sharing it with you.

Here's exactly how it works and why it might be the game-changer your business needs.

How I Discovered the Power of 90-Day Thinking

A couple of years ago, I read "The 12 Week Year" by Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington, and it fundamentally shifted how I think about business planning. The concept is brilliant: instead of planning for a full year, where urgency doesn't kick in until December, you treat every 12 weeks like a complete business year.

While I don't follow their exact format, I've adapted it for a brain that needs bite-sized focus and a life where "work-life balance" is a myth—my business, farm, and family don't live in separate boxes, and my planning system needed to stop pretending they do.

The results have been incredible. Projects that used to drag on for months get completed in weeks. Goals that felt overwhelming become manageable. Progress becomes visible and consistent.

Winston Churchill once said, "Plans are of little importance, but planning is essential." Here's the thing—if you don't know where you're going or what you're working towards, how will you know when you get there? Even before that, how will you know if you're even headed in the right direction?

Step 1: The Reality Check Most People Skip and Regret Later

Before we plan forward, we need to be brutally honest about where we are right now. This isn't touchy-feely reflection, don’t let your feels take over (but do process them another time, if necessary). This is data, business intelligence about your patterns.

Answer these four questions to reflect on the last quarter:

• What do I want to celebrate? (Wins matter—acknowledge them)
• What actually worked? (Keep the good stuff)
• What did I learn about myself/my business? (Raw honesty required)
• What needs to stop? (Be ruthless)

This step is crucial because most business owners are great at turning a blind eye to their own patterns. They'll repeat the same mistakes quarter after quarter without realizing it. The reality check forces you to see what's actually happening, not what you wish was happening.

Step 2: The Focus Filter

This is where dreams meet reality, which lets the rubber hit the road.

Here's where most people completely mess up their planning—they plan like they're superhuman.

They'll map out three major projects, two marketing campaigns, a system overhaul, and a complete rebrand, all while maintaining their regular client load. Even if individual projects don't look "big," remember: you're still doing ALL the other things in your business. This focused time is for working ON your business, not just IN it.

As Ron Swanson wisely said: "Never half-ass two things. Whole-ass one thing."

Pick ONE primary focus for the next 90 days:

Finances (Cash flow, pricing, profit margins)
Marketing (Lead generation, brand visibility)
Sales (Converting prospects to clients)
Operations (Systems, efficiency, team building)

Then dig deeper with these power questions:

• What resources do I actually need? (Time, money, skills, people)
• What will try to derail me? What are my main obstacles? (Be specific—your business has patterns)
• How will I measure success? (Numbers, not just feelings)

Full disclosure: I'm usually obstacle number one on my own list, with farm chaos being a close second. The key is being honest about your patterns so you can plan around them.

Real-World Example: How This Looks in Practice

Let me show you what this looks like with a recent client:

Quarterly Focus: "Fix My Client Notes Bottleneck"

The Problem: She had her note-taking system dialed in—until a major life transition (moving) threw everything off. Notes started piling up at the end of each day. The work that used to take seconds was getting procrastinated, leaving her feeling constantly behind.

Predicted Obstacle: She needed better time management between sessions and the discipline to actually finish notes before leaving the office.

The Solution: Increase the buffer between sessions from 10 to 15 minutes (giving her breathing room to finish notes immediately after each client). Then pilot a non-negotiable rule for two weeks: notes must be completed before walking out of the office each day.

The Result: Within two weeks, the system was back on track. Notes were current, the stress of falling behind disappeared, and she could actually leave work feeling caught up instead of dreading tomorrow's pile-up.

One focused solution to fix this bottleneck transformed how her days felt to run. She solved this so fast, we were able to tackle her next priority early.

Step 3: The 90-Day Sprint—Because Plans Don't Execute Themselves

Now you build your quarter like a mini-business plan. But here's the critical piece most people miss: you have to actually schedule it and protect that time fiercely.

A plan sitting in a document is utterly useless if you don't work the plan. I block time every single week for my quarterly focus and treat it like my most important client meeting—because it is.

The Weekly Check-In (Your Progress Pulse)

Every. Single. Week. You sit down and ask yourself three questions:

Am I on track?
What's working/not working?
What support do I need?

You can't see progress you don't track. These weekly check-ins keep you honest about what's actually happening versus what you hoped would happen. They also give you permission to adjust course when something isn't working—which is way better than discovering that in November.

The Quarterly Review (Your Data Collection)

At the end of your 90 days, you sit down with your results and ask:

Did I hit my success metrics?
What would I do differently next time?
What's my focus for next quarter?

This isn't about perfection—it's about intentional progress and learning from what actually happened.

Why This Works When Everything Else Fails

The magic of 90-day planning isn't just the shorter timeframe—it's that it forces you to be realistic about what you can actually accomplish while running a business.

Most annual goals fail because they're set in January optimism without accounting for real-world obstacles. By the time you remember them in November, you feel like a failure.

But 90 days? That's close enough to maintain urgency, long enough to accomplish something meaningful, and realistic enough to actually complete.

Short-term goals serve as immediate catalysts for progress, creating momentum that longer-term aspirations often lack. When your finish line is visible, you're far more likely to actually cross it.

The compound effect is incredible. Four focused quarters will transform your business more than four years of scattered efforts.

Your Turn: Stop Winging It and Start Winning It

Here's your challenge: Pick ONE thing to focus on for the next 90 days. Just one.

What's the one area of your business that, if you made real progress in the next three months, would have the biggest impact on how you feel about your work?

Is it finally getting your finances organized so you know if you're actually profitable? Building a marketing system that brings in consistent leads? Creating operations that don't require you to be the hero every single day?

I created something to help you do exactly that.

Get Your Free Quick & Dirty Quarterly Planning Tool

After working with dozens of clients using this exact framework, I realized something: most business owners don't need another 47-page strategic planning template. They need a simple, practical worksheet they can complete in 20 minutes that actually gets used.

So I built one.

The Quick & Dirty Quarterly Planning Tool walks you through:

The Reality Check - Get honest about what's working (and what isn't)
Your Quarterly Focus - Pick ONE primary project that moves the needle
Working the Plan - Weekly check-ins that keep you on track without micromanaging yourself
The Quarterly Review - Turn your experience into data for better decision-making

No fluff. No complicated frameworks. Just a straightforward planning system that helps you get unstuck and stay focused for the next 90 days.

Download your free Quick & Dirty Quarterly Planning Tool here and finally build momentum that lasts longer than your Monday morning motivation.

Your business has incredible potential. Let's build a planning system that helps you unlock it, one focused quarter at a time.

Behind the Scenes: My Quarterly Planning Method That Works Harder Than Your Annual Plan