At our house just getting out the door in the morning is a complete choreographed whirlwind of activity. Cooking breakfast, packing lunches, changing pampers, getting dressed  and making sure everyone knows where they are supposed to be for the day are just a few of the tasks that need to happen each morning. My son goes to school, my daughter to the sitter my husband and I to work. I finish work in time to pick up my daughter and meet my son off the bus. I start supper, my husband comes home and often times I go back to work. Throw in swimming, hockey, birthday parties, parent teacher interviews, dentists and doctors and life can seem a little chaotic to say the least. What’s even crazier is that generally, things run pretty smoothly.

Yes, life is busy but we do the best we can.

You know what helps? Planning and scheduling. Rarely do we wait until the chaos of the morning to figure out who is taking the baby for her needles that day or who is going to the home and school meeting that night. We plan these things in advance, talk them out and write them down so we are able to make the best decisions for our family and not last minute “desperate” decisions. Knowing what is coming up and how we are going to handle things helps us gain control of the chaos.

This is the reason why organizations need a marketing plan. To plan, analyze, schedule and prepare for what’s to come. All too often do I answer my phone to people in a panic, “I need your help getting customers now because I need to pay my rent next month” or “I started my business 6 months ago when I had clients and now that I’m done with those clients I have no one…help!” They wait until the chaos has hit before they decide they should plan. Often times we can come up with a quick fix to get the job done but wouldn’t it be much more efficient to plan ahead?

You can start the planning process yourself today by taking any spare time at work (even 10 minutes a day) to search for upcoming events you would like to take part in. Tradeshows, mixers, fundraisers, parades or any other event that you always say you wish you’d known about sooner. Plug them into a calendar.

Next, think about an event or promotion you’ve been meaning to host for a while but could never find time for. Make a list of all the things you would have to do leading up to that event or promotion and plug them into a calendar.

At the beginning of each month, scan through the next 30 days to see what is on your “to do” list and chip away at them one by one. You will find that most of the tasks are as simple as making a phone call and best of all is the rewarding feeling of crossing tasks of your list!