• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Your Visual Journal

Journaling + Sketchnotes + Bullet Journal Ideas

  • Start here
  • Blog
  • Course
  • Supplies
  • About
  • Contact
Your Visual Journal - Woman Planning

Why you may want to plan in a 13-Week cycle

October 11, 2017 • Reach Your Goals

Did you know that there is a trend to move from planning out an entire year to only looking at 13 weeks at a time?

I didn’t.

Which is why when I purchased a Self Journal I was shocked to find out that it only ran for 13 weeks. You know what I discovered after diving in and using it? 13 weeks is a much better length of time for a planner than a year.

Here are three reasons you can get more out of planning for only 13 weeks than for a full year:

1. Motivation is a perishable commodity.

We’ve all experienced starting a project with great enthusiasm only to have it wane as time goes on.

Executing in short timelines keeps our motivation high.

The faster we can get from ideation to execution, the more likely it is that we will put something new out there. Perfectionism, fear and insecurity chip away at ideas. If we can execute quickly—before we start to question and second-guess ourselves—then big things can happen.

2. 13 weeks shortens the timeline from planning to execution.

Brian Moran in his breakout book, The 12 Week Year asserts that the problem with annual planning is that the cycle is too long to connect results with actions. The urgency incurred by shortening the cycle moves people from planning to execution more effectively.

In Moran’s system, there is never a year with four periods. There is simply 12-weeks, followed by 12-weeks, followed by 12-weeks. The year-end push to hit your goals happens all of the time.

3. Badass John Lee Dumas does this.

John Lee Dumas, host of EOFire says focus is key to success.

Podcast host, John Lee Dumas of EOFire has interviewed over 1500 successful entrepreneurs and identified that 100 days (13 weeks) is the sweet spot for setting goals that are: S-Specific, M-Measurable, A-Attainable, R-Relevant and T-time-bound.

Dumas created The Freedom Journal to help entrepreneurs achieve their #1 goal in 100 days.

Are you still using a planner that runs a full year? You are missing out on hitting your goals faster! 
 Why You May Want To Plan In A 13-Week Cycle

Time and energy are finite resources. We have to focus them, or we run out. It is much easier to plan resources for shorter periods of time. If we focus on a primary goal and align our time and energy to meeting that one goal, we are much more likely to achieve it.

Have you test-driven a 13-week planning cycle yet? Pick your goal and go for it!

And if you decide to get your own Self Journal use code YVJ to get 15% off.


Want tips on how to journal? Get the free ebook on How to Journal with 28 ways to journal and hundreds of resources so you can find the method that is right for you.

About Cathy Hutchison

Cathy Hutchison helps people get more joy, meaning, and freedom in a world of demands through the practice of visual journaling.

  • Get social

You may also like

  • Why daytimers and planners never organize your life
  • How to Create a Journal Layout for Habit Tracking that Works for You Bullet Journal Habit Trackers | How to Create One that Works for You
  • Why Your Morning Routine Isn’t Sticking (and What to Do About It)
Previous
A simple guide to find the journaling tools that are right for you
Next
3 Ideas for Adding Visuals to Your Journal – Even if You are Not an Artist

Reader Interactions

Leave a comment Cancel reply

Footer

Disclosures

Some links on this site are affiliate links where the author receives a small (really small) commission for any purchases. Links on this site are for products I believe in. Funds are used to support journal supplies, a Toyota Yaris, & four crazy sweet Aussies who bark for treats every time I come in the door. (To be fair, I have a pattern of giving in to them.) I write about all kinds of journaling, and if Bullet Journaling is your thing, I’m here to support you. But if you want to go deep, go to the original source–Ryder Carroll, who created the system, and started it all at bulletjournal.com. I use the system daily which is why I started writing about it here.
  • Privacy Policy
  • Email
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

© 2021 Cathy Hutchison • Theme by Maira G.