Commit to a level you can keep in your craziest weeks, like one email and one call a day, instead of a heroic plan that collapses.
The idea
The heroic plan looks like this: ten emails a day, ten calls a day, 30 contacts organized, five sphere meetings a week, all year. Then the crazy clients show up, then you need a break, then it's crazy again, and the plan collapses. The answer in my coaching was to shrink the commitment until it survives busy seasons. Our line for it: "Less, done consistently, beats more, done never."
How to do it
Look at your current plan and cut it to a level you'd keep in your busiest weeks.
The baseline in my coaching: one email a day, one call a day, five contacts organized.
Block one catch-up week on your calendar, in summer, instead of keeping peak pace all year.
Keep a daily to-do list and take joy in a simple win, like making your bed.
Example
In our consistency session, the slide put both plans side by side. The heroic plan came with the year drawn as a row of emoji: mind-blown, pleading, calm, calm, calm, celebrating, celebrating, celebrating, pleading, screaming. The sustainable plan was one email a day, one call a day, five contacts organized, plus one calendar-blocked week in summer.
Watch out for
Discounting the small days. Any progress is progress, and be happy about it.
Sources
From Zvi's coaching program
Related frameworks
Do Less of the Task: If you resist a relationship task, shrink it instead of skipping it. The easier the work, the more likely you'll repeat it.
Miss Once, Not Twice: Give yourself grace for one miss but never two. If you have to pause, set the restart date in your calendar before you stop.
The Rollercoaster: When business booms we neglect future relationships, then scramble in the lull. Ask every day what you can do right now for future you.
Undershoot Your Cadence: Set reminders a notch less often than you think you should. They won't notice monthly versus every two months, and you just halved the work.