From Chaos to Clarity: How to Finally Work On Your Plan and See Progress

Are you a service provider who is great at what you do but you feel stuck in reactive mode?

I know you’re tired of creating a new plan every quarter only to find yourself buried in client work and unfinished goals. 

So in this episode, we’re unpacking what it really means to work on the plan instead of constantly chasing it. You’ll learn how to create a plan you can actually stick to, build the structure that makes execution easier, and develop a simple rhythm that keeps your business steady through busy seasons.

Through real examples and practical insights, we’ll walk through Phase 1 of The Clarity-to-Confidence Journey™, the stage where you reclaim your time, clean up your foundation, and finally start feeling in control again. By the end, you’ll know how to reset your focus, strengthen your systems, and start seeing progress you can measure.

What we cover in this episode:

1:31 – The moment I realized my plans kept failing because I didn’t have the systems to support them

4:49 – A client’s story that shows how structure creates calm, clarity, and consistency

6:28 – What “work on the plan” really means and how it changes everything about how you lead your business

7:21 – How Phase 1 of The Clarity-to-Confidence Journey™ helps you establish systems and take back control of your time

9:25 – The 30-minute weekly reset that keeps your plan aligned without burning out

10:48 – How to join the Mind Your Time Society to access the 90-Day Roadmap and start your clarity-to-confidence journey

Related Episodes Mentioned:

EP 223 - Stop Letting Tools Run You: How to Organize Your Operations Without Overwhelm

Resources Mentioned:

 🔍 Ready to get clear about what’s really happening in the back end of your business?

The Back Office POWER Checklist is a fillable Google Doc you can complete online (no printing, no overwhelm).  It helps you uncover what’s working, what’s missing, and where your systems are silently slowing you down so you can fix the real problems, not just the symptoms. 

🔧 Ready to simplify your business and finally feel in control?

The Mind Your Time Society is your space for smart systems, sanity-saving tools, and real support. Inside, you’ll find copy-paste scripts, plug-and-play templates, and a guided 90-Day Roadmap so you always know what to focus on next. Whether you’re tired of late nights, wrong-fit clients, or a calendar that never gives you breathing room, the Society gives you the clarity and structure to run your business like a pro without the overwhelm.

Leave a Rating and Review: https://ratethispodcast.com/mindyourtime

Chapters

• 1:31 The moment I realized my plans kept failing because I didn’t have the systems to support them
• 4:49 A client’s story that shows how structure creates calm, clarity, and consistency
• 6:28 What “work on the plan” really means and how it changes everything about how you lead your business
• 7:21 How Phase 1 of The Clarity-to-Confidence Journey™ helps you establish systems and take back control of your time
• 9:25 The 30-minute weekly reset that keeps your plan aligned without burning out
• 10:48 How to join the Mind Your Time Society to access the 90-Day Roadmap and start your clarity-to-confidence journey

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

If you've been feeling stretched thin or stuck in cycles of busyness that don't actually move things forward in your business, this episode is going to help you reset. You're going to learn how to create a plan you can actually stick to, one that keeps you focused, calm, and in control so that your next 90 days feel clear instead of chaotic. Welcome to the Mind Your Time Podcast. I'm Shannon Baker, your coffee loving host and business operations strategist. If you're a service provider who's great at what you do, but stuck with misfit clients, messy onboarding, or draining workdays, this show is for you. Each week I share both strategies and practical insights rooted in my power emotional framework to help you streamline your back end, protect your time, and lead your client experience with confidence because skills got you clients, but systems will take you further. So grab your cup of coffee or your favorite drink and let's dive in. Okay, I have a confession to make. Not to mention, I was missing a real roadmap that worked, one that gave me the structure that I needed to keep myself focused. So inside the systems and sanity suite within the minor time membership, the structure begins with you joining the membership because that's where you get access to the resources and the community that will help you stay grounded. Then you can take action immediately in step two, which is pick one goal and organize your operations. This is where you start cleaning up one area of your back office and start building your foundation. I've already talked about both of these steps in detail in the previous episode, so I'm just going to put a link to that in the show notes so you can go check it out if you haven't already listened to it. So today we're talking about step three of the power and motion framework where you work on the plan. Now, this is actually in phase one of the clarity to confidence journey where you start to establish your systems. Because systems help you take back control of your time and your business by putting real structure in place that supports your goals. Now, this realization for me is something that I found most entrepreneurs miss. Even the best strategy, it won't work without structure and intentional action. That realization became the foundation for what's now the 90-day roadmap that I use in teaching inside of the mind your time society. Because I found that working in focused 90-day cycles really turned my chaos into clarity. It gave me structure that felt like freedom. I stopped waking up in panic mode and I started ending my days knowing exactly what I was doing the next day. And that's what I want for you. That's how I want your next 90 days to feel clear, calm, and aligned. Because honestly, most entrepreneurs don't struggle with motivation, but they struggle because their goals don't have the systems that are needed to support them. You can't get clarity when you're working in chaos, and you can't be consistent when you have a structure that doesn't really fit. See, when you intentionally create systems and habits that keep you grounded and focused, your business finally starts working for you instead of against you. So let me tell you about one of my clients who learned the power of working on the plan. She was onboarding multiple clients every month, but every step lived in her head. So that meant every new client caused her to reinvent the wheel. Over time, she was exhausted by this process, or should I say, lack of a process. She told me she was so tired that her success didn't even feel good. So when we started working together, we used the back office power checklist to identify the gaps in her back office. And we took those results and used the 90-day roadmap to build a plan that she could follow. Month one was all about getting clear on what was working and what wasn't working in her business. Then month two, we started building her structure, automated her intake form, established dedicated days for calls, and we created message templates for those routine responses. Then at month three, we started refining what was working in her onboarding process so that it could run without her. By the end of those 90 days, she was onboarding new clients faster, her sleep was better, and she was closing her laptop by 6 p.m. and she was not feeling guilty about it. She stopped ending her days being anxious and stressed out and started ending them feeling productive and accomplished. That's what happens when you work on the plan instead of chasing it or operating by the seat of your pants. You stop reacting and you start leading. Now, let me tell you, when I say work on the plan, I mean you're actually building the structure that makes execution easier later. It's not just about creating a plan, but you're setting yourself up to actually follow through. Now, on the systems and sanity suite roadmap, this is actually step three, the point where you start building real momentum by putting your systems in place. And if you've ever said, Well, I'm really not a good planner, I want you to hear me out. That's not a discipline problem, it's a systems problem. That's exactly why I created the 90-day roadmap, which is available exclusively inside the Myer Time Society, because it's not another to-do list, it's a simple guided process that walks you through phase one of the clarity to confidence journey, and it points you to what comes next. So let's talk about these phases a little bit more. Phase one is you need to establish your systems. This is the foundation that you're hearing about in today's episode. And there are three baseline systems that give you back time and help you take control. That's your digital filing system, your time management system, and your communication system, which includes client management. Now, in phase two, that's when you really start to build your business out because your foundation is in place, and then you strengthen your business by creating your money management system, your sales marketing system, and some backup systems. Once that's done, you move to phase three where you start to scale your business. This is where you can then go from growth to scaling with ease. And you're gonna develop a digital product or signature offer, you're gonna streamline your client delivery, and you're gonna have an emergency preparedness plan. So take a moment and picture this because that's the full roadmap. These three phases mirror the systems and sanity suite roadmap. That's the framework that helps you take back control of your time and your business one system at a time. And if you're not inside the membership yet, that's okay. This episode is still gonna help you start working on your plan so you can create momentum and clarity before you even join. Now, if you've been trying to do everything yourself and wondering when you're finally going to have space to breathe, then go ahead and join us inside. Go to theshannonbaker.com forward slash membership. When you join, grab the 90-day roadmap, which will help you turn that clarity into repeatable structure with tools that make it easy to apply what you already know, but in a way that fits your life right now. Because I know you're great at what you do, but you're exhausted because you're holding it all together. So it's time to shift the way that you operate. Once you start working on your plan, keeping your rhythm, it doesn't have to feel hard. And that's what I love about the weekly reset. It's a simple 30-minute check-in that you do to keep your week aligned. You can do it at the beginning or the end of your week. But you need to ask yourself these three questions. What worked? What didn't, and what needs to change to improve my results? For one client, that meant setting and sticking to office hours, no more replying to messages at midnight or on weekends. For another client, that meant cleaning up her digital workspace before she checked out on Friday so that she could totally unplug for the weekend. Those small, steady resets build long-term calm, and that's how you work on the plan without burning out. Then, once you've worked on the plan, meaning you've built some systems and have a stronger structure, then the next step comes into play. You execute with rhythm and consistency. But that's a conversation we're going to save for another episode. So before we wrap up today, I want to leave you with a simple challenge for the week. Pick one goal you can focus on for the next 90 days. Yes, just one. Then spend a few minutes looking at the systems that support it. Think about what's working, what's missing, and what could be simplified. And if you're ready to build a clear plan with structure that fits your life, go ahead and join us inside of the My Your Time Society. That's where you're going to get access to the 90-day roadmap along with all the tools and support you need to put your systems in place. Because when you have clarity, you create structure. When you have structure, you create freedom. And when you work on the plan with support, you finally start to see real progress. Your next 90 days don't have to feel scattered. They can feel steady, focused, and aligned by you taking one step at a time. So let's recap what we've covered today. First of all, strategy does not work without structure. Your next level isn't about doing more, it's about organizing what you already have. Second, we talked about the three foundational phases of your journey: establishing your systems, building your business, then scaling your business. And finally, we talked about keeping your rhythm with a weekly reset. Remember, the goal isn't perfection, it's about consistency and being calm. So when you combine structure with focus and a good rhythm or routine, your business finally starts working with you, not against you. That in essence is what it means to work on your plan. So I want you to take a deep breath because your next 90 days don't have to feel scattered. They can feel steady, focused, and aligned. If you're ready to stop spinning your wheels, the 90-day roadmap inside the Myer Time Society is going to help you map out your next 90 days with clarity and confidence. You can learn more and join us at theshannonbaker.com forward slash membership. And I'm going to drop a link to that in the show notes as well so you can join us when you're ready. And that's it for today's chat, my friend. Remember, clarity doesn't come from doing more, it comes from doing what matters with intention. Thanks for tuning in today. If this episode hit home, it's because you already know you're ready to stop patching up the problems and start running your business like the pro you are. But listening won't fix the cracks. Action will. Your next step? Grab the back office power checklist at theshannonbaker.com forward slash checklist. It'll show you exactly what's working, what's missing, and where your back end is silently slowing you down. And if you're ready to go deeper, founder circle inside the Mind Your Time Society is where we can fix it together with the systems insanity suite and you'll get the clarity that you've been craving. Not quite there yet? Come say hi to me on Instagram at the underscore Shannon Baker. I would love to hear what resonated with you the most. And if you're loving the podcast, please leave a quick review because it goes a long way in helping more service providers like you find the podcast. You can do that right now at ratethispodcast.com forward slash mind your time. Skills got your clients.