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.

Let me know your thoughts! Click here to send me a text.

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

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
If you've been feeling stretched thin or stuck

(00:02):
in cycles of busyness that don'tactually move things forward in
your business, this episode isgoing to help you reset.
You're going to learn how tocreate a plan you can actually
stick to, one that keeps youfocused, calm, and in control so
that your next 90 days feelclear instead of chaotic.

(00:24):
Welcome to the Mind Your TimePodcast.
I'm Shannon Baker, your coffeeloving host and business
operations strategist.
If you're a service providerwho's great at what you do, but
stuck with misfit clients, messyonboarding, or draining
workdays, this show is for you.
Each week I share bothstrategies and practical
insights rooted in my poweremotional framework to help you
streamline your back end,protect your time, and lead your

(00:46):
client experience withconfidence because skills got
you clients, but systems willtake you further.
So grab your cup of coffee oryour favorite drink and let's
dive in.
Okay, I have a confession tomake.

(02:05):
Not to mention, I was missing areal roadmap that worked, one
that gave me the structure thatI needed to keep myself focused.
So inside the systems and sanitysuite within the minor time
membership, the structure beginswith you joining the membership

(02:26):
because that's where you getaccess to the resources and the
community that will help youstay grounded.
Then you can take actionimmediately in step two, which
is pick one goal and organizeyour operations.
This is where you start cleaningup one area of your back office

(02:46):
and start building yourfoundation.
I've already talked about bothof these steps in detail in the
previous episode, so I'm justgoing to put a link to that in
the show notes so you can gocheck it out if you haven't
already listened to it.
So today we're talking aboutstep three of the power and
motion framework where you workon the plan.

(03:07):
Now, this is actually in phaseone of the clarity to confidence
journey where you start toestablish your systems.
Because systems help you takeback control of your time and
your business by putting realstructure in place that supports
your goals.
Now, this realization for me issomething that I found most

(03:32):
entrepreneurs miss.
Even the best strategy, it won'twork without structure and
intentional action.
That realization became thefoundation for what's now the
90-day roadmap that I use inteaching inside of the mind your
time society.

(03:52):
Because I found that working infocused 90-day cycles really
turned my chaos into clarity.
It gave me structure that feltlike freedom.
I stopped waking up in panicmode and I started ending my
days knowing exactly what I wasdoing the next day.
And that's what I want for you.
That's how I want your next 90days to feel clear, calm, and

(04:18):
aligned.
Because honestly, mostentrepreneurs don't struggle
with motivation, but theystruggle because their goals
don't have the systems that areneeded to support them.
You can't get clarity whenyou're working in chaos, and you
can't be consistent when youhave a structure that doesn't
really fit.

(04:39):
See, when you intentionallycreate systems and habits that
keep you grounded and focused,your business finally starts
working for you instead ofagainst you.
So let me tell you about one ofmy clients who learned the power
of working on the plan.
She was onboarding multipleclients every month, but every
step lived in her head.

(05:01):
So that meant every new clientcaused her to reinvent the
wheel.
Over time, she was exhausted bythis process, or should I say,
lack of a process.
She told me she was so tiredthat her success didn't even
feel good.
So when we started workingtogether, we used the back

(05:22):
office power checklist toidentify the gaps in her back
office.
And we took those results andused the 90-day roadmap to build
a plan that she could follow.
Month one was all about gettingclear on what was working and
what wasn't working in herbusiness.
Then month two, we startedbuilding her structure,
automated her intake form,established dedicated days for

(05:44):
calls, and we created messagetemplates for those routine
responses.
Then at month three, we startedrefining what was working in her
onboarding process so that itcould run without her.
By the end of those 90 days, shewas onboarding new clients
faster, her sleep was better,and she was closing her laptop

(06:05):
by 6 p.m.
and she was not feeling guiltyabout it.
She stopped ending her daysbeing anxious and stressed out
and started ending them feelingproductive and accomplished.
That's what happens when youwork on the plan instead of
chasing it or operating by theseat of your pants.
You stop reacting and you startleading.

(06:28):
Now, let me tell you, when I saywork on the plan, I mean you're
actually building the structurethat makes execution easier
later.
It's not just about creating aplan, but you're setting
yourself up to actually followthrough.
Now, on the systems and sanitysuite roadmap, this is actually
step three, the point where youstart building real momentum by

(06:51):
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 the90-day roadmap, which is
available exclusively inside theMyer Time Society, because it's
not another to-do list, it's asimple guided process that walks

(07:14):
you through phase one of theclarity to confidence journey,
and it points you to what comesnext.
So let's talk about these phasesa little bit more.
Phase one is you need toestablish your systems.
This is the foundation thatyou're hearing about in today's
episode.
And there are three baselinesystems that give you back time

(07:34):
and help you take control.
That's your digital filingsystem, your time management
system, and your communicationsystem, which includes client
management.
Now, in phase two, that's whenyou really start to build your
business out because yourfoundation is in place, and then
you strengthen your business bycreating your money management
system, your sales marketingsystem, and some backup systems.

(07:58):
Once that's done, you move tophase three where you start to
scale your business.
This is where you can then gofrom growth to scaling with
ease.
And you're gonna develop adigital product or signature
offer, you're gonna streamlineyour client delivery, and you're
gonna have an emergencypreparedness plan.

(08:20):
So take a moment and picturethis because that's the full
roadmap.
These three phases mirror thesystems and sanity suite
roadmap.
That's the framework that helpsyou take back control of your
time and your business onesystem at a time.
And if you're not inside themembership yet, that's okay.
This episode is still gonna helpyou start working on your plan

(08:43):
so you can create momentum andclarity before you even join.
Now, if you've been trying to doeverything yourself and
wondering when you're finallygoing to have space to breathe,
then go ahead and join usinside.
Go to theshannonbaker.comforward slash membership.
When you join, grab the 90-dayroadmap, which will help you

(09:03):
turn that clarity intorepeatable structure with tools
that make it easy to apply whatyou already know, but in a way
that fits your life right now.
Because I know you're great atwhat you do, but you're
exhausted because you're holdingit all together.
So it's time to shift the waythat you operate.

(09:25):
Once you start working on yourplan, keeping your rhythm, it
doesn't have to feel hard.
And that's what I love about theweekly reset.
It's a simple 30-minute check-inthat you do to keep your week
aligned.
You can do it at the beginningor the end of your week.
But you need to ask yourselfthese three questions.
What worked?

(09:45):
What didn't, and what needs tochange to improve my results?
For one client, that meantsetting and sticking to office
hours, no more replying tomessages at midnight or on
weekends.
For another client, that meantcleaning up her digital
workspace before she checked outon Friday so that she could
totally unplug for the weekend.

(10:06):
Those small, steady resets buildlong-term calm, and that's how
you work on the plan withoutburning out.
Then, once you've worked on theplan, meaning you've built some
systems and have a strongerstructure, then the next step
comes into play.
You execute with rhythm andconsistency.
But that's a conversation we'regoing to save for another

(10:28):
episode.
So before we wrap up today, Iwant to leave you with a simple
challenge for the week.
Pick one goal you can focus onfor the next 90 days.
Yes, just one.
Then spend a few minutes lookingat 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 aclear plan with structure that

(10:52):
fits your life, go ahead andjoin us inside of the My Your
Time Society.
That's where you're going to getaccess to the 90-day roadmap
along with all the tools andsupport you need to put your
systems in place.
Because when you have clarity,you create structure.
When you have structure, youcreate freedom.

(11:12):
And when you work on the planwith support, you finally start
to see real progress.
Your next 90 days don't have tofeel scattered.
They can feel steady, focused,and aligned by you taking one
step at a time.
So let's recap what we'vecovered today.
First of all, strategy does notwork without structure.

(11:35):
Your next level isn't aboutdoing more, it's about
organizing what you alreadyhave.
Second, we talked about thethree foundational phases of

your journey (11:44):
establishing your systems, building your business,
then scaling your business.
And finally, we talked aboutkeeping your rhythm with a
weekly reset.
Remember, the goal isn'tperfection, it's about
consistency and being calm.
So when you combine structurewith focus and a good rhythm or

(12:06):
routine, your business finallystarts working with you, not
against you.
That in essence is what it meansto work on your plan.
So I want you to take a deepbreath because your next 90 days
don't have to feel scattered.
They can feel steady, focused,and aligned.

(12:27):
If you're ready to stop spinningyour wheels, the 90-day roadmap
inside the Myer Time Society isgoing to help you map out your
next 90 days with clarity andconfidence.
You can learn more and join usat theshannonbaker.com forward
slash membership.
And I'm going to drop a link tothat in the show notes as well
so you can join us when you'reready.
And that's it for today's chat,my friend.

(12:50):
Remember, clarity doesn't comefrom doing more, it comes from
doing what matters withintention.
Thanks for tuning in today.
If this episode hit home, it'sbecause you already know you're
ready to stop patching up theproblems and start running your
business like the pro you are.
But listening won't fix thecracks.
Action will.
Your next step?

(13:10):
Grab the back office powerchecklist at theshannonbaker.com
forward slash checklist.
It'll show you exactly what'sworking, what's missing, and
where your back end is silentlyslowing you down.
And if you're ready to godeeper, founder circle inside
the Mind Your Time Society iswhere we can fix it together
with the systems insanity suiteand you'll get the clarity that

(13:32):
you've been craving.
Not quite there yet?
Come say hi to me on Instagramat the underscore Shannon Baker.
I would love to hear whatresonated with you the most.
And if you're loving thepodcast, please leave a quick
review because it goes a longway in helping more service
providers like you find thepodcast.
You can do that right now atratethispodcast.com forward

(13:55):
slash mind your time.
Skills got your clients.