Time Freedom Strategy
How to Create your Time Freedom
Annual Road Map for the New Year
A Cotton Coach Class
by Wayne Cotton, CLU
Wayne Cotton, CLU was a qualifying member of the MDRT, Court of the Table or Top of the Table for 21 of his 28 years as a financial
advisor. He has presented over 1,000 industry talks and workshops, including two main platform presentations at the Million Dollar Round
Table®. Wayne is a growth guide to thousands of advisors and field leaders.
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1/3/2014
Welcome…
Today…
Create an annual
time structure
that works for you
Wayne Cotton, CLU
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© 2012 Cotton Systems Ltd.
Age of
Massive
Distraction!
Industry Induced ADD…
Advisor
Distraction
Diversion
Diffusion eradicates Capability
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© 2012 Cotton Systems Ltd.
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1/3/2014
Many advisors are:
Busy, Busy, Busy, Busy,
Information, Education,
Designations, Regulations.
Add Automation along
with Computerization…
So much to do!
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Many People…
Don’t have a Business…
…just a bunch of Busy-ness
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© 2012 Cotton Systems Ltd.
What is the real problem?
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1/3/2014
Einstein said…
“Any intelligent fool
can complicate things,
I takes a special touch
of genius to simplify…”
Business Purpose
A mechanism that allows us to
lead the lives we want to live,
while serving the needs of others…
but only if we build it properly.
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© 2012 Cotton Systems Ltd.
Convert Chaos to Clarity
Structure
Strategy
Formula
Must use
Guiding
Principles
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1/3/2014
You have a choice…
Business?
Personal Life?
Faith
Fitness
Business Family
Your Life
Friends
Fun
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Life is for…
…living and caring,
hoping and sharing
with the people we love
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© 2012 Cotton Systems Ltd.
Mature Simplicity is the Key
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1.
Money Freedom
2.
Time Freedom
3.
Freedom to Grow
© 2012 Cotton Systems Ltd.
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1/3/2014
Here’s the Deal…
To have an amazing
year, you must first
plan an amazing year.
Clear Plan for Balance
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Color Codes
Blue Sky
Mellow Yellow
Red Tape
Green Machine
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© 2012 Cotton Systems Ltd.
“Design-a-Life” Program
Blue Sky - work on the business
Mellow Yellow - personal time
Red Tape - administrivia, education
Green Machine - generate income
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© 2012 Cotton Systems Ltd.
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1/3/2014
Annual Road Map
Map out a whole year in four colors
The business is a part of your life
Encourage an exciting personal life
Time off “motivation map”
Time “off” drives time “on”
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© 2012 Cotton Systems Ltd.
Blue Sky
Blue Sky time each Quarter
Plan personal & family life
Review Business Model
Work on your Business
Think, plan, strategize
Plan the next 90 days
Involve your team
How many Blue Days?
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© 2012 Cotton Systems Ltd.
Mellow Yellow
“MY” time
Back off, Shut Down
Get out of Town
Mini Holidays
Mental Breaks
Major Vacations
Rest, Relax, Renew
Recovery, Recreation
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© 2012 Cotton Systems Ltd.
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1/3/2014
Red Tape
Clean up
Research
Education
Administrivia
Team Meetings
Special Projects
Product Knowledge
One day per week
Red means ________!
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© 2012 Cotton Systems Ltd.
Green Machine
Green stands for Go
Green is for Money
Income Generation
New Sales Activity
Client Acquisition
Case Preparation
Client Meetings
Focus on Best Case Scenario
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© 2012 Cotton Systems Ltd.
Theme for a Day
One Color per Day
Your daily “Theme”
Keep the theme clear
Make the colors vivid
Will do other things, but
Don’t mix colors together...
Color you get is _______!
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© 2012 Cotton Systems Ltd.
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ANNUAL ROADMAP™
Plan your life... and live your plan.
TIME CODES
TIME CODES
BLUE SKY
MELLOW YELLOW
SUN
MON
TUE
NAME
WED
THU
Basic Version
FRI
SAT
SUN
MON
JANUARY
5
TUE
RED TAPE
GREEN MACHINE
PHONE
WED
THU
FRI
SAT
SUN
MON
FEBRUARY
1
2
3
4
TUE
WED
THU
FRI
SAT
MARCH
1
2
3
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5
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11
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1
30
31
1
2
3
1
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7
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STRATEGY
APRIL
EDUCATION
M AY
JUNE
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7
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12
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31
1
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STRATEGY
CONVENTION
J U LY
AUGUST
1
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3
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STRATEGY
OCTOBER
5
2
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7
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11
2
3
13
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9
10
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STRATEGY
5
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30
1
30
1
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5
6
FAMILY
VACATION
NOVEMBER
1
6
12
SEPTEMBER
DECEMBER
4
5
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EDUCATION
© 2014 Cotton Systems Ltd. · Permission to copy granted for personal use only · www.cottonsystems.com
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ANNUAL ROADMAP™
Plan your life... and live your plan.
TIME CODES
TIME CODES
BLUE SKY
MELLOW YELLOW
SUN
MON
TUE
NAME
WED
THU
Advanced Version
FRI
SAT
SUN
MON
TUE
J A N U A RY
WED
THU
2
3
4
5
9
10
11
12
3
4
5
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9
12
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15
22
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1
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Strategy
Maui Break
APRIL
To Hot
1
7
8
14
15
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THU
FRI
SAT
1
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16
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23
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Snowshoe
Family Spring Break—Winter Fun
JUNE
2
3
4
Spring Clean-
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1
30
1
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3
1
Motorcycle Trip
MDRT Philadelphia
SEPTEMBER
Visitors at
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3
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7
Staycation—Visitors
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Cottage
OCTOBER
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NOVEMBER
2
3
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5
8
9
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12
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Motorcycle Trip
WED
Skiing
AUGUST
Family at the Cottage
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Strategy
TUE
M AY
J U LY
1
MON
MARCH
2
7
Strategy
SUN
1
6
Springs
SAT
F E B R U A RY
1
Strategy
GREEN MACHINE
FRI
Friends—Snowshoeing &
Skiing
RED TAPE
DECEMBER
5
6
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Maui Break
Family
Travel for holidays with Family
Skiing
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©1981 - 2014 Cotton Systems Ltd. For blank copies and instructions, go to wwwNoBrownDays.com
1/3/2014
Not many Green Days!
Scary, but look again…
Alex Mackenzie says,
“Work expands or contracts
to fill the amount of
time you give it!”
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© 2012 Cotton Systems Ltd.
Value of a Green Day+++
“Make Every
Move Count”
Precision Marketing
Selective Prospecting
Right New Clients
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© 2012 Cotton Systems Ltd.
Process-Driven Business
Profile – New Client Best Case Scenario
Program – Same Profile – Same Program
Process – A – Z steps to take for each client
Performance – Manage the Key Factors
People – Develop the right Support Team
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© 2012 Cotton Systems Ltd.
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1/3/2014
The Magic of Motivation
What would you do with time off?
What’s on your mind?
Let your mind wander
Dream a little…or a lot
Do some possibility thinking
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Core Cotton Concepts
1.
You don’t have to wait
for some day in the future
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Core Cotton Concepts
1.
You don’t have to wait
for some day in the future
2.
Flexibility fosters Failure
Structure buys you Freedom
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1/3/2014
Core Cotton Concepts
1.
You don’t have to wait
for some day in the future
2.
Flexibility fosters Failure
Structure buys you freedom
3.
Time is Finite
Life can evaporate!
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Core Cotton Concepts
4.
Time off Drives Time on
Get motivated about time off
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Core Cotton Concepts
4.
Time off Drives Time on
Get excited about time off
5.
The Magic of Motivation
What’s on your mind?
30
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1/3/2014
Core Cotton Concepts
4.
Time off Drives Time on
Get excited about time off
5.
The Magic of Motivation
What’s on your mind?
6.
Build Your Stimulation
Visualize & Dream
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Start with a
“Model” Year
If you could live
the “perfect” year,
what would it
look like?
First the Model Year
Then the Actual Year
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© 2012 Cotton Systems Ltd.
Your Assignment
Finish your Model Year
Then build your current ARM
Check on important dates this year
Birthdays, School days, Anniversary
Conventions, Industry meetings
Important events you want to attend
Talk to spouse, kids, staff, management
Tie it down – then commit to it
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What would you do with more time off?
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MODEL YEAR
Plan your life... and live your plan.
TIME CODES
TIME CODES
BLUE SKY
RED TAPE
MELLOW YELLOW
SUN
MON
TUE
NAME
WED
THU
FRI
SAT
SUN
MON
TUE
J A N U A RY
GREEN MACHINE
PHONE
WED
THU
FRI
SAT
SUN
MON
TUE
F E B R U A RY
WED
THU
FRI
SAT
MARCH
1
2
3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
1
2
3
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31
1
2
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4
APRIL
M AY
JUNE
1
2
31 1
2
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11
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J U LY
AUGUST
SEPTEMBER
1
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2
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7
8
1
2
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1
30
31
27
28
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30
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER
DECEMBER
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7
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©2014 Cotton Coach Inc. · Permission to copy granted for personal use only · www.nobrowndays.com
THE MAGIC OF THE
ANNUAL ROADMAP
™
A process to help you achieve more balance in your personal and business lives.
By Wayne Cotton, CLU
Do you live in a world of constant overwhelm? Feeling like you have a hundred things you need to
do and another hundred things you wish you could do, but no time to accomplish any of them?
The Annual Roadmap™ will help you live more by design and less by default so you can lead a
more satisfying life.
My first dozen years as a financial advisor were full of information overload, constant overwhelm,
and massive diffusion. My personal life was swallowed in the business. Diffusion led to constant
frustration. Then I designed my first color-coded success calendar – my production rose
dramatically and so did my free time!
I discovered the power of focusing through color-coded time planning. Now let me show you...
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www.NoBrownDays.com
ANNUAL ROADMAP™
Do You Want An Amazing Year?
To have an amazing year, you must plan an amazing
year. It makes sense, but many of us miss the mark.
This report will teach you how to plan and live a great
life, one year at a time.
I developed the Annual Roadmap™ process more than
30 years ago and have used it ever sense. I did this
because I wasn’t living a very satisfying life at the time.
Oh sure, my business was doing well, but I was working
morning, noon, and night. Long weekends were a
welcomed event so I could work harder to accomplish
the business goals I set for myself. Needless to say, my
personal life and health weren’t in balance.
Is it possible that you could immediately
have a much higher level of time freedom?
Mapping out your life and time for a whole year at a time
is a valuable endeavour, because your life immediately
starts to move in the direction of your plan. Before you
get into the completion of your Annual Roadmap™ for
this year, let me explain a few important beliefs.
You don’t have to wait
Many of us think we have to wait until some condition is
met before we start enjoying life. Some people think they
have to wait until the far future. It’s like our business
must come first before we get around to the personal
life. That is not true. The business is a part of your life,
not the other way around.
There’s a lot more to your life than your business.
You’ve probably heard the saying, “First I got into the
business and then the business got into me!”
Your personal life, family, health, and peace-of-mind are
essential elements in your overall well being. In fact,
they are far more important than your business. Just
take away some of the things you really value and then
see how you feel about your business priorities.
It’s important to plan a satisfying year, one that has
balance and enjoyment combined with the achievement
of exciting business goals.
Use the Annual Roadmap™ method. It will guide you to
make many positive time-based decisions.
Structure buys you freedom
Implement the structure that leads to financial and time
freedom. The objective needs to be about getting what
you need and want for your personal life first and then
your business life second.
The fact is, if your business is doing well but you don’t
have your personal act together, you will not live a very
satisfying life. You can do a better job in your business
life if you are balanced in your personal life.
Time is Finite
Focus not on the things you think you have to do, but on
allocating time for doing the things you really want to do.
The objective is to help you live the life you really want to
live…right now.
Structure what you want and make everything else fit in
– not the other way around. Perhaps that’s different than
the way you’ve approached things in the past, but it is
important to implement. If you defer what you want, life
will evaporate and you’ll have regrets.
Time off drives time on
Parkinson’s Law states that “work expands so as to fill
the time available for its completion.”
If you plan what you want to do with your personal time
and get really excited about it, your work will not only get
condensed, but you will become far more focused.
Let’s get started.
2
©2014 Cotton Systems Ltd.
18
ANNUAL ROADMAP™
Use the Magic of Motivation
What would you do with more time off?
Let your mind wander. Dream a little...or a lot! Focus on
what you would do if you had more time freedom. You
have been dreaming about things for years. It’s just that
you didn’t think it was possible, until now.
So what is on your mind?
Traveling for a month in Europe with your family
Spending time vacationing with friends
Volunteering at your favorite charitable cause
Building a log cabin at the lake
Becoming a committed mentor to new advisors
Motorcycling through New Zealand for three weeks
Focusing your time to help hurricane victims
Improving your golf game or spending time skiing
A week long gathering with your extended family
Renovating the home like you’ve always wanted
Taking a week long cooking course in New Mexico
Going on a romantic trip with your spouse/partner
Enjoying more time with your grandkids
Build your stimulation
You need stimulation for your motivation. Dream a little.
What motivates you? Give yourself some incentive to get
focused and to achieve more in less time. See what
happens in your head? If you let yourself get excited
about doing more of what you really want to do with your
time, life takes on a different perspective.
www.NoBrownDays.com
want to be and then figure out a way to get there.
Otherwise you might as well just work all the time.
Stop fussing about the money. Get busy and figure out
how it can be done. By focusing your energy and
learning how to make every move count you will become
more efficient and accomplish far more than you think.
Let your dreams drive your actions.
Creating your Annual Roadmap™
The Annual Roadmap™ is a color-coded calendar that
offers a balanced, healthy, and successful lifestyle.
It will give you...
More time for strategic business planning...
More time to rest, relax, and replenish your energy...
More focus on the things that really matter...
More organizational time so you can work efficiently...
More money while spending less time at work...
At my peak, my financial services practice was
generating a seven figure income in only 65 afternoons
of my time each year. I was also giving 100 talks and
workshops a year with industry speaking commitments
and taking 180 days off for personal time.
I am not saying that to impress you, but rather to
impress upon you that you can achieve amazing results;
and you can do that in a limited period of time.
Are you starting to see what I mean by the statement
“time off drives time on”?
When you get really excited about the possibilities, it is
easy to get motivated to do better during the time you
have allocated for the business.
Get a dozen significant items on the list. You know you
can’t do everything in one year. But what if you
accomplish most of the things on your list over the next
three years? Wouldn’t that be fabulous?
Your dreams are affordable!
I know. You are already hung up about what it is going to
cost to chase your personal dreams and how you
couldn’t possibly afford to be away from your business
that long. But you need to get excited about where you
3
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www.NoBrownDays.com
ANNUAL ROADMAP™
The Bare Necessities:
Your Motivation List
If you haven’t already done so, make your dream list like
the one I mentioned in the bullets earlier. What would
you do if you had the time and money?
This shouldn’t take more than 20 to 30 minutes.
Go for it. Do it now. Make your list. Don’t analyze or
prioritize. Just do it. Don’t try to be perfect. Don’t worry
about the expense. Put anything and everything that
comes to your mind onto the paper.
Focus on the life that will excite you. Talk to your spouse
or partner and see if you can expand the list and filter it
so both of you are excited.
Four Highlighter Pens (yellow, blue, red, green)
Get out four colored highlighter pens: yellow, blue, red
(pink), and green. If you don’t have any, go to the store
and get them. You will need these right away.
Access to Internet and a Printer.
Go to www.NoBrownDays.com and click on the link for
“Annual Roadmap”. Download this year’s Annual
Roadmap™ and print three copies.
It may take you a few tries before you are ready to
create the final version of your Annual Roadmap™, so
having a few extra blank copies available is useful for
drafting your plans.
Identify Your Most Important Events
Use a separate12 month planning calendar to write
down the dates for special events you want to attend
throughout the year. For example, I enjoy going to wine
festivals and HOG (Harley Owners Group) events. So
every year, I look up the dates of various events and jot
them down on my planning calendar in pencil.
Once you’ve done this, mark down the approximate
dates for association meetings, company conventions,
and other events you normally want to attend each year.
Additionally, you will also want to mark down all the
dates that are important to your family – such as
birthdays and anniversaries.
By writing these dates down at the beginning, you’ll build
your dream year around the events that matter. But for
now, don’t work on a specific year – start with the model
year. It will be much easier to get into this process.
The Color-Coded Calendar
First, scribble over the date on the top of the page so
you can’t read it. This will help get the current year out of
your head so you can focus on creating the model year.
What would it look like? Don’t think too hard. Just do it.
Get it on paper. And remember, you have plenty of blank
copies to work with. If you don’t like it, rip it up and do
another.
While you’re on the website, you should also print the
sample Annual Roadmap™.
Keep in mind this is just a sample calendar. It is very
likely that yours will end up looking quite different.
Build Your Model Year
Before you create your actual Annual Roadmap™, start
by building a “model year” on one of your blank copies.
This exercise will be a big help, as you don’t have to
worry about specific details for next year. You’ll be freeflowing your thoughts – as it’s just a model.
Here’s the question you need to consider: “If I could live
the perfect year, what would it look like?”
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©2014 Cotton Systems Ltd.
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ANNUAL ROADMAP™
“Mellow Yellow”
Begin by coloring the Mellow Yellow Days. Start with
the yellow highlighter, because yellow is the most
important color.
Mellow Yellow stands for “MY” time (personal time).
Yellow time helps you walk away from the business
regularly, which in turn makes you more effective when
you are working.
The objective is to make your personal life come first, so
your business commitments have to work around your
personal life. Some of us have a hard time thinking this
way. But you must do this if you want to live a more
satisfying personal life.
Use the yellow highlighter to go vertically down the page
making all Saturdays and Sundays yellow. Go for it.
Why? Because that is the way it is supposed to be in the
model year. Saturdays and Sundays should be for your
personal and family life. Get yellow on the page!
Now for some horizontal yellow days. I recommend
planning a yellow week at the end of each quarter so
you have a mental and physical break between each 90
day period of time.
Go ahead and fill those weeks in with your yellow
highlighter. See how easy this is? Remember, this is just
the model year. You are only trying to identify the ideal
year. You may not get there this year or the next, but
you still need to paint the picture if you intend on getting
there in the future.
www.NoBrownDays.com
COTTON TIP: It is a good idea to use the end of
each quarter to shut down or get out of town.
Take a mental break. It will help you get your
motors warmed up for the next 90 day sprint.
Now for your regular vacations: When would you like to
do things in the year? Skiing in the spring? Vacationing
at the lake in the summer? Hunting in the fall? Traveling
to warm climates in the winter? What is your pleasure?
Paint your picture.
Block some time for the perfect year so you can
accomplish the things you put on your motivational list.
Don’t worry about the current year...just the model year.
What should it look like?
These are just guidelines. If you are able to improve your
profitable productivity by more than 25% per year, you
deserve to add time to your areas of personal interest.
Finish putting the horizontal mellow yellow days on your
model year.
“Blue Sky”
Now for Blue Sky days. Blue Sky is thinking time – time
to be used to work on your life and your business. It is
not work time, it is strategy time.
Use Blue Sky days to reflect on your personal and
business objective to ensure you are staying on track
and committed to your cause. The key is to step back
and think about what you want to accomplish.
It works best to allocate at least two days at the
beginning of each quarter for this purpose.
You’ll need some time to assess the past 90 days along
with your present issues and define your strategy for the
next 90 days. During these days you will work “on” the
business, not in it.
If you are in the early stages of your career, maybe you
will only have one Blue Sky Day each quarter. If you are
established, you may need to allocate for two or three
days. Start with two and see how it feels.
The more complicated your life, the more Blue Sky days
you need for strategizing, analyzing, organizing, and
prioritizing.
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www.NoBrownDays.com
ANNUAL ROADMAP™
You should also allocate some time for horizontal Red
Days. This happens when you have several days in a
row for business commitments other than income
generating activities – such as an industry convention.
You won’t always know when these happen, so be
“approximately” right. Just allocate some Red Tape days
in places where you would like them to fall in your model
year.
Note: Be careful with Red Tape days. Too few
scheduled days will turn weekday activities into weekend
projects and too many will be dangerous to your wealth!
At one point I was running two businesses with a team of
25 people. I allocated five Blue Sky days at the
beginning of each quarter to work on my personal and
business lives – planning a tightly defined 90-day
strategy with my team.
COTTON TIP: Each day should only be one color –
as blending them can create confusion. While you
will still do other activities each day, having a theme
is what counts. If you mix your colors together, the
color you get is brown!
Go ahead and get out your blue highlighter and color in
Blue Sky days at the beginning of each quarter.
“Red Tape”
Now for Red Tape days. These are
days that are connected to the
business, but not creating revenue.
Red Tape activities include cleanup
projects, putting your desk in order,
dealing with administrative details,
research, education, training, and
financial management.
I recommend setting aside one day
a week without any revenue-based
actions – and I believe in using
Fridays for this purpose as it’s a
great time to wrap everything up so
you’re ready for the weekend.
Go ahead, choose the day that
works best and mark it down.
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“Green Machine”
Now fill in the balance of the days for Green Machine.
The color green stands for “GO”
as well as money. On the Green
Days you are going to earn the
income you want by serving
the needs of others.
Your Green Days should be
used to focus on the key
activities that lead to
income generation.
Go ahead and add up the Green Days to see the total
number.
You may be having one of two reactions about now; you
are either very motivated or very scared. Both are
normal. You get motivated thinking about how you could
carve out the life you want to live and scared about not
having enough money to live it.
You may also be concerned up about not having enough
time to run your practice with so few Green Days. If so, I
understand. I have walked this path. So for now, relax
and get excited about what life would be like if you could
actually live your model year.
What becomes obvious is that you must be very focused
on your Green Days. There is no time to fool around.
You must work hard to find the right new clients to invite
into your clientele so you can achieve both money and
time freedom.
You can’t do everything and you will have to become
better at delegation. It’s all part of the process.
©2014 Cotton Systems Ltd.
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ANNUAL ROADMAP™
Building Your Current Annual Roadmap™
Use your model year as the pattern to build the actual
one for the New Year. You may feel it is premature to go
all the way with the full model, but go as far as you can.
After all, you are excited about it and why not work to
make your dream year a reality?
Look at the “Most Important Events” you identified at the
beginning of this process and start filling them in on the
current Annual Roadmap™. If you are starting this
project part way through the year, simply cross out the
months that have passed.
www.NoBrownDays.com
There are two things I recommend once you’ve
completed your final version: protect it and keep it
visible.
Put a cover stock backing from a notepad behind your
Annual Roadmap™ and put it in a clear folder so it stays
flat. And keep it with you always. It will drive your timebased decisions throughout the year and once you get
used to having it with you at all times, you’ll wonder how
you ever lived without it!
There’s a good chance you will work on more than one
copy of your final draft before you are finished, so start
putting colors and events on the page. Write in the
specific events on the dates they will happen.
The process of building the model year before you start
on the actual Annual Roadmap™ for this year is a good
one, as it simplifies the process and gets you away from
being so analytical that you don’t get it done.
Be sure to involve those closest to you in the final
process to make sure everybody is in sync on the time
allocations. And don’t worry about having too much
Mellow Yellow on the page. Our goal is to improve your
life by helping you achieve time and money freedom.
COTTON TIP: Emergencies can happen and life
can change. If changes occur in the color of your
days, simply exchange a day of one color with
another, but try to maintain the overall balance.
This approach to time exchange will keep you
more balanced, more satisfied, and more likely to
do a great job every single day.
Follow Your Dreams
There you go. The Annual Roadmap™ will help you gain
or maintain control of your life and your plans. When you
know what you want, you can say NO to what you don’t
want. The key is to plan your life and live your plan.
Complete the Final Version
By now you have your plan down pretty good. Maybe
your last version is good enough. But if not, slow down
and fill in the exact colors you want so your Annual
Roadmap™ is complete. Take your time!
About Wayne Cotton, CLU
Visit www.NoBrownDays.com for downloadable and
printable versions of the Annual Roadmap™. And
remember, don’t mix your colors together – or all
you’ll get is brown (and you don’t want brown days)!
.
Wayne Cotton, CLU is a well-respected leader in the financial services industry. He was a qualifying member
Keep it close by
of the Million Dollar Round Table®, Court of the Table, or Top of the Table for 21 of his 28 years as a
financial advisor. Wayne has given over 1,000 industry presentations covering 16 countries worldwide.
Wayne specializes in guiding agents, advisors, and field leaders to higher levels of productivity.
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To learn about Wayne’s virtual workshops, go to www.CottonSystems.com, select your profile, and sign up
for a newsletter.
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Financial Advisor Resources
Use Success Calendars for Time Freedom
www.NoBrownDays.com
Use Cotton Concepts for Money Freedom
E-Book on Marketing and Online Workshops
Ebook - http://precisiongrowth.com/marketing.html
Workshop - http://www.precisionmarketingapproach.com/
Use Wayne’s Cotton Client Acquisition System™
to develop more and better clients at less cost
Cotton Systems Ltd. • Toll Free 1 (877) 826-8866 • International 1 (250) 766-1555 • www.cottonsystems.com
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