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Feel like 2024 is speeding by faster than Mario Andretti? We can relate. At the risk of sounding like Captain Obvious, it’s June. We’re winding down Q2. Once again this year, there will only be four quarters. So, math wizards, we’re almost halfway through. How’s your progress against your 2024 marketing priorities? Did you think you’d have more accomplished by this time when you mapped out your 2024 plan last fall? I hate to break it to you, but the rest of the year will zoom by even faster. For me, by July 4th, Back To School ads start and summer feels like it’s over. The months between Labor Day and New Year’s Eve zoom by at the speed of light in a blur of pumpkin spice everything and holiday madness. It’s time to hit the accelerator on your branding and marketing priorities or risk being lapped by the competition.
Next-Quarter Syndrome
We’ve heard it before. “We’ll tackle that next quarter". Yeah, not gonna happen. Here’s why.
There’s this little thing called the "planning fallacy". Fancy term, right? Psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky came up with it. Basically, it means we’re all terrible at estimating how long stuff takes. We think we’ll get things done faster than we do. Spoiler alert: we never do.
Research shows we rely on intuitive judgments, which are systematically biased, leading to unrealistic expectations about task completion times. This bias persists despite past experiences of failure to meet deadlines.
It’s like Groundhog Day, but with more missed deadlines.
The Reality Check: Time Management Pitfalls
It’s high time to call in an expert pit crew to rev up your 2024 marketing engine. Need more evidence? There’s plenty to be found.
- Project Management: According to the Project Management Institute, poor time estimation is a leading cause of project failure. Their reports indicate that many projects take 50% to 100% longer than initially planned. That’s right, double the time. This highlights the disconnect between planning and actual execution, driven by overly optimistic forecasts.
- Workplace Productivity: A study from RescueTime found that workers spend about 40% of their day on unplanned tasks. Yep, almost half your day goes to stuff you didn’t plan for. This miscalculation of available time can lead to unmet goals and unfinished projects, further exacerbating stress and inefficiency in the workplace.
- Behavioral Insights: The planning fallacy is reinforced by several biases, including optimism bias—where we think we’re less likely to encounter negative events—and motivated reasoning, where we justify our optimistic forecasts to align with our desires rather than reality. These biases contribute to the persistent underestimation of task durations.
- Change Management: Many business professionals hesitate to ask for help because they overestimate their ability to manage tasks independently. This reluctance is driven by a fear of appearing incompetent and a misplaced confidence in their time management skills. Addressing these biases through better planning strategies and realistic goal-setting can improve outcomes.
Take Action Now to Finish the 2024 Race Strong
If you’d like to be the driver lapping your competition rather than getting lapped, take action this month against your marketing and branding project wish list! Here’s how.
- Break Projects Down: Science shows this improves your ability to accurately estimate how long the project will take and allocate resources appropriately.
- Be Honest About Your Skills: Spend time on what you’re good at. Let us handle what we’re good at, which is print and digital branding and graphic design.
- Get Expert Help: Good partners, like Huston Design, offer free strategy sessions and can answer your questions about how to tackle your goals yet this year, maybe even by the end of next quarter. Let’s face it. If you haven’t gotten it done yet, the odds of you getting it done without some expert help are slim to none. We’re experts at being the stretchy pants for teams bursting at the seams, lightening your load, and getting those “next-quarter” projects off your wish list and into action where they can propel your business forward.
- Start Today: Book a strategy session and take action for a strong finish to your 2024 race. Lap the competition rather than being lapped, and win the day for your team.
By understanding and mitigating the planning fallacy, leveraging expert help, and making strategic adjustments, you can steer your marketing, graphic design, website design, and branding efforts towards a victorious finish in 2024.
So buckle up and let’s hit the gas!
