2026 Startup Annual Planning In Less Than 1 Hour

On the tiny, off-chance that you’re feeling overwhelmed with holidays, end-of-year sales targets, and — oh yeah — a new year starting in 3 weeks…

Here’s your playbook for Annual Planning in 60 minutes or less.

Yes, you can do a 12 day silent retreat with monks to fine tune your strategy.

Or schedule a one hour block on your calendar and get most of the value in 0.3% of the time.

If you have more time (like, TWO hours - gasp!), I share a few more planning strategies at the end.

But no need for all that. You can get it done in 60 minutes.

Ready…set…GO!! ⏳⏱️🏃‍♀️

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Plan Your Year In Under An Hour

1. Schedule 1 hour [1 min]

• Select a day where you will have maximum mental capacity (fewer meetings, lower stress).

• Pick a “high energy” time (e.g. first thing in the morning).

• Do it in a location with minimal distractions. Mix it up to feel refreshed and inspired!

• Disable all notifications. You will not succeed if you are side Slacking!

#PROTIP
For extra accountability, add someone to the invite who will make sure you do it.

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2. Reflect [15 min]

• Ask yourself:

  • What is working?

  • What is not working?

  • What is the most important thing for the year ahead?

  • Where do I want to be by end of 2026?

• You can do this ahead of time, within the hour, or both!

• Feel free to add other questions but shorter is better for simplicity and time.

#PROTIP
Think about these questions before you go to bed. Jot a few things down on paper. Let your subconscious work overnight!

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3. One Page Strategic Plan [25 min]

• Download and copy this One Page Strategic Plan template (from Atlanta Ventures’ Resources).

• Prep yourself with this overview and a real life example.

#PROTIP
Set a timer. Don’t overthink it. Trust your instincts. If you get stuck, jot something down and keep going.

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4. Edit [10 min]

• If you can, let it sit for a day or two or even share with trusted folks for feedback.

• If not (I promised <1 hour), after your first draft, simplify, simplify, simplify!

#PROTIP
Cut ruthlessly. The less you have, the more you and the team can align and focus. If you crush it and have all this extra time (said no startup ever), you can add more later.

Reminder from my boy Warry B: say no to almost everything.

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5. Schedule follow up NOW! [9 min]

• Set calendar invites today for future touch points.

• 3 options:

  • Calendar blocks for yourself only

  • Team/leadership meetings to review (schedule now to hold the time!)

  • Working session with fellow founder, coach, or other accountability friend

• Timing:

  • End/start of quarter - how did we do? what are next quarter’s goals and priorities?

  • Mid-quarter - are we on track? (Very helpful to us at Rigor.)

#PROTIP
Include your mission, elevator pitch, and goals in your Weekly Update.

I like a quarterly check point to zoom out and think strategically, but annual and quarterly goals need to be talked about weekly (and daily) to make progress!

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Aaaaaand you’re done.

Something is better than nothing and 1 hour will get you 80% of the value in 20% (or less) of the time.

More time? Want to dive deeper?

• 5 Simple Tools For Annual Planning - common goal and accountability frameworks that work at startups

• 5 Annual Planning Strategies for Busy Startups (w/Tools + Resources!) - what to do if you have more (but not much more 😆) than 1 hour

• 5 Strategies For Annual Planning Success Despite Startup Chaos - how to actually make planning work in a startup

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Did you get your annual planning done in 1 hour?? What are your favorite tools or frameworks for planning? Do you follow the same process for both professional and personal annual plans? I’d love to hear about your planning process — good, bad, and ugly!

(P.S. If you’re working through your Annual Plan and want feedback on priorities and metrics (or accountability!), come chat with us at Office Hours in January.)