It’s the third week of January and it’s time to have a little heart-to-heart.
Because right about the third week of January is when most people quit:
- Quit working out.
- Quit watching what they eat.
- Quit their New Year’s resolutions.
… and pretty much go back to what they were doing ±3 weeks ago
This is also when most marketing plans quietly slip on a banana peel and disappear into the bushes.
You started strong.
New notebook. Fresh Trello board. Color-coded calendar.
You were going to post. You were going to email. You were gonna finally “build the machine” that was going to really light the fire of momentum for 2026.
And then… life happened.
Clients happened. Kids happened. It’s dark when you try and wake up at 4:45 a.m. Energy drinks stopped working.
Now your content calendar looks like an abandoned shopping cart.
Are you implementing the 3 calendars we talked about the first week of the year? If that doesn’t sound familiar; check out the article here.
Good news: You didn’t fail.
You crossed over Quitter’s Day feeling hopeful… then life promptly blew out all four tires on your bus of good intentions.
And today we’re fixing it.
What To Do When You Fall Off Your Marketing Plan
(Without panic, guilt, or setting your laptop on fire)
Falling off your marketing plan isn’t the problem. Staying off it is.
So instead of shame-spiraling and giving up, you need a system reset that gets you back in motion without blowing up your brain, your schedule, or your self-image.
I call it the Three-Phase Recovery Plan:
Pause.
Prune.
Pivot.
No chanting. No crystals. No confessional. Just structure.
Pause (Stop Beating Yourself With a Planner)
Step one is boring.
And important.
You pause.
Not quit. Not disappear. Not dramatically announce you’re “taking a break from social media.”
Just… pause.
Because when you fall behind, your instinct is to panic-post, over-promise, and rebuild your entire business in a caffeine-fueled weekend sprint.
Which is how entrepreneurs end up with seven funnels, 15 email lists, twelve half-finished lead magnets and zero consistency
So take a breath.
Zoom out.
And admit this out loud:
“I am not broken. My system is.”
That one sentence saves more businesses than most marketing courses.
Prune (Yes, We’re Cutting Stuff Out)
This is where your marketing gets a haircut.
Not a trim. A practical, no-nonsense, why-are-we-doing-this haircut.
Open your calendar, content list, and funnel plans and ask:
- What am I doing consistently?
- What do I keep avoiding?
- What looks impressive but produces nothing?
Then do something radical: Delete. Simplify. Compress.
Your marketing should not feel like a Netflix series with 14 plotlines.
You need fewer platforms. Fewer offers. Fewer moving parts.
Consistency beats clever. Simple beats shiny. Always.
Pivot (This Is Where Momentum Comes Back)
Now you rebuild. This time with structure, not vibes.
You choose one consistent front-end marketing method, one core offer (funnel) and one primary follow-up system.
That’s it.
You don’t need a bigger audience.
You don’t need more tools.
You need a machine that moves even when you’re tired.
This is how you get your marketing off motivation and onto rails.
And suddenly…
Posts feel easier. Emails get sent. Leads stop ghosting.
Your calendar starts working for you instead of yelling at you.
Magic? No.
Structure? Absolutely.
The Real Win
The real win isn’t “getting back on track.”
It’s building a system that expects you to wobble and still moves the business forward anyway.
That’s how real businesses grow.
Not on hype. Not on hustle. On rhythm.
Bottom line: If you’re off track, don’t add more cars to the train.
Get the engine moving down the track. Build up a head of steam and then start adding cars.
That’s the only way you can build momentum.
If you feel like the ship is sinking, you don’t take on more cargo. You jettison everything that isn’t necessary.
It’s the same with your marketing calendar / plan. If you’re not getting it done with what you have on there now, you’re sure not going to get it done by adding more stuff to it!
Do you need a helping hand?
If you’re tired of duct-taping your marketing back together every quarter, you’ll love CopyandContent.AI.
It’s designed to help you rebuild your marketing into a simple, repeatable machine, with clarity, structure, and momentum built in.
No chaos. No content panic. No starting over every three months.
Just a system that works… even on your tired days.
👉 Check out CopyandContent.AI and let your marketing finally grow up.
Your future self will thank you.
Did You Miss The Latest Posts?
- If Your Marketing Plan Had Gone Off the Rails, Start Here
- The Content Creation Lesson I Learned the Hard Way
- AI Content Creating Changes Upcoming (Search, Video, & More) [Podcast 285]
- Don’t Wait! Take A.C.T.I.O.N. with Jim Edwards Coaching You to Reach Work, Life, Personal Goals [Podcast 284]
- The Three Essential Calendars For Marketing Success
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