Don’t rush your 2025 goals

When I produce a commercial, the process is split up into three main parts: pre-production, production, and post-production. 

For budgets under $75,000, it usually makes sense to film everything in one day. Depending on the creative and the brand’s launch dates, post-production can take 1-4 weeks. 

Pre-production, however, can take 3-6 weeks, as we build the creative, find the right crew, and pull together the right location and cast. 

This means that more than 50% of the project happens in the planning stage. Sometimes as much as 75% of the work is done in pre-production. 

Planning is important. 

But for some reason, many people have a bad habit of racing through their new year goal-setting. They jot a few things down in a half an hour on the first page of a new notebook, and call it a day. Then, when those goals don’t pan out, they take it personally and think “I’m just not that kind of person,” (instead of thinking that maybe, the planning was rushed). 

Film productions spend more than 50% of their time planning. Preparing. But we take an hour or two out of one single day, and think that’s enough planning for the entire year. 

This analogy isn’t perfect, but my point is this: goal-setting should take you more than a few minutes. If it takes you a few days, or weeks, that’s probably good. Even if it takes you the entire month of January, you still have 91% of the year left to accomplish those goals. 

Take your time. Get it right. Set good goals that maximize your momentum. 

Good luck this year.