You did it! Whether you've landed the big interview or accepted a new job offer, it's time to prepare your 30-60-90 day plan. While you may be in a celebratory mood, you can't rest on your laurels quite yet. Far from it — it's time to get to work. 

While 90 days may seem like a long time, it often takes even longer to really find your groove. In fact, 9% of employees take up to a year to feel comfortable in their new roles. Simply put, starting a new job can be awkward. After all, there's a lot to learn. 

A 30-60-90 day plan is what you need to outline your goals and objectives for the first three months on the job. Not only does this demonstrate your commitment and enthusiasm in the position, but it provides the hiring manager with another tangible way to gauge your fit. As the old storytelling adage goes, it's always better to "show don't tell."

The plan is divided into 30-day chunks, with specific tasks and milestones for each stage. With this in hand, new employees have a clear roadmap for learning the responsibilities of the role, who to meet on the team, and what goals you’re striving for in your new role.

So whether you’re preparing for an interview, starting a new job, or launching a new long-term project or campaign, a well-crafted plan can make all the difference. 

In this article, you’ll learn everything you need to know about creating your 30-60-90 day plan.

Understanding the 30-60-90 plan

Why should you create a 30-60-90-day plan? There are many benefits, but here are a few high-level ones: 

1. Outline your direction and purpose
2. Prioritize your efforts
3. Facilitate self-managed work
4. Ease new job anxiety
5. Establish credibility with your team
6. Build relationships with key stakeholders
7. Track your progress and performance
8. And unless you were given one, it’s probably expected!

30-60-90 day plans are typically used for a new employee, but that’s not the only scenario. Let’s walk through the most common scenarios for building a 30-60-90 day plan.

Interview 30-60-90 day plans

30-60-90 days plans often play a major role in the interview process as a screening exercise, or developed individually to stand out to the hiring manager in the competitive job market. A well-crafted 30-60-90 day plan can give you the edge you need to land the job offer by showcasing your dedication, strategic thinking, and readiness to contribute on day one. This is your opportunity to demonstrate what a valuable asset you’ll be through your understanding of the company's mission, its goals, and the challenges it faces (before you even get the job and inside scoop).

New job 30-60-90 day plans

Of course, that same plan will come in handy after you ace the interview and accept the offer. A well-structured 30-60-90 day plan can ease the logistics of transitioning into a new role, plus improve your job satisfaction in the long term. And, with excellent onboarding that incorporates clear objectives and milestones, 69% of employees state they are more likely to stay with a company for three years. Yet 60% of companies do not set any milestones or goals for new hires. So whether you’re proactively building a 30-60-90 day plan for your new role, or tasked with developing one by your new manager, you have the power to make a great impression and impact through strategic planning. 

Pro tip – the most productive employees continue their planning well beyond the 3-month mark!

New project/campaign 30-60-90 day plans

Big projects require careful planning and execution (believe it or not, 40% of projects fail because of poor planning). So, a 30-60-90 day plan is your opportunity to anticipate each challenge, task, and deliverable ahead of time, leading to a successful outcome for you and your team. Each major project has to have set goals that align with the overall priorities, and in order to deliver tangible (on-time) results, you need a solid plan. 

By sketching out a project's 30, 60, and 90-day intervals, teams can effectively navigate through its various stages, minimizing the likelihood of delays, scope creep, and other common pitfalls.

How to create an awesome 30-60-90 plan

So, that's all well and good, but how do you create a 30-60-90 day plan? While we have a template below to help you get started, here are a few things to keep in mind before jumping in.  

1. Outline your priorities

Before you begin, ask yourself what do you want to accomplish in your first three months? Your high-level priorities will help you better understand the scope of your project(s) so you can get to work developing a strategic plan. Once you have a solid understanding of your projects as a whole, you can then better define your goals and break them down into smaller tasks.

For example, increasing sales revenue is always a top priority for any business. A salesperson's priorities could be targeting new revenue opportunities, marketing could focus on increasing top of funnel, and development teams could prioritize new features targeting a new market.

Solving customer pain points is another excellent choice, as they are the lifeblood of the company. For example, a developer could prioritize enhancing the user experience of their app, or a product manager might focus on discovering which features are most frustrating to users.

Finally, you could always prioritize improving an inefficient process in your first few months on the job. For example, a project manager might implement a new productivity app to reduce inefficiencies, an HR manager could set up ATS software for the hiring process, and a sales manager could improve the qualification processes by setting up new automation workflows.

2. Organize your tasks

Now that you have the big picture, break your priorities down into actionable tasks. What's everything you need to do to achieve your big priorities? Start with the biggest, most obvious tasks first, like getting set up with your CRM or project management platform, then start thinking about all the little things that go into your project. Look at two tasks together and consider any potential steps to get from A to B. 

Another helpful approach is to consider the potential roadblocks and challenges that may arise along the way. By anticipating these obstacles and planning for them in advance, you'll have the resources and strategies in place to overcome them and stay on track. And, if you're feeling stumped on which tasks should get priority, you can use the Eisenhower Matrix to help you properly allocate your time and resources for your most urgent and impactful task work.

3. Create your timeline

With your tasks and priorities straight, you can now put everything together in the 30-60-90 day timeline. Hopefully, if you provided yourself enough context in the previous steps, this timeline should easily fall into place. Even so, think carefully about each chunk, which tasks are dependent on others, and allocate sufficient time for every work item to ensure your timeline is realistically estimated.

Determine the dependencies and durations for each task and create a sequential schedule with a logical flow. It’s also super important to make sure your timelines aren't too rigid. Things happen, and there always needs to be room for flexibility and adjustments as needed.

4. Set your goals

So how will you measure your success? With some concrete goals, of course! At this stage, you can begin clearly defining your goals for the 1-30, 31-60, and 61-90-day periods. The best 30-60-90 goals are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound). 

When establishing your goals, you need to consider not only your performance goals, but your learning and personal goals as well.

• Learning goals: Focus on acquiring new knowledge, skills, or understanding to be successful. (Example – attend three training sessions on a new product or service)
• Performance goals: Achievements that are measurable and observable. (Example – increase monthly sales by 10% in the next 30 days)
• Personal goals: Aspirations focused around company culture and relationships with your new team. (Example – develop rapport and trust with your five new direct reports)

5 tips for executing your 30-60-90 day plan

1. Measure progress across metrics

So how's your plan going? Are you on track, or are you falling behind?. Goals are way harder to achieve if they're free-floating, without any way to measure success. Key metrics and performance indicators will keep your feet on the ground and on track for your timeline. Nevertheless, these metrics will vary depending on the nature of your role or project. 

For example, a salesperson might track new deals, meetings booked, time to close, or win rate.  A project manager might measure the on-time delivery rate, budget adherence, the Customer Satisfaction Index, and budgeted cost of work performed. A marketing manager might track ROAS (return on ad spend), conversion rates, MQLs/SQLs (marketing/sales qualified leads), social media shares, or email subscribers. You get the idea. 

2. Adjust your plan

As Eisenhower once said, "plans are useless, but planning is indispensable." No matter how well you craft your 30-60-90-day plan, adjustments will likely be necessary along the way. Recognize that circumstances may change, new opportunities can arise, and feedback may reshape your priorities. 

Don't feel you need to stay rigidly true to aspects of a plan that simply aren't working for one reason or another. Stay open to adjustments, and be prepared to revise your plan accordingly. Solicit stakeholder feedback, analyze your efforts' outcomes, and make necessary course corrections to ensure continued progress toward your goals.

3. Communicate your plan

While your 30-60-90 day plan may be focused on you, this doesn't mean you should keep it to yourself. Communicating your plan to relevant stakeholders, such as interviewers, supervisors, or team members, will help you align your goals and get the support you need to succeed. 

As we just mentioned, adjustments are likely, and you can figure these out a lot faster if you’re transparent with your plan. Take the opportunity to seek input, listen to diverse perspectives, and ask questions to make sure you’re on the same page with the team and overall company goals. 

4. Collaborate with your team

However, simply communicating your plan is not enough. You'll also want to work together as a team and ensure everyone is on board to successfully execute. You’re all working towards the same goal – it’s likely you’ll have many collaborators involved in your project. And if you’re in a management position, it’s up to you to set the tone for your project and make sure the team is in position to collaborate. Foster strong relationships and get more done as a team by actively involving others in your plan's implementation whenever necessary. However, remember that people are busy in their roles and should only be involved in a project if it's in their lane. 

5. Develop a framework for future planning

To maximize your productivity and sustain the momentum of your 30-60-90 day play, you'll want to make room for continual learning and future planning. Consistently evaluate and adjust your daily routines and tasks wherever necessary so your time and energy are spent on the most important and impactful tasks. Set new goals beyond the initial period to stretch your professional growth and continuously deliver more value, above and beyond, in your role. Adopt a lifelong learning mentality, actively seek challenges, and stay adaptable, and you'll be right on your way to establishing a solid foundation for reaching your goals.

3 common mistakes to avoid

So, how can you screw up your 30-60-90-day plan? Here are some of the several common mistakes to avoid:

1. Setting unrealistic goals

Setting overly ambitious or unrealistic goals is bound to lead you to frustration and failure. You want your goals to be challenging, yet attainable, within the given timeframe. Consider your available resources, constraints, and the complexity of the tasks when setting goals.

It's helpful to break down large goals into smaller, actionable, and achievable steps within each 30-day chunk. Plan for steady progress so you can stay motivated and on track throughout each phase.

2. Lack of prioritization

Not all tasks are created equal. Without any thought given to priority, it’s going to be hard to manage your time and not feel scattered. So instead of winging your way through a giant list, prioritize your most critical tasks by impact and urgency. Focus on high-impact activities that align with your goals, and be prepared to reprioritize as circumstances evolve.

3. Insufficient research & preparation

Jumping into a plan without thorough researching or understanding context will lead to suboptimal outcomes. Likewise, insufficient knowledge about the industry, target audience, or available resources will leave you dead in the water.

So invest plenty of time in research and preparation while drafting your 30-60-90 day plan. What do you need to know to create your plan, and what do you need to allocate time to researching throughout? Depending on your role, this could impasse information about the company, industry trends, competitors, and almost always, the end-user of your company’s product. This knowledge will help you make informed decisions, identify opportunities, and align your plan with the broader context.

Time management for your 30-60-90 plan

Overwhelmed yet? We wouldn’t blame you. 90 days is a lot of time to forecast your planning around. Especially considering the nerves that inevitably come with starting a new job or project. 

Luckily, there are lots of time management strategies and techniques to make executing your 30-60-90 day plan much easier. Here are some key strategies to consider:

1. Dedicated focus time

So much to do, so many people to meet, how will you make time to get it all done? Implementing your plan well will require dedicating blocks of uninterrupted time to focus on essential tasks and priorities. Minimize (or eliminate) any potential distractions, such as emails and notifications, during these periods to maintain deep focus and productivity. This concentrated effort will allow you to make great strides on the critical initiatives in your 30-60-90-day plan.

2. Time blocking

How do you get focus time every day? By scheduling dedicated time blocks in your calendar for all the things you want to get done – meetings, strategic planning, executing tasks, and personal development. For example, you could designate the first 30 minutes of your day for catching up (emails, Slack, project management app updates), the rest of the morning for completing important task work, and the afternoon for meetings and brainstorming sessions. 

It's important to be realistic about how long each task will take and to build in breaks throughout your day to avoid burnout. When it comes to executing your plan, time blocking will help you organize time so that all necessary tasks receive the right amount of time and attention.

3. Map out your 30-60-90 plan using a smart calendar

As you develop your 30-60-90 day plan, consider using a free smart calendar app like Reclaim.ai to automatically schedule your 90 days worth of tasks into your Google Calendar. It keeps your schedule flexible for new meetings, while still defending your time, and allows you to automatically resort the tasks in your calendar by simply changing the priority level or dragging it up in your list. Here are a few other automations you can make to get more done (and impress your new team):

• Task integrations: Auto-sync your to-do list to your calendar
• Habits: Auto-schedule regular routines or recurring tasks
• Breaks: Auto-schedule breaks after meetings, Tasks, and Habits
• Scheduling Links: Share your meeting availability
• Smart Meetings: Auto-schedule your recurring meetings (at the best time)
• Calendar Sync: Sync all your calendars, and actual availability
• Slack Status Sync: Auto-sync your status to your calendar to prevent interruptions
• Analytics Stats: Track time across meetings, Tasks, Habits, and work-life balance

By automating your planning, you can save up to 40% of your workweek by eliminating tedious scheduling, capacity planning, decision paralysis, and context switching from your workweek. And have 49% less wasted time in unproductive work – hello productivity!

Truth be told, deviating from your planned timelines or becoming distracted is easy, especially when unforeseen challenges arise. However, with these and other time management strategies, you can reinforce your commitment and stay on track. 

Creating a 30-60-90 day plan for your new hire

As a manager, creating effective 30-60-90 day plans for new employees (or teams) can significantly improve their onboarding process and overall development. However, as you can imagine from the scope of this article so far, developing a 30-60-90 day plan is no simple feat. 

Setting expectations, facilitating smooth transitions, and fostering employee growth through a 30-6-90 day plan will give them the proper roadmap for success in their new roles.

 Here are some extra guidelines on how to do it:

• Set clear expectations: Communicate clear goals, objectives, and responsibilities for the first 30, 60, and 90 days to help your new hire focus their efforts and achieve success.
• Gradual onboarding: Ease new hires into their roles by giving them time to learn and get acquainted in the first 30 days, then gradually assigning more responsibilities and encouraging autonomy as they find their groove.
• Skill development: Weave opportunities for skill development into new hires' 30-60-90 day plans and provide resources, training, or mentorship to support their growth – fostering a culture of continuous learning.
• Milestones & checkpoints: Break the plan into milestones and checkpoints to track progress and provide feedback. Review team performance, offer feedback, and celebrate achievements (this one's big) to ensure everyone is on the same page.

• Collaboration & integration: Encourage collaboration and integration within the team and across departments. This fosters teamwork helping your team to do their best work.

30-60-90 day plan example template

So what does a complete 30-60-90 day plan look like? Of course, the nitty gritty will be specific to the context of the role. But a 30-60-90 day plan for a new manager (using our template) could look like this:

30-60-90 Day Plan Template

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Plan owner: Name

Plan start - end date: MM/DD/YYYY - MM/DD/YYYY

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Basic logistics

Use this section to outline any basic logistics you need to get started. 

Software Access

We'll be giving you access to the following services. Let us know if you have any questions or if there are other services that you're interested in as you get started.

• Email:
• Calendar:
• HR platform:
• Project management platform:
• Drive:
• Password manager:
• Productivity app:
• Slack/Zoom:
• CRM:
• Analytics platform:

People to meet

Use this section to outline the people you need to meet within the team and organization. 

• HR:
• Manager(s):
• Team members:
• Cross-department collaborators:
• Partners, consultants & contractors:
• Senior leaders:

Month 1 (Date-Date)

Priorities

Your first 30 days will primarily focus on getting up to speed with the company. A priority will be getting to know your team and understanding their strengths and weaknesses, along with familiarizing yourself with the company culture and goals, and the processes and procedures in place.

Learning Goals 

1. Meet with the onboarding rep to learn the ins-and-outs of all platforms and systems. (Goal: Full understanding of all tools)
2. Learn more about the company culture, mission, and values. (Goal: Align thought process and mentality to mission)
3. Review all internal documentation on the company's products or services. (Goal: Be able to fluently speak to all value propositions)
4. Learn everything about the company’s short-term and long-term goals. (Goal: Align planning to top priorities)
5. Meet with all team members to identify the strengths of the team, and top challenges they currently face. (Goal: Understand performers, capacity, and issues the team is up against)

Performance Goals: 

1. Review current processes to identify areas of weakness. (Goal: Improve efficiency by 20% in one challenging process)
2. Set team quarterly goals for the year (Goal: Develop an action plan for the upcoming quarter)
3. Develop recruitment plan (Goal: Outline of job boards, professional networks, and/or recruitment agencies to use for talent acquisition)
4. Establish a performance review process (Goal: Develop a timeline for regular performance reviews for each team member)

Personal Goals: 

1. Establish clear communication channels with team members and other relevant stakeholders. (Goal: Increase response time amongst stakeholders)
2. Get to know direct reports on a personal level (Goal: Have an informal sit down with each team members)
3. Identify the best management style for each member of the team. (Goal: Foster a positive work environment that empowers and motivates team members)

Month 2 (Date-Date)

Priorities: 

Your second month will focus on putting what you learned thus far into action. This practical experience will help you solidify your understanding and grow your confidence in your new role.

Learning Goals: 

1. Observe how teams are adapting to you as their new manager. (Goal: Conduct touch-base feedback sessions with each team member)
2. Analyze previously successful vs. unsuccessful campaigns run by the company. (Goal: Identify differentiators between top three and bottom three performing projects or campaigns in the past year.)
3. Identify areas for growth within the company. (Goal: Conduct a SWOT analysis of the company's operations and market positioning)

Performance Goals: 

1. Continue building relationships with team members and ensuring they feel supported in their roles. (Goal: Aim for a 90% average employee satisfaction rating)
2. Start implementing solutions to improve team performance. (Goal: Implement two targeted interventions for key performance bottlenecks)
3. Outline deliverables for all employees (Goal: Produce a list of deliverables, specifications, or quality standards)
4. Monitor new key performance indicators (KPIs). (Goal: Establish a KPI tracking system for weekly monitoring)

Personal Goals: 

1. Continue to reflect on your management style and adjust as needed. (Goal: Engage in self-reflection exercises on a bi-weekly basis)
2. Strengthen your emotional intelligence. (Goal: Establish trust and solidarity with your direct reports)
3. Provide feedback and coaching to team members as needed. (Goal: Conduct monthly feedback sessions with each team member)

Month 3 (Date-Date) 

Priorities: 

Now, towards the end of your third month, you should be nearly up to speed on the company and the new. You should prioritize setting clear goals and expectations for your team, identifying areas for improvement, and developing strategies to address any issues or challenges.

Learning Goals: 

1. Analyze customer churn to discover top contributing factors for discontinuing service. (Goal: Create ideas list for opportunities to reduce churn by 10%)
2. Take on a new project or responsibility to challenge yourself and continue growing within the company. (Goal: Identify and take on a stretch project)

Performance Goals: 

1. Conduct long-term planning and strategy. (Goal: Initiate the development of a five-year strategic plan)
2. Build budget for the next year (Goal: Reduce costs by 15%)
3. Analyze the competitive landscape before the annual leadership strategy meeting (Goal: Prepare competitive analysis report for upcoming meeting)
4. Document best practices and lessons learned. (Goal: Create a knowledge-sharing system or repository to capture best practices, lessons learned, and success stories)

Personal Goals: 

1. Continue to work on your management style and seek feedback from team members to ensure you meet their needs. (Goal: Implement at least two actionable changes based on the feedback received)
2. Evaluate team performance and make any necessary changes to meet goals. (Goal: Conduct a comprehensive team performance review)
3. Strengthen your conflict resolution skills (Goal: Enroll in a conflict resolution training program)

Maximize your 30-60-90-day plan 💥

Planning out your goals with a 30-60-90 day plan can be a game-changer for your first few weeks. It helps you break down bigger objectives into smaller, more doable tasks, which boosts your productivity and keeps you on track. So whether you're starting a new gig or looking for ways to up your game at work, creating a 30-60-90 day plan is always a prudent move. And with Reclaim.ai's smart scheduling features, you can make this process much smoother. The tool automatically prioritizes your tasks, habits, meetings, and breaks while scheduling them efficiently, so you can focus on what really matters: reaching your goals.