To plan for the year, I followed 4 Simple Steps.
For me, setting up to plan for the upcoming year is important because, as we may all know, days go by really fast, especially with all the technologies surrounding us that we are often distracted and busy doing something. We may also be busy doing things that do not provide value to our lives, to the lives of others, or things that don’t align with our core values and goals.
This is why it is vital for us to plan for the year because we are proactive and take the initiative to identify what we want to do, achieve, feel, experience, attain, etc.
By planning, you get a sense of what you want to achieve, experience, feel or accomplish in general for the year. By doing so, you have a clear direction or where you want to be when the year ends.
Like when driving a car, we already have a destination in mind. If you don’t plan, you don’t have a goal. Just imagine that you are driving your car without a proper destination. You wouldn’t know if you’ve reached the destination in mind because you didn’t set for anything. You’d likely just be driving in circles! When the year ends, you could feel guilt and disappointment because you didn’t know what happened to your year.
It is also important to note that planning for the year doesn’t mean everything will be perfect and go as planned. There would be unforeseen events and occurrences that you haven’t prepared for. Like in driving, there could be heavy traffic that causes you to be delayed or late on your arrival. You might need to make some detours here and there for whatever reasons. Not everything will go as planned. But what’s important is being able to know your destination, adjusting and adapting your plan, and still reaching your goal.
All of us have our priorities. For some, it’s their family; for some, it’s their health. But whatever it is, by planning, we would know which areas of our lives we want to prioritize. If we don’t plan for our priorities, we can’t say which we should work on. We would go with the flow and accept things.
If you have written your goals and plans, you will reference your current progress. On a monthly or even daily, you would know your progress on the goals that you have set.
And by the end of the year, you also have a reference on what you achieved and what is still left. You can better celebrate your wins.
With planning, you would know what your goals are. You would be able to list down the action steps you need to do to achieve them. And by listing them down subconsciously, your mind will still work to help you achieve these goals.
With planning, you would know what your goals are. You would be able to list down the action steps you need to do to achieve them. And by listing them down subconsciously, your mind will still work to help you achieve these goals.
If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.
– Jim Rohn
This part is pretty straightforward. You intentionally plan how you want to or aim to prepare for the year.
In my case, I identified the following:
Some people like to use technology when creating plans (laptop, tablet, etc.), but I’m pretty old school in this manner. I still prefer using pen and paper. I prefer this way because I’m just focusing on what I see, a blank piece of paper, and myself. It’s like the paper is pressuring me to write something since it’s still empty. I guess there’s something about that blank, clean slate that makes me want to write on it.
I also like writing using pen and paper when planning because there’s a sense of connection between my mind and my hand than just typing on a tablet or keyboard. But that’s just me. As mentioned, some people are influential in planning using more advanced stuff. So I think whichever works best for you, you should do or use that in this case to each his own.
Now that you’ve prepared everything you need to write your goals, find a great spot and environment where you want to plan.
And in my case, I went to a hotel and restaurant where my family spent the night. I woke up at 4 am so that there wouldn’t be too many distractions and focus on what I was doing. Having a great environment also motivated me to make the best use of my time and to focus on planning since if I waste time, people will wake up. There would be a buzz, and I wouldn’t be able to focus on what I am doing, or worse, I wouldn’t complete my planning.
You can also spice up your planning by playing background music. Previously I liked listening to Lofi music, but recently I prefer Jazz Piano of any sort, like the ones I usually hear in coffee shops.
This is the meat of the action. Everything else is pre-work, but now it comes down to doing business.
I have six areas of my life for my yearly planning that I want to plan and improve upon. Six sites that I am aiming to set a goal for. And I think as we move forward, we can expand to more categories.
Another important thing that you also have to plan for is making your goals SMART. You can follow and read this article to gain more insights: SMART Goals – Time Management Training From MindTools.com. I also added some guiding questions below to stir up your mind.
Family
What kind of relationship do you want to have with your family? What do you want to do with them daily? What kind of experiences do you like to share with them? How do you want your relationship to be with your spouse? Your child? Parents? Is there anything you want to experience with them?
Finances
How much money do you want to make? Be specific. How much money do you want to have in your savings account by the end of the year? How much do you want to save up every month? What is your monthly budget for splurging? What kinds of habits and risks do you need to gain and take?
Career
Do you want to move to a new company? Do you want to be promoted? Do you want to switch careers? What kind of work do you want to focus on? Are there any certifications you wish to receive or achieve? Are there trainings you want to undergo? How much time are you willing to spend per day, per week?
Business
What are specific metrics you want to achieve for your business? Do you want to have 1,000 sales a month? Get 5,000 subscribers for your email list by the end of the year? How would your business look like after 12 months? Who do you need to help you achieve this? This topic or facet can be discussed and discussed as business planning is also a significant scope.
Personal Development
What kinds of books do you want to read? How many books do you aim to complete by the end of the year? How many books per month? Do you want to start listening to podcasts? Do you want to get a mentor? What will you sacrifice to find time for this?
Health
How do you want your body to look like? Do you want to gain or lose weight? By how much? Be specific. Saying that you want to ‘lose weight’ isn’t enough because you won’t measure it. You can lose 1lb and call it a success. But is that what you want? Again, be specific. Put a number. What kind of foods will you eat? What will you avoid?
By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.
– Benjamin Franklin
Thank you for reading. I hope you had learned something new that you are excited to implement. I am looking forward to your fruitful, awesome year ahead! I believe you can do it.