Build a Yearly Plan with this Easy Guide

The past year has come and gone, and there isn’t anything you can do about it. Leave any regrets and hang-ups behind. Yes, you can forget about what you weren’t able to accomplish. The goals you weren’t able to meet can rest easy. It’s now time to devise a new plan – one that you’ll take the time to plan out. 

One that you’ll actually complete… 

Real, long-term plans (that you can write down) are necessary for any kind of success. That’s where our help comes in. How should you approach building a plan and setting goals?

What do you want from life?

If you could wave a magic wand and produce your ideal life, what would it look like? Most want satisfaction, happiness, contentment, and purpose — both for themselves and for loved ones. Figure out exactly what you want from the genie before you cross to the next step. This could be a financial plan, a career plan, a relationship plan, whatever.

Dream big! Don’t limit yourself.

Visualize just how rich and fulfilling your life could be. If you want a life that is truly fantastic, you must be able to recognize what it looks like from afar. 

X’s and O’s.

Once you know your destination, you need to plan how you will get there. Think about your goal as a quest. A long journey with intricate, challenging steps. Make sure each of these steps can be reasonably executed. Challenging, but achievable steps are key to tracking progress and maintaining motivation.

Share your plan with trusted advisors (your loved ones) for feedback.

There is incredible value from the perspectives of the people who will be involved with your plan or destination. 

Identify obstacles and eliminate distractions.

What pulls you away from your goals? Identifying what slows down your momentum and eliminating possible threats is crucial to ensure a plan that runs smoothly. If your phone is constantly distracting you, mute it. If you’re pursuing a degree, you have no passion for, reconsider.

Execute

This is the most important step. A plan is nothing if you don’t complete it. A great plan, however, will never be executed exactly as designed. You should expect hiccups and embrace disappointment. Just make sure to do your best and really do what you planned. 

Notes for your journey.

• It’s important to have flexibility because not everything will go according to the plan, but don’t take the approach of just “going with the flow”.
• No plan = no success. You won’t know what you’re aiming for, and you wouldn’t even know that you succeeded if you somehow did so by chance. 
• When it comes to building the plan itself, it’s important to write sentences/paragraphs to tell the story. Be the narrator of your own incredible odyssey. 
• Writing can help you to better understand why you’re working towards a certain goal. It can also help you document past lessons.
• Ask yourself at every turn, “is this behavior supporting my goal?”
• Pure numbers are too black and white, and you miss all the important nuance. 
• Everyone’s story is different and moves at different paces. Keep this in mind as you endure hardships and plan recourse.