Few people have long-term plans. An even rarer phenomenon is the setting of life priorities and methods of their implementation, time boundaries. Making a life plan can be difficult. This is an important and time-consuming process, but necessary. After all, this is planning the main events of your life: what, how and when will happen, what results it will bring.
Of course, such a plan is not a guarantee that everything will come true. But the very presence of life planning makes it more likely that desired things will happen, and not random ones, influenced by the emotions or decisions of other people.
It is very important to formulate your own vision of what is happening, and not spend your whole life following imposed patterns. Making a plan means clearly thinking through high and inspiring goals for a person for 3 years, 5 years, 10 years or more. An example of the first famous person to build a plan was Benjamin Franklin.
It is much easier to live with dreams, fulfilled and unfulfilled hopes, complain about fate or believe in luck. But this is ineffective. A plan is specific, a leap into the future, made with your own hands. There are only a few people who truly live in the future. After all, it is determined by our actions today.
Planning sequence
Daily plans and goals come from weekly plans and goals. Weekly plans and goals come from monthly plans and goals. And those, in turn, depend on plans and goals for the year. Therefore, the first thing you need to start with is making plans for the year.
Ps Sorry for such a tautology))
Read also:
Live with or without a plan | Pros and cons of both sides
How to make plans and goals for the Year
You need to take the preparation of an annual plan seriously. After all, the results of your efforts will determine every month, week and day.
Below I've outlined a series of steps that will help you identify your key objectives without leaving anything out.
Step #1. What didn't you achieve last year?
The first thing you need to do is strain your brain and identify what you could not achieve last year. It will be much easier for those who have summed up their results.
Example:
Last year my key goal was to move to another city. But since I didn’t do this, this goal is transferred to the next 356 days.
Step #2. Highlight the main areas of life
The main areas of life include: personal growth, career, family, health and finance.
So, let's go in order.
Personal growth
Personal growth is expressed in the constant improvement of a person. Therefore, here I advise you to focus on the following:
- Training in various skills. For example, learn to dance.
- Develop healthy habits such as reading daily.
- Eliminating bad habits. For me it's to stop biting my nails.
- Development of discipline.
- Expanding your general horizons.
- etc.
Career
It all depends on your field of activity.
If you are the head of a company, decide where you want to take it this year. How will you manage the company to bring your plans to life? When do you plan to start increasing market share and saving costs?
Read also:
How a beginner can make money on the Internet | 13 ways with and without attachments
Family
Yes, the top two areas are important in the life of every person, but because of this, one should not forget about the most valuable thing - family. In fact, many people are worried that they are spending too little time with their loved ones. By the way, this takes us back to step #1.
Schedule a long weekend with the kids, holidays, a surprise trip for your loved one, etc.
Health
Do not neglect such an important detail as maintaining your own health. Often the level of our success and happiness depends on it.
Finance
A common example is to outline a specific amount that you intend to earn in a year. You can also start investing, start donating to charity, increase your monthly income, and much more.
Step #3. Setting the goals themselves
After completing the previous steps, we proceed to the most important thing - setting specific tasks. Remember that this will set the direction for the entire year. Fix only the main and most significant tasks in the plan.
An example of my 10 goals for the year:
- Move.
- Organize my day so that I can devote time to work, sports, self-development and relaxation with my family.
- Read 15 books on self-development.
- Take at least 3 paid courses to develop in the field of internet marketing.
- Write 50 quality articles yourself.
- Reach 2000 visitors on the site per day.
- Go on a trip outside of Russia with your family.
- Switch to a healthy and balanced diet.
- Build an athletic body.
- Reach a monthly income of 50,000 rubles.
Please note that all these goals are related to the areas that I described above.
Step #4. Set deadlines for each goal
The deadline is the last step in planning, but it is a very valuable one. Deadlines stimulate acceleration and increased productivity. This will also help with future planning of the month, week and day.
Use the preposition "to" or a clear date:
- By June 1, 2021, I am buying a one-room apartment in Perm.
- On December 1, 2021, I reach 50,000 rubles in my monthly income.
Always visualize your dreams and vision for the future. Plan the year so that they manifest themselves as brightly as possible. It is worth looking at the plan for the year at least once a month - adding to it, making changes and remembering your goals.
MATERIAL
Some may consider material values to be something low, but I believe that there is no place without them. Life is given to us to live the way we want. But I want some comfort.
3 room apartment
Renting an apartment also has its advantages, but when you have children, it is quite risky. And I always liked the idea of my own personal office with my own creative clutter. So that there is a closet and books (which will be written about below).
Investment assets
Probably everyone wants to not have to work and get paid. I approached this problem in two ways. On the one hand, I started investing. On the other hand, I started making money doing what I like. In 2012, I quit my job in my specialty and got a job as an SEO specialist in the Krasnodar web studio. Well, then more
How to Make Monthly Plans and Goals
Then it will be easier, since we have already completed the main task!
Splitting goals
In a few words, we will divide the annual goals into smaller ones.
“Even a journey of a thousand kilometers begins with one step”
Paraphrased quote from Lao Tzu
So, for example, moving to a new apartment can be divided into the following mini-goals:
- Earn money for moving.
- View advertisements and make your final choice.
- Assess your own budget
- Throw out all the trash and sell the excess furniture.
- Collect important documents.
- Select a moving date and place an order for a truck.
- Sort your things and start packing.
- Connect to the Internet at a new address.
- If you already have access to a new apartment, then go there and do the cleaning.
- Pack the rest: kitchen utensils, clothes, personal items.
- Disassemble the furniture in the new apartment, unpack things, interior items, household appliances, personal belongings.
Go through each of the 12 months
Each month has special days to focus on. These are various holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, etc.
January
January is the time when I personally take stock of the past year and plan a new one.
February
This month, except for February 23, there is nothing interesting. So throw yourself into your work.
March
The beginning of spring is always the time for subbotniks. Therefore, organize a general cleaning of your yard. Don't forget about March 8th.
April
Warm days come in April. Plan a hike in the forest or arrange a photo shoot.
May
May is the time to plan a vacation.
June
The weather allows, and therefore the time has come for street training and jogging.
July
The month when you can safely go on vacation and relax.
August
Time to do something new. Find a new hobby.
September
Autumn is the perfect time to start reading books.
October
A time of inspiration and creative revelation.
November
Dedicate this month to all areas at once. Do different things every week.
December
On the eve of the New Year, you need to buy gifts for loved ones.
Follow the same principles as when planning for the year, but add a few new details. Fix the main, most significant tasks in your monthly plan.
SMART Goal Example: Smart Goal Setting
Now that I have the SMART system in place, one of my goals will look like this:
Goal: July 2021 - I’m relaxing on Lake Baikal for 2 weeks as a savage and writing a detailed photo report for the blog.
- February 2021 - buy a map of Russia, create a detailed travel itinerary and calculate the cost of travel (transport + accommodation + food + equipment).
- March 2021 - choose suitable parking spots, read blogs on the topic, watch videos and talk with travelers on forums.
- April-May 2021 - make a detailed list of equipment for the trip and buy everything. Pack half of your backpack, buy non-perishable food items and medicines.
- June 2021 - buy tickets for the Moscow-Irkutsk train and completely assemble your backpack.
- July 2021 - complete all work projects, notify customers about vacation. The first blog entry is from the train. The journey begins!
Read on the topic What is personal growth: 4 steps to career heights
If not all goals and objectives for 2021 are completed, then do not scold or criticize yourself. Calmly analyze everything, find out what the reason is and draw conclusions. In the meantime, there is still time before the New Year, summarize your results for 2021, and then sit back and visualize yourself in the coming year.
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How to make plans and goals for the week
On Sunday evening or Monday morning, sit down at your desk to make plans for the coming week. Personally, I work better in the morning. To do this, I get up early and devote my free time to planning.
Some interesting things I can suggest are the following:
- Learn one new skill every week.
- Have a hell of a week.
If this interests you, here are two books worth reading: One Habit a Week and On the Edge. A week without self-pity."
Why 5 years?
Five years is a long time, but not too long. This distance is long enough for you to set goals that will lead you to significant achievements, but not so long that you get stuck in the swamp of procrastination. Of course, working with short-term goals is easier and more enjoyable, since either you are pushed by deadlines or you will get quick results. When you set long-term goals, they are much more difficult to work with, but in the end you will get much more meaningful results. You must surrender to the power of your own imagination, be brave enough to clearly imagine and strive for the life you want. And then establish a detailed plan that will make your dream a reality. It may be difficult, but it's definitely worth it. If you can't imagine in some detail what you want in five years, it will be quite difficult for you to get to where you want to be. Almost impossible.
How to make plans and goals for the day
People are divided into two types. Those who plan the night before. And those who prefer to do it in the morning. I belong to the second type. I advise you to experiment and see what suits you best.
Anyone can make a rough plan for the next year, everyone is able to plan it once a month, many are able to distribute time over the next week, but most fail in planning each day.
“Either you control the day, or the day controls you”
Jim Rohn
It sounds very “pop”, but it’s true.
If you can’t make plans for a year, month, or day, write to me at [email protected] I will be happy to give some recommendations and help you make plans absolutely free.
Basic rules for planning your day
- Make it a routine. Start each day by planning your next day.
- Set your priorities. This can be done in the letter ABC way, where A is the important tasks that need to be completed first; B – also significant goals, but they can be moved; C – unimportant tasks that can be started if there is free time left.
- Don't forget to take time to rest.
- Don't overwhelm yourself with so much work that you can't handle.
- Take stock at the end of each day. Analyze your successes and failures.
- Don't worry if things don't go according to plan.
A typical day for Dwayne Johnson
Do you want examples? Receive.
- The Rock's day begins at 4:00. The first thing he does in the morning is half an hour of cardio. His goal is to burn 200 calories.
- Then comes the first meal.
- Next comes the second strength training.
- Second meal.
- If it's a shooting day, then he goes to shoot.
- Meal No. 3.
Here's my day's plan:
Example of plans and goals for the day
Do you need to plan your day hour by hour?
I used to be a huge proponent of having my day planned down to the minute. I've been practicing this technique for about a year now, but recently I ran into a problem.
The fact is that when I set aside a certain amount of time for a task, be it writing an article - 2 hours, I feel like I’m pushing myself into limits. I set myself a goal: during this time I need to write ¼ of the article. And this makes it difficult to fully concentrate on the task.
I began to delve into myself and realized that creativity does not require a time frame. For creative people, productivity depends on their mood and motivation. And my work partly consists of creativity and routine tasks. Frameworks are needed precisely for these routine tasks, but not for creativity.
From this follows the conclusion:
If you are a creative person, don't waste time fighting the clock - it's a battle you can't win. However, if your activity is more related to performing routine tasks, then feel free to use the “hourly schedule of the day” technique.
Your strength lies in your ability to go beyond the banal.
A man is rich in proportion to the amount of things he can afford to leave alone.
Henry David Thoreau
American writer, thinker, naturalist
I recently spent Christmas in Omaha with my in-laws. I have always been inspired by their lives and characters.
My father-in-law is a very smart and successful man. He is one of those people who can do whatever comes into his head. He never gives up and always figures out how to do what he is trying to do.
But what strikes me most is his complete disregard for what most people value. Despite the fact that he is a millionaire, he and his wife live in a small apartment. He doesn't wear fancy clothes or drive expensive cars. He doesn't care about appearance. He doesn't care at all what impression he makes on other people.
But it is difficult to meet a more hardworking and more sincere person. He lives happily by his beliefs, spends time with his family, and works hard every day.
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Free yourself from the need to purchase more and more things. Keeping what you have is always better than wasting it. Free yourself from worrying about what people might think of you.
