Happy New Year! I wish you abundance, joy, fulfillment and multidimensional growth!
If you started this year with intentions, resolutions or any kind of plans, this read might resonate with you.
There are many sayings that encourage planning, such as: “An hour of planning can save you 10 hours of doing” (Dale Carnegie) or “Plans are nothing, planning is everything” (D. D. Eisenhower.) Then, there are others that undermine this habit, like: “If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans” (Woody Allen).
I personally love to have a plan and I almost always plan.(I know, such a surprise!). When I am asked about how I manage to accomplish so many things, my answer is simple: I plan. I don’t always follow the plan, but I know that if I don’t follow the plan, it is because I have a better option that I did not see before. Planning brings me clarity and enhances my structured mindset. It also gives me the feeling that I am acting on intentionally living my life, not only letting life happen to me.
As a passionate planner, I am happy to share some steps I take and some insights about my planning experience. They are not a general recipe about “how to”, but rather a sharing of what works for me.
- I connect to my values and long term goals before planning. For me, planning is more connected to life design, which means envisioning what I want to live in the long term, what details describe my life quality, and which relationships I nurture. Knowing my life values is important because they are guidelines of what brings me energy and meaning and also of where I need to focus when I feel confused.
- I write down the main areas of my life before starting to plan. There are many tools to become aware of the areas of our life that matter and where we put our energy. Almost always, they are a combination between professional, personal, and social aspects of life. Even if all of them are important, they cannot be treated with equal importance in a given period of time. So, I choose a few of them to focus on. Then, I change this prioritization based on my goals for the next interval.
- I plan for each area of life. In a set timeline, I write down two kinds of activities I can do for each area to move towards my goal or vision. The first one is related to actions I can do by myself with the resources I already have: maybe some introspection, some research, or building up a new habit. The second one is related to actions that involve other people and new resources: maybe setting up meetings, doing a course, or traveling.
- I check my plan from time to time. Although the vision is long term, most of the plans are short and, at most, medium term. But the way we get to our destination can be different from one month to another. From time to time, I compare where I am to where I was supposed to be and adjust the plan. I usually plan activities on my own for the next couple of weeks and activities that include other people for the next 2-3 months.
- Worse than not planning is overplanning. I simply find that my life is more beautiful and way easier with all the calendar events and the Excel files I use to squeeze in as many energy given activities as possible. The downside of this is that I might plan every spot in my calendar and most of the time, my “Future Me” gets frustrated. What I do now is to intentionally leave some slots unplanned in my calendar. Spontaneity needs some space in our life as well, even if it is planned.
- Commit to plans when in a good mood. Everything that is intended to happen over a longer period of time, will certainly face fluctuations. Knowing this, I also expect that some of my long term wishes might face challenging times. When I am happy about a future scenario, I write down the reasons why it is important to me. Then, when I feel I lost my motivation, I go back to these reasons to reconnect with the joy.
- I get a buddy to keep me accountable. Sometimes all we need is someone to remind us why we chose this path. If writing down the reasons might not work sometimes in bringing back the motivation, sharing valuable plans with someone reliable could. A buddy means someone who acts as a support in our journey. Choosing the buddy wisely means having the right person for their planning related skills: a person who enjoys planning and is disciplined. Some aspects need to be clear from the beginning: what is the goal, what is expected from the buddy to do or say, and when the collaboration is over.
- I create a backup that is still a way forward. If I plan something that will prove to be too far from something I realize I can manifest, then I plan my second option. This way I avoid going into the black or white system, when not reaching the moon means giving up completely. If reaching the moon is complicated, my option B is to plan to reach for the stars.
- I celebrate the victory, big or small. The joy of planning is not only manifesting the great vision. I am also enjoying the small wins on the way, like meeting amazing people who might not contribute to the progress of my plan, but are very inspiring. I also appreciate the relationships with my buddies even if sometimes the goal changes. In music, the pause between the keys gives the tone of the song. In planning, celebrating the victory of small or big achievements is the beauty of planning.
- Everything takes time and has its own rhythm. Planning is something that depends on me; realizing the plans is not something that always does. I am responsible for planting the seeds, but spring comes according to its timing. So, I celebrate the victories, but I don’t take personally not succeeding.
Another reason why I love planning is because it’s a way to learn about myself, about the big dreams I have and sometimes I don’t dare to address, about the fears I meet my way, about my habits, strengths and preferences. It feels like a game that I discover the more I play it.
Also, planning leads to better action on what can really lead to my goals or wishes.
What are your planning best practices?