How to plan for your success

There are a lot of publications on the Web about the importance of planning a family budget, having a baby, and a career. We read articles, sometimes we draw interesting ideas from them, but in general, life does not change. Someone has not paid their loans, someone can’t collect money for an iPhone, and someone hasn’t been able to move from their place at work for five years now: the salary is not growing, the duties have long been disgusted. The problem is not the lack of willpower, most often we do not know how to plan for success.

Those who plan a day, a career, a budget, are more successful than those who go with the flow. They see a clear end goal, a desired outcome, and a plan to achieve it. They are ready to take systematic actions, track progress and know how to enjoy even small successes.

In 1953, Success magazine conducted a study on Yale University students. It turned out that only 13% of them set goals and only 3% of the total number formulated them in writing. 25 years later, the researchers spoke to the respondents. Those who already had clear goals in their first year earned on average twice as much as the rest of the respondents. And those who wrote down their goals and developed a strategy to achieve them received 10 times more. Inspiring statistics, right?

What does it take to learn how to plan and achieve?

1. Think about how you would like to see your life in a few years. What is important to you? In what area would you like to realize yourself or achieve something?
2. Clearly state the goal: it must be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time bound.
3. Break it down into sub-goals (intermediate goals) and see what intermediate steps you can take to achieve it. Ideally, each should take 1 to 3 months.
4. Make an action plan and start implementing it within the next 72 hours, periodically checking what you have written.
5. Have you done everything you need to do to complete the first intermediate goal? Look back and praise yourself for your success.

Did something fail? Why? Is the goal still relevant? If it still inspires you, then you can move on. If not, think about what you can change to help increase your motivation.

How it works in practice

My planning skill began to develop from the school bench: first a diary, then a diary, then smartphone applications, coaching tools. Today I:

• I prescribe goals for 10 years and draw up a quarterly plan to achieve them;
• I plan my year in December or January, and I include time for hobbies, travel, training, and so on. This helps a lot in budgeting for each activity;
• quarterly I review the poster of educational and cultural events, add them to my calendar, buy tickets or reserve seats;
• I plan my schedule for the week ahead, including, in addition to my main work, self-care, dancing, vocals, events, meeting and chatting with friends, rest. I also plan rest: I try to devote at least 2-3 hours on weekends and one evening on weekdays to doing nothing or spontaneous, but calm activities. It helps a lot to recover;
• The night before I make a plan and a list for the next day. As I complete tasks, I mark them.

What else can help?

First, checklists, lists and calendars that help form new habits. Can be attached to the refrigerator or on the wall near the desktop, making appropriate notes as you complete your plans or introduce new habits. Secondly, mobile applications and programs. With the advent of smartphones, this type of planning has become one of the most common.

Of course, plans can be adjusted depending on external circumstances, but it is important to remember that you are always responsible for the result. Start small: plan what you can accomplish before the end of the year.