“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”
~ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry“It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him.”
~ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
Well here we are, in the opening pages of a fresh new year. As some of you will already know, I’ve allocated this week for my own personal planning summit. I’ve always found that a little bit of planning goes a long way towards helping me achieve my dreams and round out my year in a fulfilling way.
So, what do you need to do to make this next year really count?
Most people start the year strong, and then slacken off, so here are my top ten tips for planning a year brimful of wins!
1. Start 2015 by ditching New Year’s Resolutions, and choose a Power Word instead. A power word is a word to focus your intentions and energies, so that it informs and advises everything you do. This year my word is BUILD. Don’t have a power word of your own yet? Go here to get that power word sorted. Want to make it even more powerful? Do my power word meditation.
2. Goals for the year? Only pick one or two important things, and develop habits around these things so that it changes your life. Break your goal down into small actionable steps – daily tasks and weekly tasks, all incorporated as part of your new routine.
3. Three MITs for each day. An MIT is a Most Important Task. Each day, right from the word go, know what your three most important activities will be. Then get them done! Prioritize them to get done first in your day – then, no matter what else happens, you’ll know that you’ve got your MITs out of the way.
4. Schedule time for maintenance or delegate it out. We often forget to allocate time to the things that keep the show on the road. It could be household maintenance; cooking, cleaning, yard care, decluttering. It could be personal maintenance; trips to the dentist, getting your hair done, buying clothes, having that massage or back adjustment. It might be relationship maintenance; time with your partner, time to hang out with friends, time for family or pets. When we don’t make time for maintenance or plan for someone else to do it, we pile pressure upon ourselves because we have the expectation that we’ll get EVERYTHING done in our ‘free time’, and seriously, who ever gets much of that? (Also, if you jam free time full of jobs, it defeats the purpose of ‘free’ time.)
5. Surround yourself with great people. Get yourself a team. Your team might be coaches, advisers, staff, contractors, books, courses, online groups or friends who uplift you. It might be the babysitter, the accountant, the writing group, the yoga instructor, the super-knowledgeable guy at the health-food store. Success is so much easier when we have support. Ditch the negative people and people who bring you down. They were never going to be helpful anyway.
6. Focus. Let go of whatever is unimportant. If there’s something you really want to get done this year, put that thing ahead of everything else. Build your self-confidence by keeping that promise to yourself. Develop a track record in consistency. Every overnight success I ever met was a long time in the making, and got there through focus and consistency!
7. Remind yourself of your power word and review your goals daily. It only takes a minute, but keeping your goals uppermost in your mind will help revolutionise your choices and priorities. When you need to take action or make a decision, check in with your power word and goals. Then ask yourself if that decision or action moves you closer to or further away from your goals and power word. Have a mini-planning review each month to keep yourself focused and organised.
8. Schedule regular R and R. Rest and Recreation. Total and complete days off. You. Your family. Unplugged. Birthdays and celebrations. Holidays. They all need to go into your calendar FIRST before your year fills up. It’s about quality of life. Right?
9. Know your starting point. Do a Year In Review for 2014. Look at what worked and what didn’t. Know what you own, and what you owe. Know your expected expenses. Know where your money came from. Look at what paid off, and what didn’t. Learn from your existing track record of successes and failures. Write it all down. That way, at the end of 2015, you’ll be able to see just how far you’ve come.
10. Slow down. Breathe deeply. Practice kindness and gratitude. Repeat. 🙂
2015 can be a real game changer for you, so dream big and give it your all.
Bless xx
Thank you Nicole, reading this blog was serendipitous for me, so excited at the potential of my new power word in giving my new vision board a deeper meaning & purpose xx
Excellent Nicole, this is just what I need. A little retreat planned next weekend so will be taking time to do some planning. Love it! My power word is attached! Thank you, Love Emma x
Wow, what a power post! You’ve totally motivated me to streamline my organization process. Thanks for the tips!
Well as I am an extremely important person here is my post;
WOW WOW AND MORE WOW!!!!!!!! That’s me sorted for 2015 Nicole…you’re a genius but of course you already knew that lol Thank you I am pinning it to my notice board , journal, you name it’s coming with me . Love it .
Cherryx
Oh I liked this post, so much I shared it on Facebook and I don’t do Facebook shares very often
Good morning, Heather! I know how you love planning 😉. This will be so much more fun because it’s all for you! Enjoy this day.
Yesterday whilst in Woolworths , there was a young mum with 2 children and Grandma for support. Her young son had a visible ‘difference’ and he began to scream very loudly and unceasingly. Nothing soothed me. My mother in law muttered to anyone nearby, her disgust, her suggestions -a good smack amongst them. I raced to the teller to get some cash and quickly grabbed some gerbras (happy flowers). The checkouts were jammed with full trolleys and people. Finally through, I resigned to the fact that I now had some beautiful flowers. Then I heRd him from the far flung reaches of the car park. Grandma was doing her best in the car while my mum was packing the groceries in the boot, enough for several weeks and no wonder! I handed her the flowers and hugged her, whispering in her ear of bravery, courage, love and support.
So you see I was paying your gifts to me, forward.
Thankyou, Heather I will love you forever 💜💜💜️️xxx
Sent from my iPhone
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My power word for this whole year long for me is ‘connection’ I really want to connect my heart & soul and my mind, body & spirit.
Thanks for everything Nicole,
Nat. Xx
That’s a great reminder about maintenance Nicole. Too often those little things pile up and then become overwhelming. Little bits often should help with this for me. Great post. Thank you.
Yes have the power word which is Dedicate. Have done a number of things on the list, but some yet to be completed. Loved the MIT dot point. And the R&R – we have talked about, but not properly scheduled into the diary, so a scheduling sesh is needed. Thanks heaps for a great post. Lovely rain ! xxxxx
Great advice! I know I feel motivated right now, but it gets harder to accomplish what I’d planned to at the beginning of the year as I get distracted with other things. I think my power word is going to be “focus,” because my resolution was to spend more time focusing on myself and my own happiness. Cool idea!
Oooooh – loving the power word bit!! Mine is ‘Finish’ – first novel!! Great post and some great tips!