The Anatomy of an Efficient Plan
How to draw a plan that will actually get you closer to your goals
What change do you want to create, in your life?
What are you trying to manifest, or achieve?
Maybe it’s a new job, a successful online business, a romantic relationship, a new home, or a better shape.
Whatever your goal is, the first step to creating change in our lives is to set a clear destination. And then, inevitably, you’ll have to take action.
Below are a few ideas to create a roadmap to your destination that won’t feel like a self-created prison and will leave plenty of room for the magic to happen.
Plans have limitations
Making a plan to achieve your goals is always a great idea.
- It allows you to break your big scary goal into small achievable steps
- It constellates your journey with milestones to celebrate
- It gives you direction & the motivation to keep going
But there’s something worth noticing:
A plan is just a map, and a map has its limitations.
A map is not the territory — Alfred Korzybski
The plan we sit down and lay out doesn’t take into account the circumstances we’ll find ourselves in when actually taking action.
It doesn’t account for obstacles, setbacks, surprises, energy levels, moods, etc.
On top of that, a plan is just one of the possible ways in which our desire can come to fruition.
These are all aspects we should keep into account when working out & acting upon our plans because only by understanding this single thing we break free of the risk of creating a prison-plan that will make us feel miserable when we inevitably fall off track.
What does a good plan look like?
A good plan is a plan that:
- is flexible and evolves as you proceed in your journey
- allows you to gently expand the boundaries of your comfort zone
- leaves wiggle room to deal with life’s challenges without feeling like a failure
- promotes inspired action, rather than mechanical cookie-cutter procedures
The purpose of a plan — or a blueprint, as I prefer to call it — is to keep you moving in the direction of your goals, by harnessing your intuition as you proceed and allowing you to expand and evolve based on the new knowledge you’ll acquire along the way.
Do you want to create a blueprint for change, with me?
Grab a warm drink, a pen and paper, and enjoy a little journaling session :)
Create a Blueprint for Change
Craft a Vision for Your Future
What are the most important areas of your life in which you want to see change?
Your career, finances, family, romantic relationship, health, creativity, spirituality, leisure, community,…
Per each area, write down why it’s important to you, and what your priorities and purpose for each are. You can use the following prompts:
- What do I want, in this area of my life?
- Why do I want that?
- What would that give me?
- What are my priorities for this area?
Now, per each area, write down what your desired future looks like, what the present looks like, and what are some action steps you can take to transition to the desired state.
You can use a tool called “the Wheel of Life” to help you with this step
Make a commitment to reach your destination no matter what it takes
On your journey to your destination, there will be challenges and hard times. There will be problems, setbacks, and concerns. Doubts, risks, headaches.
All of that will inevitably come. How you choose to respond to the hardships you’ll encounter along the way will make all the difference in your ability to reach your goals.
Write an “I intend to” statement in which you make a commitment to yourself to keep going until your wonderful Vision for the Future comes to fruition.
Reflect, assess, and adjust weekly
Some of us need to plan thoroughly every month, week, and day. Some will prefer to keep a loose plan that gives them a broad direction instead of planning out each step in advance.
Whatever your preference is, make sure you don’t lose sight of your end result. Stay on track by periodically reviewing your progress and renewing your intention per each specific goal.
Here are some questions you ask yourself every week, to make sure you stay on track and keep moving forward:
- What did I do last week, that brought me closer to my goal?
- How can I move a step closer this week?
- What didn’t I like about last week’s work?
- What can I do better this week?
This way you won’t need to worry about laying out a structured monthly plan (although you could, if that serves you) and can opt for a more generic roadmap that unravels itself week after week.
This is an extract from a recent issue of my newsletter.
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