Personal Planning

October 16 by | 13 comments | Lifehack, Management, Productivity | Tags: ,
Planning

Many people don’t like the idea of planning their future. They don’t feel they have the time. Some feel that change comes at such a rapid pace that the plan would be obsolete before they could implement it anyway. Shoot, some people are so successful they don’t see a need to plan.

I admit I can see their points.

But, planning does have benefits. A plan can develop your vision for the future. A plan can guide your career. A plan can help you perceive opportunities. A plan can help you build a balanced life. A plan can help involve others in your decisions. And a plan can help you prepare for retirement.

Without a plan we have a tendancy to get too wrapped up in the present and we lose perspective of how to address what tomorrow may bring. If we intend to grow in any part of our personal or professional lives we must map (plan) what we want our future to look like.

So, here are the basics of workable plans.

  1. Identify what needs to be done. Where are you not where you want to be?
  2. Define when you will reach the goal.
  3. Explore (in written form) possible paths to reach your goal.
  4. Prioritize the activities along the path you have chosen to reach your goal.
  5. KIS/KIF Keep it Simple, Keep it Flexible.
  6. Evaluate your plan. At least once a month track your progress on some visual medium.
  7. Keep pushing toward the target date.
  8. Close it out. Evaluate where your plan was successful. Indentify where your plan was not successful and make that the goal of your next plan.

Reg Adkins writes on behavior and the human experience at (elementaltruths.blogspot.com).

Reg is a consultant who works in professional development, management techniques, conduct analysis, behavior research, crisis, counseling and intervention techniques, education, anti-racism training and guest speaking.

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  • http://www.lifetutorial.com Jeffrey Seely

    Good post. Nothing is for everyone, but personal planning is too effective to be immediately dismissed.

    My favorite personal planning method:

    I keep a journal and spend about 5 minutes every few days writing (rewriting) my basic goals and plans. Many people are very intimidated by the process of goal-setting, but there’s no reason to be. Just spend a few minutes every few days writing down your goals–you’ll forget a few, but you’ll remember them next time you do this.

    So instead of sitting down and making one master plan, I accommodate for the natural fluidity of my goals. That is, I write little, but I write often, allowing myself to reinforce solid goals and tweak and restate fluid goals.

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  • http://www.ImprintItems.com imprintED

    Conference Information Packets on USB Drives

    Call them Flash drives, pen drives, USB drives, memory sticks.
    In any case its a whole lot easier to have a user manual, conference information,
    catalog on a memory stick small enough to put in your pocket.

    Not so long ago, our conference and trade show clients would order a three
    ring binder, with printed tabs and then have someone collate all materials
    printed at the copy center.

    The trend now is Memory sticks. For $10-$20 you can have a memory stick
    printed with your conference logo, or a custom imprinted USB drive printed with
    a sponsors advertising message or web address. On this little bugger, not
    much larger than a pack of juicy fruit gum, you can fit the whole conference program.
    You can also offer plenty of space for attendees to store their own conference notes.
    These custom printed pen drives are the rage.

    Many people have one, but everyone welcomes another. They are much easier to carry than a conference bag full of brochures, conference schedules, and maps.
    At first the price tag may seem high, but think again. ImprintItems.com offers many styles and memory sizes.

    Here is a comparison from just 10 years ago.
    This is what a client of ours ordered for a conference.
    500 3 ring binders printed with conference logo on front and map on back
    cost $4.90/each
    500 sets of printed tabs x $1.45/set
    500 sets of printed material 200 pages each =$3.50 set
    500 programs showing many advertisers logos and products @ .90/each
    Then they hand collated brochures for local restaraunts, museums etc.
    and added those.
    For this price they could know put the conference logo and website
    and all materials on a memory stick to be handed to all attendees at
    registration.

    We can accomodate all of your information needs on one small logo memory
    stick. You can put all of the above information on these and more.
    Some of our clients offer sponsors a chance to offer their complete catalog
    on the pen drives. Imagine how much more value this holds for an advertiser
    than simply listing a name and phone number in a directory.

    Seriously, many such sponsors after a trade show normally would take the attendees
    list and mail each of them a catalog. Catalog cost $2 x 500 people = $1000
    Postage cost 500 mailings x $3 /each = $1500. Assembly of mailing ??
    These sponsors typically may have paid $200 for a directory listing. With there complete catalog on each attendees USB drive, they often will pay up to $3000
    for the service.

    This is an Everyone wins situation. The attendees no longer need to pay to ship a box of catalogs back to the office. For the advertiser or sponsor, its better yet.
    Why? Because many attendees facing the hassle of packing this information back to the shop with them would simply through bags of materials in the garbage before leaving the hotel to get back to the airport.

    No one, and I mean almost nobody will through away a memory stick.

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  • Lizziie jeter

    im planning to settle down and focus more on my family,meeting,my degree this what i have instore for me
                  lizzie jeter   

  • http://www.facebook.com/diane.villagonez Diane Villagonez

    I was in a small bussens they show me how to plan my week and try to succes in this would  but I try everthing from day one to the end it was fun  people laugh  at me because  I have post ever where what I was going to do day by day and somethime it work . 

  • http://www.facebook.com/diane.villagonez Diane Villagonez

    To inprove my self is to stude more and read the books and be honest  to my self about get my goals  and tell everbody to follow there  dreams  to the end, by work on it don’tlet  people tell you can’t do it you go for it ….

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Victoria-Ivy/100002154643994 Victoria Ivy

    This is victoria i am new to maping out my life everything that i think of seems to be to small. How can i get more pecific about maping out my life. And how to make it where it sticks?