How To Plan a New Year

" If You Want to Achieve, Then plan"

-I.J

For five years ago at this time, and the beginning of January in 2010, I begun to follow a plan I designed on the latest part of December 2009. That was a decision after a review of my life, which was on the edge of total disaster. The deep insight I got, when I consciously made the decision to work through very tough emotions and situations, was that I can change my life to the better if I choose too and were willing to do what it takes. 

That realisation was naturally followed by the understanding that I needed to create a plan to follow, an overall outline for the next year but also a more detailed plan in what I wanted to achieve, which for that year had to focus on my health. At the time I had been sick in fibromyalgia for many years, was depressed and overweight as a part of it,, been through a difficult divorce, and I've had lost my dad to name some of my struggles, I was literally dying. 


As you can see my decision, wasn't a matter of new years resolutions, I've never been the kind of person who believe in that. I believe we can make a change at any time we choose to. I believe that everyday and every minute is there for us to start in what ever matters to us, and when ever we realise we need to change or want to achieve what ever it is, we should start as soon as we possibly can. With that said, nothing helped me to a better life more than this decision. It turned out to be one of the best years I've ever had and that plan helped me to make my goals a reality.

I decided once again, almost the last week in December 2014, and again after a review of my life, that I needed to rerun a similar plan as I did before to have a fulfilling life. This time I realise how important it is to have a plan and decided to formalise the process of the annual review. To do so and since I am a person who put value in other peoples experiences as well as my own, I did my research and read many ideas, I also listened some lifestyle coaches, as Tony Robbins. And eventually with my own experience of what worked before, and with my extended knowledge from my research, I came up with with how I was going to proceed. 

What I propose here is not a fixed plan written in stone, life isn't predictable in all it's phases, things happen, sickness, an injure that may change your schedule. There shouldn't be any problem to change your plan to suit your current life situation for any reason, it's your plan and you are the creator. When something happen, just be flexible and adjust your plan. 

In your goal setting be sure to make measurable and specific goals if you want to succeed. 

Devote time for this exercise and decide to make it over a weekend for example, without interruptions, take your notebook and get on with your plans, do the thinking, explore your wants, your expectations, what you want from the year to come. If you are in a serious relationship then beside your individual goals and plans make ones for your relationship and your common goals.

Since I started late on this process I am still working on my personal more detailed plan, but how to proceed is clear and ready and if you want you can use my plan as a tool to plan your year too. Here’s an overview of what I plan to cover with questions to answer in each category.

Starting up  with a review of the previous year and give importance on events that you have control over. If there is a storm going on and you couldn't make that trip, well you can't change the weather so don't bother to count that. Looking the year in review may surprise you of everything you actually did accomplish, and if you take the goal setting seriously and plan well, the next year can be your best one .  
What didn't go well is an important question to answer and gives very valuable lessons on how to proceed and plan better in future.

Review the previous year

• What went well?
• What didn't go well?
• How did we match up with our goals?
• How did the year go overall?
• Did I reach my goals?
• What could I have done better?
• Did I reward my achievements?

Next years planning is the next step and it's exiting looking towards the future taking the steps that matters to me, to YOU, in the areas You want to develop for a fulfilling life by defining measurable, achievable goals for each chosen area. Here are the areas that I chose:

Health, Relationships, Writing, Video making, Learning, Travel, Service, Spiritual, Financial 

My Health goals 2010 was

1. Loose 30 kg (66 lb)
2. Consistent Scheduled plan for training 
3. Conscious eating and meal planning
4. Attend to my first spring run
5. Weight 65 kg at the end of August (not the final weight in the plan)
6. Journal my daily meals and activity
7. Loose 3-4 kg monthly (6-9 lb)

I achieved my goals earlier than planed, already in June,and the final weight changed to a more suitable for my body. I was thrilled, energetic and felt better than ever before. I was in an euphoric state of mind actually, as when I completed my first 10 km or about 6 miles, and a two hour jogging/running/walking, spring activity attendance, i felt high, I was high with all the endorphin running like a galloping horse in my veins. That was the best feeling ever, what I've had accomplished in just three months was amazing, but it came with dedication, persistence, and the willingness to follow through. I became a champion!

Define your Goals and Plans

• What do I want to achieve?
• What do I want to experience?
• What do I need to complete?
• What do I want to learn?
• Where do I want to go?
• What is my number one destination?
• What do I want to do more of?
• What do I want to remove?

Required  Actions to make the goals a reality
Make sure each goal is achievable, in other words what is needed to achieve the goals.Find support and someone to be accountable to the goals, a friend, someone in your gym, a relative, your spouse. Remember that the goals need to be measurable, that's the key of success.
Set deadlines for each goal
Establish an overall calendar for you as a follow up 
Determine check in dates to measure progress
What support will I need? Identify people/resources needed to achieve any of the goals as suggested above.


Decide on the topic and do your research on what you need, write down a first draft and get feedback. My feedback was a ton of books and magazines in the subject. 


I also had a theme for the three years I used my plan. First was obviously the year of well-being and getting strong, next year was the year of learning and preparations, and the third came to be as the year of transition. The following two and a half years with a move to a new country and totally different life circumstances became the years of exploration and travel but also of abandoned plan and lost of focus, that I reclaim now. I'm not sure about this years theme yet since I'm still working on my plan, I will soon figure it out. 


Starting my new year planning by reviewing the previous year, the ups and downs and the lessons, that brought me to this decision and realisation of the importance having a plan, is vital. During this exercise I become more aware to value my self, my time, and what I want from my life which helps me to more realistically plan for the year ahead. 
This is a process that brings up emotions, there is big questions to deal with that can be pretty tough emotionally, but are also liberating when you are ready to take the leap to claim your place in life in what ever matters to you. It is both calming and exiting a feeling of strength and control. You can choose to follow my plan or make your own using this as a foundation, I want to remind once more to be flexible and find solutions if anything changes, but continue with your plan. 


Feel free to share your feedback, I would be pleased to hear from you and will answer as soon as I can. 




please share with your friends, thank You!!!