Planning is strategy . It has indisputable advantages and, although how planning is done is extremely personal, we can say that the main reasons why it is important are:
- It keeps you focused on your goals and tracks your direction.
- It helps you identify the tasks you need to complete to achieve your goals.
- It helps to have a bigger picture and above all maintains focus even in case of setbacks.
- It helps you measure your progress and always teaches you something new about yourself.
- It is the best method to be more efficient and productive without forgetting about ourselves.
In order to start planning the new year on the right foot, you need to take time to reflect on the goals achieved and what didn't work. I am not referring to factors outside our control, which were the protagonists of the past year and which will make it difficult to forget, but how we approached our objectives, our intentions and how we responded to external difficulties.
Start by setting 2-3 big goals, the so-called BHAG , for 2021.
BHAG stands for "Big Hairy Audacious Goals". They are those ambitious, hard-to-achieve goals that can take months, even years.
This is precisely why they are important, they are stimulating objectives , they are the engine of our lives, they are an integral part of our personal development and growth.
Once you have defined your big goals , break them down into steps .
Each step becomes a smaller goal that should bring you one step closer to your BHAG and should build the path to take to reach it.
Goals should always be SMART:
- Specific
- Measurable (measurable)
- Attainable (reachable)
- Relevant (relevant)
- Time Based (temporally reliable)
Once you've broken everything down into actionable chunks, you'll see each of them naturally connect together in a continuous line that leads to your end goal. Not only will it be easier to track, but it will make managing your tasks, commitments and priorities much more effective.
At this point make a list of positive daily habits that you can establish, which can help you achieve each step you have set yourself.
These could be activities such as writing a to-do list when you wake up, taking a few minutes each evening to monitor your progress throughout the day, keeping track of the things that are working and that bring us satisfaction, and other small actions that make you feel good and which therefore contribute to achieving your goal.
To achieve your great goal you must try to do better . Doing is always linked to our real possibilities. We shouldn't blame ourselves or break down but learn more about ourselves too. For example, if you notice that you never complete your daily to-do list, reduce the quantity to make it more doable.
To maintain commitment and consistency with your goals you need the right tools.
The most important is you.
Then there are many stationery products that can help you in your organization, and since there is nothing more personal than planning you have to think about your needs and what you really need.
I'll try to give you some ideas:
DATED AGENDA
It is the simplest, most classic solution.
It allows you to write down all your appointments and plan even further in time.
Our advice is to choose one that can always be with you and with space for notes (there is never an appointment that doesn't require something to remember or reflection to do).
Check it out here!
DAILY PLANNER
For example, this is what I use too. Undated allows you to start, pause and resume without wasting pages.
Daily diaries or planners are often very large and less practical to always carry with you. For this reason they are very useful on your desk, perhaps combined with a pocket version, weekly or monthly, to carry in your bag and on which to summarize important appointments.
The daily planner we recommend is ideal if you need a vertical schedule for commitments from 7am to 8pm, a to do list, a priority box and an area for notes and sketches.
Paper is a pleasure and we know that surrounding ourselves with beautiful things helps our mood and consequently our productivity.
WEEKLY PLANNER
If you don't need a lot of daily space you can opt for a weekly planner, our advice is always to choose one with space for notes and to do lists, because no week is the same as another and we can only realize what there is to improve doing.
Notem's new Even Weekly Journals are like this, there is space for weekly organization on the left and space for notes on the right. Then there are some pages for a daily planner because we know well that some days are busier than others. At the bottom are the task pages, they are ideal for keeping track of everything you need to do and having an overview.
The Large version of Even also has sections dedicated to long-term goals and the space to divide them as we advised you to do.
MONTHLY PLANNER
This is synonymous with synthesis but at the same time with a complete picture. Seeing the month in its entirety is important, it helps you not to be caught unprepared and to complete your tasks.
The monthly planner helps plan, for example, a social channel, a fitness program, a personal goal that requires daily commitment but an overall vision.
Personally, it is what I always carry with me because I bring important dates and commitments not to be forgotten.
DESK PLANNER
This is one of the most useful tools you can start using to visualize the steps you need to take.
It always stays on your desk, it helps you have an overview of the week at a glance, once it's over you can simply tear the paper off and start again.
The daily version is also very useful for structuring the various times of the day in a more organized way and defining priorities day by day.
Dedicating time before starting the day to reflect and write down the individual activities, perhaps differentiated by priority, always helps a lot and is the best way to start.
As always, choose the desk planner according to your style, make sure it makes your desk more beautiful!
TO DO LIST
Well, I couldn't do without it.
In notepad version they are ideal for creating them when needed, for tearing them out and keeping them in the diary if necessary, for deleting once the list has been completed.
Plus they're perfect as a shopping list!
I remind you that planning does not only refer to the workplace, it is very important to also plan your personal projects , your dreams to make them come true.
If you like, let's talk about it together, let me know what's important to you, how you plan and what you learned by doing it!
Cecilia
