HOW TO PLAN YOUR LIFE

Life is uncertain. There will always be unexpected bumps along the way that you
couldn’t have possibly anticipated. How do you develop confidence navigating
uncharted territory? This is the beauty of creating a life plan: it accommodates life’s
unknowns so you’re not unprepared. With a solid strategy for how to make a life plan in
place, you’re able to embrace the challenges that can elevate your life if you have the
right mindset and preparation. Learning how to create a life plan is much like creating
a business map to guide your company’s decisions. Creating a life plan allows you to
pursue meaningful goals that align with your ultimate purpose in life.

Do you want to improve your life planning skills?

LIFE PLANNING 101

Learning how to make a life plan starts with understanding what life planning is. A
pivotal concept is the fact that life planning does not mean creating a rigid to-do list for
yourself. Creating a life plan is more akin to creating a massive action plan. You’re
acknowledging up front that hurdles will inevitably arise. You’re also allowing room for
growth and change, internally (within yourself) and externally (in your life
circumstances). Creating a life plan provides a flexible road map for getting from where
you are now to where you want to be. You’re creating a strategy to reach your goals
and embrace change. Life planning helps you transition from dreaming about what you
want in life to making it a reality.

HOW TO MAKE A LIFE PLAN

Setting goals is a critical component of life planning. But learning how to create a life
plan takes you beyond goal-setting. It adds an emotional element to those goals so
everything you do is infused with meaning. With life planning, you get to the core of who
you are, what you want and how to accomplish it. You’re not just completing a task –
you’re behaving in alignment with your passions. Here are the steps for fleshing out
your life planning strategy:
 STEP
P 1: AS
SK YO URSE LF TH E RIGH
HT
QUE
ESTIONNS

Creating a life plan

p starts with
w asking yourself the
e right quesstions. Writte down you
ur
re
esponses and answer honestly.

What re
esults do you
y want to
o achieve?

What ab
bout these goals insp
pires you?
?

STEP
S 2:
2 CHO
OOSE YOUR
Y LIFE P
PRIOR ITIES

When creating a life plan, it can be tem

mpting to tryy to improve
e every faccet of your liife.
This is overwhelming and nott feasible. To
T be more e effective, cconcentratee on just tw
wo to
three priorities.
p Yo
ou can alwaays add in more later aafter you’ve
e experiencced success in
these areas. Heere are som
me areas yo ou can conccentrate onn:

RELA TIONSHIIPS
Do you
u want to leearn strategies to stay connected to your parrtner? Find out how to o be
morre flexible in
n your relatiionship? Ha
as your trusst been bettrayed and you want to o
de
evelop a pla an to learn how to believe in love again? Ha aving a strong, loving
re
elationship is key to yoour happine ess and an important ppart of yourr life plan.
 CA
AREER
Are you currently y unhappy at work and d want to find a new ccareer you’rre passionaate
aboout? Own a business anda need to o learn how to be a dissruptor and ensure the e
longevitty of your organization
n? Most peo ople spend more than half their lives at workk, so
creating a life plan
n to spend your time doing
d someething you loove that lea
ads to succcess
and fulfillm
ment is para
amount.

COM
MMUNIT
TY INVOL
LVEMENT
T
As Ton ny often say
ys, the secret to living is giving. W
When learn ning how to plan your life,
incorp
porating waays to get in
nvolved in the commun nity is a goo
od way to increase yoour
overall well-being. Donating money or resources,
r jjoining orgaanizations o
or volunteering
are
a all good ways to give back.

HEALTH
H AND FIT
TNESS
If you
u’re not happy with the way you lo ook or feel d
day-to-day,, creating a life plan th
hat
doesn n’t include a health and fitness co
omponent w will never le
ead to true happiness. If
you’rre overweigght, have no
o energy orr just need tto improve your overa all health an
nd
fitness, this is one area to concentrate on.
o Conside er adopting a sustainable health d diet,
join fitness class
ses or workk with a heaalth coach to
o design a plan that w works for yoou.

ST EP 3: CREAT
TE LIF
FE PLA
ANNING
G MAP
PS FOR
R
GR
ROWTH
H, CHA
ANGE AND C
CRISIS
S
Now tha
at you unde
erstand wha
at’s driving your life pla
anning goa
als, you’re re
eady to exp
pand
yourr strategy so
o it adapts to any circu
umstance yyou might e
encounter. C
Create a life
e
plann
ning map fo
or each of th
he following
g:

Growth
Personal growth is one of the greatest accomplishments possible. So incorporate it
into your life planning strategy! Rather than aiming for general, unspecified growth, write
down specific areas of personal growth, like better time management,
greater empathy or effective communication.

Change

Change is inevitable. If you’re adaptable, you’re able to roll with the punches. As you
learn how to make a life plan, consider how to make your plan malleable so it
accomplishes what you want, regardless of changing circumstances.

Crisis

In times of crisis, life planning is a powerful comfort. Learning how to plan your life
empowers you to work through hard times without losing sight of your original goals.
Having a plan A, B, C and D ensures that you’re never left without a strategy for survival
and, ultimately, success.

STEP 4: CREATE AN ACCOUNTABILITY PLAN

Once you’ve learned how to make a life plan and put some strategies in place, you
need to find out what’s working and what’s not. This involves evaluating your successes
and adjusting your plan along the way to increase its effectiveness.

HAVE AN ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER

MEASURE YOUR PROGRESS

CELEBRATE LITTLE SUCCESSES

CHANGE WHERE NECESSARY

Future
 What are your plans for the future ?
 Where are your plans for the future ?
 What kind of job do you see yourself in the following year ?
 What will be the most important things for you in the future ?