Creating a Personal Action Plan in 9 Simple Steps: A Must-Have for Your New Year’s Goals.
There is no denying that goals are necessary. After all, goals are the unity of meaning and purpose in life. But goals are not just to be achieved. You always need an action plan to help you achieve your goals.
With an action plan, you can get a clear idea of how to get where you want to go, what you need to do to get there, and how to find the motivation to keep moving forward. Unless you make a plan, you're likely to hesitate and get distracted. That's why many people fail to be consistent with their New Year's resolutions. If you don't have a plan, things probably won't go well.
With this in mind, let's look at how you can create an action plan that will help you achieve any personal goal you set.
1) Determine Your “Why”
Here's a quick try: Think about the goals you set earlier. Now think about the goals you have achieved and the goals you have not achieved. You'll notice a common theme here. Being successful and having goals had a purpose. In fact, there were no goals you could not achieve. In other words, you knew the “why” you set these goals, which motivated you to follow through.
Once you understand your WHY, you will be able to clearly articulate what makes you feel fulfilled and better understand what triggers your behavior when you are naturally at your best. Once you can do this, you will have a reference point for everything you do in the future.
This allows for better decision-making and clearer choices. Simon Sinek says about this:
“You will be able to make more informed choices for your business, career and life. You'll be able to inspire others to buy from you, work with you, and join your cause. ”
Before you start creating an action plan, think about why you're setting a new goal. Otherwise, you will need a North Star to guide you on this journey and show you what to do when things get difficult.
2) Write Your Goal
Now that you have a goal in mind, it's time to get it out of your head and onto a piece of paper. You can also do this electronically through an app, but research says you're 42% more likely to achieve your goals written in pencil.
The reason for this is the way the brain works. When you physically write down a goal, you access the left side of the brain, which is the realistic and logical side. So this style of writing signals to your brain that this is something you seriously want to do. It even encourages you to open your subconscious so you can develop ideas to achieve the goal.
3) Set a SMART Goal
SMART is a popular method used in business management. Because it ensures that the goal you set is both realistic and attainable. It can also be used as a reference to guide you in your action plan. By setting a SMART goal, you can begin brainstorming the steps, tasks, and tools you need to make your actions effective.
Specific: You need to have specific ideas about what you want to achieve. To get started, answer the questions: who, what, where, when and why?
Measurable: Create concrete metrics to measure your progress to ensure you're reaching the goal. Determine how you will collect the data.
Attainable: Think about the tools or skills needed to achieve your goal. If you don't have them, find out how to get them.
Realistic: Why is the goal important to you? Is it compatible with other goals? These types of questions can help you determine the true purpose of the goal and whether it should be pursued.
Time Based: Whether it is a daily, weekly or monthly goal. Deadlines can motivate us to take action sooner.
4) Take One Step at a Time
Have you ever traveled? To get from point A to point B, you probably needed to use a map, whether it was an old paper map or an app on your phone. The same idea can be applied to an action plan.
Like a map, your action plan should include step-by-step instructions on how to achieve your goal. In other words, these are smaller goals that help you get where you need to go.
For example, if you want to lose weight, you consider smaller factors such as calories consumed and burned, minutes of exercise, number of steps taken, and sleep quality. Each plays a role in weight loss, and you may even be inspired to look at other aspects, such as stress. Because cortisol, the stress hormone, helps our body maintain weight, reducing your stress levels can lead to weight loss.
This may seem like a lot of work, but it makes your action plan less overwhelming and more manageable. Most importantly, it helps you identify specific actions you need to take at each stage or what behaviors you might want to change.
5) Perform Your Tasks in Order of Priority
Once your action steps are figured out, you'll want to review your list and place your tasks in the order that makes the most sense. This way you'll start things off with the most important step to make the biggest impact.
For example, if you have a sedentary job and want to lose weight, the first step is to become a little more active. From there, you can add more time to your training plan. The next step may be to change your diet, such as avoiding overeating or eating a salad before dinner.
6) Schedule Your Tasks
Setting a deadline for your goal is essential; It prevents you from delaying the start of your action plan. However, the important thing here is to be realistic. For example, it is unlikely that you will lose 20 pounds in two weeks.
Moreover, you should also set a start and end date for each action step you create, as well as a timeline in which you will complete certain tasks. Adding these to your schedule allows you to focus on these tasks when needed and not let anything else distract you. For example, if you're scheduling gym time, you can't schedule anything else during that time period. Be careful not to double-book yourself.
Instead of using a paper calendar or planner, an online calendar may be a better option. You can use it to set due dates or reminders for when each step needs to be done, and with others who need to know; You can share it with your colleague or mentor.
7) Stay on Track with Healthy Habits
Without healthy habits, achieving your goal will become even more difficult. You might hit the gym five days a week, but if you're grabbing a burger for lunch every day, you'll throw away all your hard work. To achieve your weight loss goal, you have to replace these bad eating habits with a more nutritious meal.
You should think about what will help transform you into the person you want to be, not just what is easiest or most comfortable.
8) Check the Tasks You Accomplished in the List
You may feel like you're spending a lot of time creating a list. But not only does this help make your goals a reality, it also keeps your action plan organized, creates a sense of urgency, and gives you the opportunity to track your progress. Lists also reduce anxiety, you know exactly what to do and when it needs to be done.
There's something special about the lists. When you cross a task on your action plan, your brain releases dopamine.
This reward makes you feel good and you want to repeat that feeling. When you go to the gym, you want to continue to experience the satisfaction you experience after exercise. This means you'll keep going to the gym.
9) Review and Reset as Necessary
Achieving any personal goal is a process. While it's great if you can achieve a goal overnight, it takes time. You may experience setbacks along the way. Instead of getting frustrated and giving up, do frequent daily, weekly or monthly reviews to see how you're progressing.
If you're not where you hoped to be, you may need to change your plan of action. Rework to achieve the goal you set.
Regardless of what you want to achieve in life (lose weight, learn a new skill, or make more money), you need to create an action plan. Action plans will guide you in creating realistic steps and time frames to achieve your goal. Best of all, it will keep you on track when you make a mistake.