WHAT IS YOUR YEAR PLAN?

Do You Have A Year Plan?

It is a brand new year and there is excitement in the air. With all the excitement you are going through now do you have a plan for the year? Why not?
A new year comes with new hopes, opportunities, aspirations, visions, goals, etc.

The emotions that come with the privilege of crossing into another 365 days cannot be measured and should not be allowed to just past without having a concrete task attached to each day, week, or month.

Do you know how to plan your year in simple steps?
Do you have a plan on the ground that will keep you happy throughout the year knowing very well that whatever happens, you are prepared?

Now imagine that you failed some exams you took and instead of taking time to reflect and know why you were not successful, the causes for the failure, and the necessary steps to take to improve or guard against a repeat, you decided to dump the outcome somewhere and move on with your life until the next exam.

That will be a strange reaction because everyone wants to progress in life by moving to the next level.
However, that is exactly what happens when you begin a new year without taking stock of the previous year and making adequate preparations; a lot will go wrong.

The importance of planning in life cannot be overemphasized.

“A plan is a written down proposal for your future and what you need to do in order to achieve the goals at your own pace” – Binta Tiri.

Although some people believe that planning is a waste of time as one will be only preempting the future, what you want to happen to you for the year or what you want to become in life should not become a task for you.

SOME MYTHS ABOUT PLANNING YOUR YEAR

Planning is essential to every aspect of our lives and more especially those areas that are dear to us. The year is just starting and thus the importance of planning the year ahead.
What were your achievements in the year gone and what were those that you were not able to achieve? Why were you not able to achieve those goals?

Here Are Some Myths People Believe On Planning The Year Ahead.
1. According to some beliefs when you plan ahead, you are seeing into the future. This is not true because, when you plan ahead you are well prepared for eventualities and unforeseen circumstances.
2. The myth that I’m too young to bother myself with planning my year or use a planner when there are more interesting things to be done. Starting early is the best thing to do as it is not too early to organize your life and finances.
3. Planning does not belong to human beings but businesses. This is not so as you plan for your studies, weddings, trips, and even retirement.
Now imagine a life without planning for these events.
4. Others also believe that it is only the rich that need to plan. It is to be noted that when the poor decide to change their mindset and start planning the year, their status begins to change.
5. Other people believe that planning the year ahead is for big companies and corporations. Not so because small businesses do also plan.
6. The myth that planning is made once a year and that will be the end, this not really so, as you need to review your plans every month or quarterly.

When you plan your whole year ahead, you get to take control of organizing your life and when life happens, you are in a better position to take the right steps and also make good decisions.

Why Do People Fail To Achieve Their Goals
What do you desire the most in this life?
A good job that pays you enough money to go on vacation anywhere in the world every year?
To become a successful entrepreneur?
To eat at your favorite restaurant for 5 days a week?
Perhaps a fine house in a decent area or a wardrobe filled with clothes or a flashy car?
Perhaps all you need is to save money towards your retirement.

Well, everything is in your hands if only you can take out time to have a plan.
What is the big dream you have for your life in the year? Is it to become a professional in the field of medicine or academia, become a multi-millionaire, a stay at home mum, is it to start a home business, to retire by the beachside or to contribute and be involved in your community work or the so many different desires that you want to accomplish?

Have you assessed yourself to understand the reason for not being able to achieve some of your goals in the year that just ended?
What were your goals in the past year?
What was that big dream you had that did not come to pass?
Do you know why you were not able to achieve it?

A Goal according to Wikipedia “is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan, and commit to achieving. People endeavor to reach goals within a finite time by setting a timeline.”

Before you set your goals, it is necessary to know the reason behind your decision to pursue them.
For example, as part of your personal financial plan on retirement planning goal you may say:
I want to save ten million for my retirement.
This goal looks huge and not specific.
You might want to say:
In 2021, I want to start my retirement saving plan by setting aside 50k every month towards my goal of attaining 10million in 10 years to come.

As you have wrapped up the year, it is necessary to sit down and assess yourself to know what worked and what did not work.
As you evaluate yourself by reflecting over your plans for the past 12months and the steps you took you may discover some reasons why you did not succeed and also why people fail to achieve their goals:
Here are some reasons you don’t have a plan.
– You don’t know how to create a strategic life plan and set goals with step-by-step actions that will lead you to your destination.
-You don’t believe that you can succeed in the goals you set. You, therefore, allow fear and doubt to cloud and overshadow you.
You don’t seek a mentor to guide you to know how to succeed in goal setting.
-No commitment because you set too many goals at a time so you won’t give the goals the time needed to work on them.

Your goals are not ‘SMART’ specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. In this case, you make it impossible to achieve.
-The environment you live in can affect your goals. When you have people around you who have no plan for their future you tend to act alike.

– Allowing others to set the pace for your goals. For example, your heart’s desire is to become security personnel and you set it as your goal but because of what you hear people say, you decided to change your mind.
-Not recognizing or celebrating your small wins and successes.
– Lack of evaluation of your previous year’s plans

As we welcome the year 2021, determined to set goals that are “SMART”.
Know you are why because this is what will keep you motivated to carry on and stick to your plans.

THE IMPORTANCE OF PLANNING YOUR YEAR

“A plan is a written down proposal for your future and what you need to do in order to achieve the goals at your own pace” – Binta Tiri.
Therefore planning what you want for your year or what to become in life should not become a task for you.

Here Are Some Reasons You Need To Plan.

1. When you have a written down plan, it motivates you to take actions towards meeting your set goals.
2. A plan also helps you monitor your progress and increases your zeal towards attaining your goals.
3. It serves as a reminder and helps you to stay focus and accountable for your goals.
4. Helps you achieve your goals faster.

5. When you have a written plan, it reduces the uncertainty of future emergencies.
6. Makes you committed to achieving your goals.
7. You get to measure your actions to know if you are on course and the next step to take.
8. It keeps you on your toes until you achieve your objectives in life.

Take for example you plan on buying a car that is $20K and you have a savings of $10k on the ground.
You now know that what you have cannot buy you the type of car you want so, you have to come up with a plan of coming up with the balance.
Your plan will be to divide the balance of $10k by 10 let’s assume that your goal is to have the car by December 2021.
Now you know that every month, you have to put aside $1,000 till November when you can afford the type of car you want.

When you have a plan on the ground, it makes life easy as everything flows as you create daily, weekly and monthly schedules to help you achieve the goals you set for the year.
Having a plan also builds your confidence knowing that you now have a preparation process to follow in case of an emergency.

Do you know how to create your year plan?