Life Planning: A Guide for Beginners

How To Make a Life Plan: Step-by-Step Guide

After knowing that you’ve goals for life planning, the most important thing is to understand how to achieve them. You can quickly become a life planner by following the steps below. Here they’re…

1. Create a Vision

The most important step is the first step. What’s your dream life like? Ask yourself this. Think about your dream down to the smallest details. Use pen and paper while you think about it. We’ve prepared some questions to help you. Such as:

• What’s your daily routine?
• How much money do you earn?
• How do you feel in this life?
• Who is with you?
• What do you have around you? For example, is there a smell?
• What job are you doing?

Think about them and write your answers on paper. Remember to be realistic. But of course, it never hurts to dream big from time to time. 

2. Evaluate Yourself

What have you achieved so far? What did you learn from your mistakes? Again, take a pen and paper and evaluate yourself. This important step guides you about what you should pay attention to when planning your life. 

Remember, success isn’t the only thing that matters. When planning a life, failures are as important as successes. It allows you to see your strengths and weaknesses. 

When evaluating yourself, it’s better to look at your life from many aspects rather than just one. Such as:

• Your social life
• Your health
• Your personal development
• Your economic situation

Look at these areas and other areas that come to mind and make an assessment of yourself. 

3. Care for Yourself

You’ve now come to the third stage. So, you know what your plans are. Moreover, you know your strengths and weaknesses to make it happen. Then, it’s time to prioritize yourself to make them real.

The important thing at this stage isn’t to set goals. You’ve already done this. The important thing at this stage is to see what’s important and what’s not to achieve your goals. In this way, you begin to do only those things that will do you good and cause positive developments in your path. You stop doing unnecessary things. You use your time correctly. 

4. Determine Your Values

The best way to do this is to look back. Looking back at what you did in the past allows you to learn from them, or to see what you did right. For example, were there things that motivated you in the past, and if so, what were they?

You can ask yourself questions like these. For example, look at your career. Are you close to where you want to be right now? For example, can you get the promotions you want? Then, you’ve taken important steps in your career in the past and you’ve done the right things. The opposite is also possible. In the opposite case, you have a chance to learn from failures. You see what you don’t want to experience again. You take action towards what you want to live. 

Determining your values will also have a positive impact on your decision-making process because you’ll know what you want and you’ll be able to make the right decisions. 

5. Let Your Goals Be in Line With S.M.A.R.T

Now, you know your vision. It’s your turn to decide on the method of doing them. And, on the way, the S.M.A.R.T technique will help you. 

This technique is a realistic, achievable plan to achieve your goals within a certain period of time. You can use this technique for life planning in all areas of your life. So, what’s this S.M.A.R.T? Here, let’s explain.

Specific: It means that your goals are clear. For example, setting a goal of eating more vegetables instead of eating healthy. 

Measurable: This means that your goal is visible.

Attainable: This means that you set a realistic goal.

Relevant: The goal you set is related to what you want in life. It’s kind of what you need.

Time-bound: Having a time frame to accomplish your goal. It can be two months or two years. 

6. Write an Outline

It’s also very important to outline the road to life planning. Here, you plan what you’ll do step by step. In this way, you make it more detailed.

You can do this in various ways. For example, you could try a journaling method. Or, you can keep a calendar. Here, you can set daily goals for yourself and try to reach them. 

The important thing is that this outline is at a point where you can see it all the time. For example, you can put it on your desk…

You can congratulate yourself when you achieve your goals. The more you reward yourself, the more motivated you become. 

7. Allow Change

There is no need to think of life planning as something that limits you. After all, the main purpose of life planning is to get you to your goals.

There may be setbacks on this road, or even your plans may change. For example, you can suddenly stop being what you once wanted to be. This is perfectly normal.

Therefore, when faced with such a situation, no need to get discouraged and give up. Sit down and reconsider your plan. Make the necessary changes and move on.