I can hear some of you saying it now “I don’t plan” or I don’t need to plan” but you are wrong, so very wrong. Planning for some people means mapping your life out to the nth degree or what governments do, but in fact planning can be simpler than that.
Here are some simple things I consider plans that help me and you through the day. You probably do some of these, I do.
- To Do list
- Shopping List
- Recipes
- Regular chores list–shopping on a Thursday, ironing on a Friday
- Kids Chores List
So, you see, planning is not something you don’t do. A shopping list helps you to buy the food you need and not just anything, so you have enough ingredients to create edible, nutritious meals. A To Do List (my favorite) means you don’t forget the important things you need to do before you relax. I even put my hobbies on my list, so I have permission to do them during the day. Do you do that?
Planning Helps for the Big Things, Too.
Planning isn’t just for the simple day-to-day things in live, they are for the big things too.
Do you have dreams you want to fulfill? Do you want to retire at 55 with enough money to live well for 40 years, do you want to buy a larger house, a new car or go on an exotic holiday? Do you want to go to college, or send you kids to college, so they are debt free at the end of the degree, or do you want to pay off your credit cards or college debt? Do you want to sponsor a child in an underdeveloped country or support your favorite charity?
Planning can make the difference between achieving your plans or not.
Planning can help you succeed.
There are many good quotes about planning, but my favorites are
“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” – Benjamin Franklin
If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up some place else. – Yogi Berra
You have probably heard them before, but that doesn’t mean they are wrong. Think about it. If you have you have a dream and don’t plan to achieve it, it only a dream. A little planning on your part will make all the difference.
If you want to retire on a good income, putting a small amount away regularly from your 20s will grow into a large sum but the time you hit 60. You could wait to see if you win a lottery (1 in 18,000,000 for a single state lottery), but in case you don’t win, savings or pension plan will help you get there.
If you want to go on an exotic holiday, you need to
- Research where to go–no good going to Switzerland if you want to swim in tropical seas
- Find out about hotels and car hire or public transport
- Are visas required?
- Vaccinations?
- What to do there?
- Best time of year to go–hurricanes, typhoons, monsoon seasons. If you want to see New England in its Fall colors, there is no point going in May.
- Costs of the above
How to Plan.
You may have guessed the answer from what I have already said, but the best way to plan is to WRITE IT DOWN. You can use a notebook, a ready-made planner, a digital planner or notebook or just file paper in a ring binder, it doesn’t really matter. Once you have written the name of the plan down, you can then get on with filing in the research.
For a shopping list, it is looking at what you have left in the fridge/freezer/cupboard and list what you need. You may have done a meal plan for the week, so consult that. You may even have told Amazon what you need as you remember them or have used them during the week. Then you can write your list.
For holidays, retirement planning, finances, etc. it is more complicated, but that means writing it down is even more important.
What’s the Next Steps?
There are only 3 steps to follow.
- Decide what you want from your life, big and small.
- Buy a planner/ notebook/ app/ file paper and file.
- USE THEM!
The link below is to the PowerPoint 2021 Calendar for you to use – you can use it for privately or commercially.