MentorFactor

Planning for 2009: Monitoring your plan

Consistent, regular monitoring of your plan is critical for success. Here, I present my personal process as the model, but you can determine what works for you. My process goes like this:

1. Every January 1 and July 1, go through the entire process--all the exercises--from beginning to end. This takes most of  day. Find a quiet reflective place to work.

2. Every month, on the first, determine what you have to do for every lifetime goal this month to stay on track for the next six months.

3. Every week, on Monday morning, determine what you have to do for every lifetime goal this week to stay on track for this month. This takes about 20 minutes.

4. Every day, first thing in the morning for five to ten minutes, determine what you have to do for every lifetime goald today to stay on track for this week.

5. Act: Do the tasks you have identified.

Here is another way to look at the monitoring process:

Frequency	Every 6 Months	Every Month	Every Week	Every Day
Review and adjust the entire plan (including lifetime goals, 10-year goals, 5-year goals, 3-year goals, 1-year goals).	X
Review and adjust the next 6-months based on 1-year goals.	X
Review and adjust the next month based on 6-month goals.	X	X
Review and adjust this week based on this month's goals.	X	X	X
Create today's to-do list based on this week's goals.	X	X	X	X

In Conclusion...

Planning your life is not static. It requires constant vigilance and attention so that when opportunities present themselves, you are ready. It is also important to show gratitude for everything that comes your way, good and bad, because you learn from both. When you know your life's path and you follow it, you live an authentic life. Living an authentic life facilitates your ability to positively influence others through your example. This adds to the richness of living in the world.

May you all have a wonderful and prosperous 2009.

Planning for 2009: Exercise 5--Write your plan

Happy New Year, everyone! It is time to do the really hard work of putting your plan together.

Once you have your lifetime goals identified, the next bit of work is project planning. Here you determine what you need to do, by when, to achieve your lifetime goals. For each lifetime goal, respond to the following questions, in this order, with a list of goals and corresponding due dates:

• What must I do in 10 years to meet my lifetime goals?

• What must I do in 5 years to meet my 10-year goals?

• What must I do in 3 years to meet my 5-year goals?

• What must I do in 1 year to meet my 3-year goals?

• What must I do in 6 months to meet my 1-year goals?

• What must I do this month to meet my 6-month goals?

• What must I do this week to meet my 1-month goals?

• What must I do today to meet my 1-week goals?

Example

Here is an example from my own life. When I developed this process over 20 years ago, I had a lifetime goal to get my Ph.D. However, I didn't put a timeframe on it until July 2004. Here is what my plan looked like on July 1, 2004.

Lifetime goal identified in 2004 planning: Have my Ph.D. before my 60th birthday
[Note: I was 53 in 2004 and didn't yet have a Masters degree.]

• What must I do in 10 years (by 2014) to meet my lifetime goals?
  Complete dissertation and defense by May 2011.
  Get my Ph.D. by July 1, 2011 (my 60th birthday).

• What must I do in 5 years (by 2009) to meet my 10-year goals?
  Complete Ph.D. coursework by May 2009.
  Begin dissertation research.

• What must I do in 3 years (by 2007) to meet my 5-year goals?
  Get my Masters degree by December 2006.
  Get enrolled in a Ph.D. program to start in September of 2007.

• What must I do in 1 year (by July 2005) to meet my 3-year goals?
  Apply to Masters degree program by Jauary 2005 to start in September 2005.
  Apply for financial aid by April 2005.

• What must I do in 6 months (by January 1, 2005) to meet my 1-year goals?
  Choose Masters degree program by July 2004.
  Investigate financial aid options.

• What must I do this month (July 2004) to meet my 6-month goals?
  Investigate Masters degree programs by February 2004.

• What must I do this week (July 1-7, 2004) to meet my 1-month goals?
  Investigate Masters degree programs.

• What must I do today (July 1, 2004) to meet my 1-week goals?
  By the time I got to this point, I was so excited about the possibilities, I wanted to do the investigation that day.

So far, I am right on track to meet this goal.

Tomorrow: Sustaining the Plan

Planning for 2009: Exercise 4--What do you want for this lifetime?

Often the problem we have with goal setting is our own self-talk. We put limitations on our thinking based on a variety of reasons from the way we were brought up to the situations and commitments we have made for ourselves.

I invite you to free your mind--to begin with a beginner's mind--without attribution or constraint in this next exercise.

You will be making two lists (or drawing two pictures--if you would like to try a non-linear approach).

List 1: The Wish List

This is the list that you often squelch before it gets written or even thought about. What if money, time, resources, circumstances were no object? Make a list of the things you want to acquire, places you want to visit and/or live, people you want to meet, money you would like to make, recognition you would like to receive, books you want to write, businesses you want to start, and so on.

List 2: Lifetime Goals

Make a list of what you would like to accomplish in your lifetime for each of the roles/categories you identified in Exercise 3. Do not worry about time constraints at this point.

Tomorrow: Write your plan.

Planning for 2009: Exercise 2--Why are you here?

This post is the next in a series of exercises to help you plan for the coming year.

First, some background: We are not alone in this world. We are all connected. This is not some metaphysical, new-age hype. This is physical reality. At the quantum level, you cannot tell where you end and someone else begins. My actions impact you; your actions impact me. Our actions are not limited by space or time. Chaos theory tells us that  subtle changes in complex systems, given the right set of circumstances, can have far-reaching implications across time and space. As an individual, you are a complex system within an even more complex system we call society. When you make personal decisions, the world changes, not in some false-duality, where one has to change before the other changes, but simultaneously.

There are two parts to this exercise:

• Part 1: Meditate on the impact of your decisions on future generations.

• Part 2: Develop a personal mission statement

Part 1: Meditation

Get into a quiet space. Close your eyes and consider what you want your children's children 7 times down the line to say about your generation and the collective decisions you made. Imagine the world you would like to see them living in. Open your eyes and record your impressions. Take note of your feelings as they arise during this exercise.

Part 2: Your Personal Mission Statement

The cycle of life dictates that we all must pass on eventually. Develop a written, personal mission statement based on how you want to be remembered. This, coupled with your impressions from part 1 of this exercise, becomes the basis for all other life decisions.

Close your eyes and imagine your own funeral. All your friends, family, and co-workers are there. There are also acquaintances and people you have touched, but who didn't know you personally. What are these people saying about you? Listen closely. Open your eyes and write a bulleted list of the comments you "heard." This list becomes the basis for your mission statement. Using active voice, present tense, write your mission statement. It only needs to be one or two sentences. You should be able to remember it easily.

Tomorrow: Who are you?

Planning for 2009

It's that time of year again. January 1 marks the start of a new year. We look back at the previous year sometimes amazed at how much we accomplished, sometimes disappointed at what did or didn't happen. How do you feel about 2008? How would you like to feel about 2009? Now is the time to consider the possibilities for the new year, not as resolutions (which people seem to forget about by the end of February), but as written objectives which you will monitor throughout the year.

This week I will post a series of exercises, one each day, to help you get your 2009 plan in place. These exercises represent the short version of a process I originally developed for myself. It works for me and many others who have taken my workshops. It can work for you, too. Take the framework and make it your own. Change it to fit your life and your circumstances. Treat it as a process, revisiting it on a regular basis to track your progress. This keeps your life in front of you and enables you to enjoy the journey while working on your goals and dreams.

The "Strategic Planning for Your Life" framework consists of a series of exercises designed to inform you about yourself. There is a purpose to each exercise. Therefore, it is important that you do not take shortcuts. These exercises help you make explicit the following information:

• How you are unique and what gives you joy

• Why you are here

• Who you are (what roles you play)

• What you want to accomplish

• What is your timeline for accomplishing your goals and dreams

• How to sustain the plan

Exercise 1: What makes you unique? What gives you joy?

The first exercise is designed to elevate and make you aware of your emotions. It also celebrates your uniqueness in the world. Pay particular attention to the feelings you have writing each list, especially the list about what gives you joy.

In this order, write:

1. The tasks you like to do
   These tasks you enjoy, but you may not care to do them all time.

2. The tasks you don't like to do
   Doing these tasks creates internal stress and tension; if you never have to do these tasks again, it will be too soon!

3. The tasks you do well
   You don't necessarily love to do these tasks, but they are easy for you. Many people look to you to do these tasks, because they know they will be done right.

4. The tasks you don't do well
   There will always be someone else who can do these tasks better than you. When you try to do them, you feel anxiety and frustration.

5. What gives you absolute joy
   What is your "fire in the belly?" These tasks energize you. You can do them all day and never get tired. You can't wait to get up nd do it all again the next day.

Tomorrow: Why are you here on Earth at this place, at this time?

[Note: I go through my entire process for myself every January 1. You are invited to join me this year at my house from 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m., if you would rather have an in-person guided workshop. Let me know if you would like to attend: judy@mentorfactorinc.com]