3 P’s of Planning Your Epic Year
What will you consider your best year ever? For me it’ll be a year when I feel the most fulfilled. It’s hard to live a fulfilling life if you just wing it. We actually have to have a plan. To have a plan, you need goals. But a goal without a plan is a wish.
2016 was pretty epic for me. Of course there were heart breaks and disappointments but I reached my Big Hairy Audacious Goals or BHAG (Darren Hardy), due to this I feel pretty fulfilled. Was my year perfect? Hell no! There were hurtful things and plenty of challenges came along the way but I was focused on my goals.
My 2016 Big Audacious Goals:
- Finished grad school
- Became the commencement speaker at my own graduation
- Speaker in 3 different countries
- Started my own private practice for counseling
- Volunteered to Nepal with Divas Abroad
- Had a successful 2nd Annual DivaGirl Philly Conference
- Acquired a business partner
- Grew our DivaGirl Philly membership and met those numbers
- Spent more time with my daughter
- Spent more time with my significant other
I did not wing it last year. I had a plan. And below are the 3 P’s I used to plan 2016. I hope that you’ll get to use it as well and may you have an epic 2017.
3 P’s of Planning an Epic 2017:
- Put it down on paper — write down all your goals, the changes you want to make, the dreams you’ve always wanted to come true.
- Prioritize — narrow them all down to just 3!
- Put a date on it — have a deadline, put it on your calendar.
Now lets break this down… Here are the steps:
1st P — Put it down on paper. Look at the big picture and let your thoughts go wild. What are the things you would love to do and accomplish this year? Write them all down. Make a list! Writing them down is making a written agreement or contract to yourself. It’s like day dreaming on paper…
2nd P — Prioritize. This is when you put the 3 most important things on your list in categories, we will call them your Big Hairy Audacious Goals or BHAG Categories.
2017 BHAG Categories:
- Relationship Goals (3)
- Health (3)
- Career/Business (3)
- Financial (3)
- Spirituality (3)
- Personal Development (3)
- Fun (3)
*So make sure that you plug in the 3 most important things on your big list of goals into these categories. It’s okay if you have less than three in a category.
3rd P — Put A Date On It. To achieve the 3 goals for each category, you need to have a plan. You have to put a date on it and give yourself deadlines.
Ask yourself these questions:
- When do I want to achieve this goal?
- Which one of these goals do I need to accomplish in the next three or six months?
- What do I need to do NOW to achieve my BHAGs?
- What little goals do I need to reach to get closer to my BHAGs?
- What steps do I need to take to get closer to my BHAGs?
Just to make it a little clearer, read the example below (I will only put 1 BHAG example for each category):
To achieve my Relationship Goal of increasing romance with my partner of 5 years: we will continue our weekly date nights, plan to travel somewhere we haven’t been to and to show appreciation for each other more.
To achieve my Health Goal of running The Broad Street Run again in May: I would have to exercise 3 times a week so I will schedule a run for the week, go to a yoga class and lift weights.
To achieve my Career Goal of publishing a book: I would have to schedule an hour of writing every other day.
To achieve my Financial Goal of saving more this year: I would have to set-up an automatic deduction of $7.00 a week ($1 a day) and double it in three months, triple in six months and so on and so forth.
To achieve my Spiritual Goal of learning how to meditate: I would start meditating for 5 minutes a day with the app Headspace and slowly increase the minutes as I get accustomed to it.
To achieve my Personal Development Goals of being a better counselor, business owner, mom or just be a better human being : I will read 3 books a month about Psychology, Business and a novel.
To achieve my Fun Goal of traveling: I will sell things that I and my family do not need on eBay and save that money to fund our trip to Hawaii and visit my beautiful cousin/little sis!
Take Little Actions each day to achieve the 3 Big Goals for each category!
Try the 3 P’s of Planning and please share your 3 Big Goals for each category. Be stubborn with your goals but be flexible with your methods. Shit happens! Don’t give-up when life gets a little messy. Reflect on what’s happening in the moment. Remember to stay Positive (4th P) and adapt to the changes without compromising your values and the big picture.
Thank you and take care!