The new year is right around the corner so it’s time to get our planning on! Oftentimes new year goals can be overwhelming especially if you have lots you want to get done. So where do you start to plan for the new year? Right here. Here is how to plan for the new year the right way.
5 Steps to Help You Plan for The New Year The Right Way
Step #1: Look Back
Looking back at the previous year is so important, and this is right where you need to start. Often we get so consumed with what’s next that we forget that success is now. What have you done this year, what were your accomplishments and achievements? Celebrate those now! We tend to focus more on our mistakes and bad memories than the totally awesome things that happened! Think about what went well and what did not go well.
Also think about, what did you learn in the past year? What are you grateful? What time wasters did you have? When you were at your best and loving life in the last year, what were you doing? If you are a business owner, what made you the most money?
What networking or professional events did you attend that were totally worth it? What books did you read that you loved? When did you have the most fun in your work? You want to do more of this fun stuff in the new year!
Even if it was a volunteer activity or just five minutes in your workday, write that down and focus on doing more of that this year.
Also if you are a business owner, when you were promoting what worked the best? Was it a certain social media channel? Was it talking to people? Was it webinars? FOCUS IS KEY!!
Find what works and repeat over and over. So look back and figure out what worked. What made you happy and do more of it in in the new year.
Step 2: Conquer Your Fears
This one was a big one for me in 2014 and 2015. There is something called the imposter syndrome. Many high-achieving females tend to believe that they are not as intelligent as other people think. Meaning they felt like impostors or someone’s going to find them out!
The impostor phenomenon in high achieving women was actually studied by psychologists who found that women have a pattern of dismissing accomplishments and believing that their success would disappear once others discovered the awful secret that they were, in fact, “impostors.”
So if you are feeling scared or unsure about your dreams and thinking “Am I really good enough?” You just have to learn to ignore that little voice and march on! So how could this syndrome be affecting your career? Maybe you aren’t going for a job because you don’t think you are qualified for it OR you aren’t starting a business you want or taking your business to the next level because you don’t think you are qualified. You just don’t think you could do it.
If you have any of these thoughts, here’s what I want you to do: Write your answers to the following questions
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What fears come up as you go through your goals?
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What’s the worst that could happen if you go after your goals?
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What is the best that can happen if you go after your goals?
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Is it worth the risk to go all in?
When you ask yourself these questions, you might find that the worst is not so crazy and it’s totally worth the risk. That is what I have realized when I have some crazy scary goal. For instance, when I hosted my own live event I thought no one would show up. But when I thought about the worst that could happen, no one shows up….oh well! At least I learned, prepared for it, and can use what I learned for next time! (Also, they showed up) 🙂
Step 3: Create a Vision Board
The purpose of a vision board is that whatever you focus on increases your chances that it will happen in your life. It’s called the Law of Attraction. The Law of Attraction is the name given to the belief that “like attracts like” and that by focusing on positive or negative thoughts, one can bring about positive or negative results. If you have ever seen the movie The Secret, you have heard of this.
I think vision boards are so powerful because you are putting your goals on paper and when you write down your goals, you are 80% more likely to achieve them. Vision boards add clarity to your goals because instead of just writing them down, you are looking at the image of it every day.
Before you start cutting up the magazines and gathering images and words, make sure you have an idea of what you want to focus on in your vision. You should have your goals for the year out and ready to glance at while you are pulling images from the magazines.
Once you know what you want to focus on, start cutting! Don’t worry about putting all the images on the board until the very end. This part took a lot longer than I thought it would take. So make sure you set aside a chunk of time because you don’t want to be rushed! Make sure you cut images that really mean something to you. You can be picky and don’t feel like you need a lot of pictures or words.
Step 4: Establish Your Goals
First, you are going to write down all of your ideas. Do a brain dump. What are all the things that you would love to do? Write everything down. Don’t hold anything back. Then, from this long crazy list, I want you to pick three main goals you are going to focus on this year. Write these three things down on a notecard.
Then create a 2017/2018 and 2019 list and put all the other stuff there. Finally, create a 90-day plan for your next 90 days. So in order to reach your annual goals, what must you do in these next 90 days? Just focus on these 90 days and I promise you will get results.
When you establish your goals, remember to have a plan for the following list as well:
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What books are on your reading list for the year?
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What events do you want to attend this year?
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What training programs you want to do this year?
Also, include who you want to add to your network and who you want to get closer to. Maybe there is someone you know that could really help you get your dream career. Make a list of those people and make this the year that you take them to coffee or do an informational interview with them.
Maybe with the career you want is in an industry where you don’t many people. Make a plan to add more of those people to your network by attending professional events or reaching out to people in LinkedIn groups.
