How to Achieve Your Goals with a Masterplan
Do you have way too many goals you want to achieve but don't really have a plan on how to actually achieve them? Yes? Then we have something in common. Or at least that used to be the case. Life has become a lot easier since I learnt about masterplanning, which was the answer to all my goal setting questions. I first heard about it on Muchelle B's youtube channel which led me to seek out more information on my own and landed on a brilliant blog post by Josh Kaufman. Click the links if you want to check them out.
Masterplanning is exactly what it sounds like. You create the master of all plans so that you will achieve the goals you truly want to achieve. The goal with the exercise is to figure out what you truly want and then make your ambitious goals achievable and motivating. Are you intrigued? Take out a bunch of papers and a pen and keep reading. The exercise is a bit time consuming so if you try it out, make sure you can set aside a couple of hours where you can be alone without distractions.
Take out five sheets of papers and write down the five main categories; career/wealth, relationships, skills/personal growth, health/fitness and enjoyment. Then pick a paper and start writing down every single thing you want to achieve in this area within the next three years. Write down everything, even the embarrassing ones (you can always destroy the papers later), but try to stay focused and only write down what you want and not what you think other people expect of you or what you think you should want. This is all about what you personally truly want to do. Write down as much as you can so that all your desires are on paper. Then move on to the other sheets of paper.
When you've filled your papers with goals its time to focus on your whys. Ask yourself why you want to achieve every single goal at least five times or until you can't come up with another reason anymore and make sure to take notes again. When you've done that you can review your goals and check if there's actually something else you want to achieve and not what your initial goal was. If that is the case, change your goals and write them down again in a new way.
Now it's time to make sure the goals are worded correctly with the PICS rule. Are the goals Positive, Immediate, Concrete and Specific? "I want to launch my own makeup brand and sell 50 000 products." is a good PICS goal. "I should stop wasting time on my phone" isn't. Make sure all your goals are PICS goals before we move on to the next test.
Now we want to make sure your goals are AME goals. Are your goals Ambitious, Motivating and Exciting? The "I want to launch my own makeup brand and sell 50 000 products." goal holds up here if it's something you truly want to do. If it doesn't excite you or motivate you, then you should cross it off.
Okay, so now you have a bunch of well-formed goals on your papers. It's time to decide what's most important. Choose a paper and ask yourself which of the goals you would want to achieve if you could only achieve one of the goals on that paper. If that is too difficult, try cutting out only half the goals at a time until there's only one goal left. Then move on to the next paper and repeat the process.
Before you throw the other goals out the window, write them down on a separate piece of paper titled Some Day so that you're work isn't completely lost. You might need them later once you've achieved your main goals after all!
When you have five well formed goals that you're positive you want to achieve you should double check your emotions. Are you feeling excited or are you feeling overwhelmed or apathetic? If it's the latter two you should reexamine your goals. It doesn't seem like you truly want that after all. If you're happy and excited it's time to break it down to bite sizes so you can start accomplishing everything.
First, ask what you want to achieve in a year. Create one specific goal to achieve in the next 12 months that will help you towards your main goal. When you've done that you should consider what you can do this month to reach your yearly goal and lastly what you can do this week to achieve your monthly goal. Those are your bite sizes. But you're not done yet. Examine these goals with the PICS and AME methods again and make sure they are well-formed before you move on.
And now, make sure you actually check your master plan regularly. Create some kind of morning routine. Maybe look at it while eating breakfast every morning or at your commute? Maybe check it as the last thing you do every evening before bed? Just make sure you check it regularly, okay? Also remember to update it regularly. You won't achieve your goal of travelling all around the world if you visit France every year, now will you?
That's it. Good luck!
Masterplanning is exactly what it sounds like. You create the master of all plans so that you will achieve the goals you truly want to achieve. The goal with the exercise is to figure out what you truly want and then make your ambitious goals achievable and motivating. Are you intrigued? Take out a bunch of papers and a pen and keep reading. The exercise is a bit time consuming so if you try it out, make sure you can set aside a couple of hours where you can be alone without distractions.
Take out five sheets of papers and write down the five main categories; career/wealth, relationships, skills/personal growth, health/fitness and enjoyment. Then pick a paper and start writing down every single thing you want to achieve in this area within the next three years. Write down everything, even the embarrassing ones (you can always destroy the papers later), but try to stay focused and only write down what you want and not what you think other people expect of you or what you think you should want. This is all about what you personally truly want to do. Write down as much as you can so that all your desires are on paper. Then move on to the other sheets of paper.
When you've filled your papers with goals its time to focus on your whys. Ask yourself why you want to achieve every single goal at least five times or until you can't come up with another reason anymore and make sure to take notes again. When you've done that you can review your goals and check if there's actually something else you want to achieve and not what your initial goal was. If that is the case, change your goals and write them down again in a new way.
Now it's time to make sure the goals are worded correctly with the PICS rule. Are the goals Positive, Immediate, Concrete and Specific? "I want to launch my own makeup brand and sell 50 000 products." is a good PICS goal. "I should stop wasting time on my phone" isn't. Make sure all your goals are PICS goals before we move on to the next test.
Now we want to make sure your goals are AME goals. Are your goals Ambitious, Motivating and Exciting? The "I want to launch my own makeup brand and sell 50 000 products." goal holds up here if it's something you truly want to do. If it doesn't excite you or motivate you, then you should cross it off.
Okay, so now you have a bunch of well-formed goals on your papers. It's time to decide what's most important. Choose a paper and ask yourself which of the goals you would want to achieve if you could only achieve one of the goals on that paper. If that is too difficult, try cutting out only half the goals at a time until there's only one goal left. Then move on to the next paper and repeat the process.
Before you throw the other goals out the window, write them down on a separate piece of paper titled Some Day so that you're work isn't completely lost. You might need them later once you've achieved your main goals after all!
When you have five well formed goals that you're positive you want to achieve you should double check your emotions. Are you feeling excited or are you feeling overwhelmed or apathetic? If it's the latter two you should reexamine your goals. It doesn't seem like you truly want that after all. If you're happy and excited it's time to break it down to bite sizes so you can start accomplishing everything.
First, ask what you want to achieve in a year. Create one specific goal to achieve in the next 12 months that will help you towards your main goal. When you've done that you should consider what you can do this month to reach your yearly goal and lastly what you can do this week to achieve your monthly goal. Those are your bite sizes. But you're not done yet. Examine these goals with the PICS and AME methods again and make sure they are well-formed before you move on.
And now, make sure you actually check your master plan regularly. Create some kind of morning routine. Maybe look at it while eating breakfast every morning or at your commute? Maybe check it as the last thing you do every evening before bed? Just make sure you check it regularly, okay? Also remember to update it regularly. You won't achieve your goal of travelling all around the world if you visit France every year, now will you?
That's it. Good luck!
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