How to Plan Your Year Intentionally

How to Plan Your Year Intentionally

“If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.” ~Jim Rohn

Society has us programmed to get excited about a new year. So much so that New Year’s Day is an actual holiday.

There’s a widespread belief that since the calendar changed over from December 31^st, 20XX to January 1^st, 20XX, that there is now an opportunity for our lives to get better on their own, so we make New Year resolutions.

(On that note, in case you haven’t read my article about why New Year resolutions don’t work, you should definitely give that a read.)

But New Year resolutions are a fad, not a lifestyle.

Resolving to lose weight, quit smoking, or save money won’t get you past January if you don’t actively make a lifestyle change and have a real plan to do so. This is why most New Year resolutions fail.

On that note, many people expect the new year to be better than the last without any real intentional plans to proactively make it better.

If you leave the outcome of your year up to what happens to you or what happens in the world, I have bad news for you: You’re going to be let down this year, too.

Your year will only be as good or bad as you make it to be-regardless of outside circumstances.

With that said, let’s get into how to plan your year intentionally.

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How to Plan Your Year Intentionally

Accept the Unpredictability of Life and Plan Anyway

If 2020 taught us anything, it was a life lesson in unpredictability.

Life has always been unpredictable, and it will continue to be. But you can’t let it stop you from planning your future.

Make plans anyway.

Even if things don’t work out as you planned, you can recalibrate from a place of intention and keep going.

Whatever you do, don’t stay stuck in “I don’t know.” You have to keep moving. Staying “stuck” is the worst thing you can do to yourself.

Just keep taking steps forward.

Not having a plan leaves you susceptible to reacting to whatever life throws at you, versus intentionally living your life.

The bottom line is, you need to have a plan, so you have a sense of purpose. That way, even if disaster strikes, you still have that purpose, and your actions will be led from a place of purpose and not “I don’t know.”

There will always be uncertainty and instability in the world.

Plan your life anyways.

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Get to Know Yourself

Off the cuff, this may sound kind of silly, but stick with me on this.

Paying attention to yourself-understanding your values, passions, what you do for fun, etc., can inform your plans for the future.

This is great if you’re still trying to discover your “why,” or purpose.

Not having an awareness of your purpose makes planning your year difficult, since you won’t know what exactly to plan.

Some great ways to discover more about yourself:

Journal

Spend time in the quiet writing down your thoughts or things you’d like to do. What would your ideal future look like?

Again, don’t succumb to “I don’t know” or “I don’t have any dreams or goals.”

Everyone has an innate purpose God created them to carry out, it’s just a matter of finding yours.

Discovering your purpose is the difference-maker between reacting to life and intentionally living your life (as I mentioned in my first point about making plans).

Journaling is a great way to learn more about yourself.

Try New Things

A great way to understand your purpose is to try new things that interest you.

A little over two years ago, I started this website, and absolutely love what I do. I also tried my hand at freelance writing on UpWork last fall, and it launched a whole new side hustle for me!

Whether it’s taking a cooking class or trying a new job, experiencing new things is a great way to discover your purpose. At this point, it’s hard for me to believe it was just three years ago I was still working my job in corporate America and had no idea the untapped potential within me to do what I’m doing now.

As the saying goes, “you never know until you try.”

Spend Time Alone-Daily

Get comfortable being alone. Wake up early and start a morning routine where you can be alone with your thoughts. You could also go for a walk alone or do other activities alone.

Being comfortable spending time alone is a valuable skill to acquire. People who are afraid to be alone for any length of time tend to be co-dependent on others and have lower self-esteem.

The best way to get to know yourself better is to spend time alone. Not only does it help you learn more about yourself, it will greatly improve your self-esteem and relationships, too.

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Focus on Your Future

Where do you want to be in the next 3-5 years?

Who do you need to become to get there?

Start from there and work backwards.

To plan your year with intention, you need to be future-focused.

Disregard anything that happened in the past. Whether it was something that happened from your childhood or last year, your past doesn’t serve your future, period.

Using excuses based on the past as to why you can’t have what you want now is fruitless.

I used to be this person in my 20’s, and, as you can guess, it got me nowhere.

When I finally developed the ability to drop the past, that’s when the magic started happening.

You also need to quit seeing yourself as the person you were in the past.

As an example, I used to say I was never going to get married because in the few relationships I had prior to my husband, I was always the one getting dumped, so I thought I was just meant to be alone.

A month after I finally dropped this false identity I’d made about myself, I met my husband.

So, don’t base your future on what happened in your past-unless you want to create more of the past (and I know you don’t!)

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Create a Goal for this Year

Once you know your purpose, set one big goal for this year. Then, break it apart into monthly baby goals. It’s easier to focus on one month at a time than the whole year.

Goals aren’t just for “over-achievers” or Olympic athletes-they are for you, too.

People who know their purpose have goals that are specific, measurable, relevant, and time-bound.

Those who achieve their goals have them written down and review them daily.

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Align Your Self-Image to Your Future Self

You have to step into the person you want to become today.

Practice being her.

What does she look like? How does she dress? When does she wake up and go to bed? How does she spend her time? Who are her closest friends? What are her hobbies?

You don’t have to wait for a better day to start being the woman you want to become.

In fact, I’d argue you’re likely to not become her with this kind of perspective.

Everything you want will require a new self-image to obtain it, otherwise, you’ll constantly be fighting with your current self-image trying to break through.

This will require you to choose your thoughts intentionally and create new beliefs about yourself.

If your future self is a woman who is 50 pounds lighter and in shape, you have to start thinking of yourself as her, even if you don’t have the result yet.

Instead of thinking thoughts such as “I hate my body” (not in alignment with the woman you want to become who is 50 pounds lighter), train your brain to replace that with “I love my body.”

When you think thoughts from a place of having enough (learning to love your body even though you’re not at your goal weight, for example), this is where change actually happens.

Fighting yourself against a body you “hate” while trying to lose 50 pounds is counteractive. You may lose some or all of the weight, but you’re likely to gain it back if you hold onto the belief that you hate your body.

Aligning with your future self may require you to overcome imposter syndrome and a lot of discomfort and resistance.

If you see your small business growing to a point where you will be the CEO over several employees, but you’re currently running your business in your sweatpants at home, you may find it odd or uncomfortable to start dressing like a CEO. But if that’s what your future self is doing, it’s time to dress like her.

Think about how you can align your self-image with your future self, and start showing up as her now.

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