What is important to you this year? Personally? Professionally? Physically? Spiritually? Other areas? Earlier I challenged you to think about your values. This is a way of thinking more deeply about what you will and won’t do this year. Now it’s time to take it a step further.

Writing it Down

Increasingly, I’ve discovered that if I want important things to happen, then the more early thinking and planning that I do the better. And I don’t come by it naturally. (I’m an MBTI “P” and a Birkman “blue.”) But in working with clients in my own practice, I’ve learned that this kind of planning is critical.

FBTSOYP, better known as “flying-by-the-seat-of-your-pants” is the modus operendi for too many. People like this have a good general idea of what’s important and what they want to get done. But they rarely write it down, let alone back into it with a plan. I believe that to really ensure that all priorities are covered, you need to write them down or record them. They’re not set in stone forever and they can be changed throughout the year. But at least your initial thoughts are recorded somewhere.

Here’s what I’ve done for myself this year, I’ve created what I call my Goal Sheet. I’ve written down, categorized and prioritized everything that’s important to me this year and what I want to accomplish. Here’s a sample of several categories and sub-categories:

Personal: Spiritual, Relationships, Health
Business: Professional Development, Website, Marketing/Networking, Partnerships, Organization,

Each of these categories have subheadings and more. It’s about four pages right now. I use bullet points (not paragraphs) to keep it clean and readable. Even for this “P” I love having my key priorities on paper. Here’s how it helps:

• It compels me to think early about what I want to accomplish
• It creates a priority framework that I can refer to throughout the year
• It keeps me in check. When some new opportunity comes along, I can check to see if it aligns with my priorities. If it does, I determine how to incorporate it. If it doesn’t, I pass on it. If it doesn’t fit but I believe that it’s important, then I incorporate it and re-prioritize
• It actually kind of comforts me to know that everything that’s important to me this year is on paper

Remember, this Goal Sheet is a dynamic document. You’ll review and update it throughout the year.

Whether it’s on the plane or some carved out quiet time, sit down and start thinking. You might discover the power of planning versus FBTSOYP!