It’s that time again. Snow is on the ground, the year is almost over and a new one is almost upon us.

Goodbye 2009. Hello 2010!

You have a plan for the new year, right?

No, you don’t? Really?

Well, have you come to the right place then!

A meaningful existence doesn’t just happen by accident you know, you have to plan. As the old saying goes, “If you don’t know where you are going, then any road will take you there.”

You want to make your own path in life and not be at the mercy of someone else’s plan, right?

Planning your future takes TIC – Time, Introspection and Commitment. Oh, and you’ll need to take Action, too. So, I guess it’s takes TICA.

Time

It takes a lot of time to actually sit down and document your future. It should be done when you are in a positive mental state and are relaxed. I suggest taking either a few days (at a minimum) and set aside this time for yourself. Your future deserves a few days, doesn’t it? If you have more time to devote to planning your upcoming year, then more power to you. Devoting a half-hour on a Saturday morning won’t cut it though. You need time, particularly if this is your first time writing a plan, to sit and think about what you want for your future. Get everything you need for the tasks, paper, pens, laptop, calendar, your journal, coffee, etc.

What do you want for yourself?

I suggest coming up with 3-5 items in several categories, such as Physical, Financial, Family, Spiritual, Social and Career.

On a sheet of paper, write down  the category name. Underneath this category, list 3-5 items that you either want to have or accomplish. I suggest having a broad sentence for this high-level goal at first. You will flesh out this goal later. Continue on separate pieces of paper for each of your goals, for each category. So you’ll end up with 3-5 goals on the Physical sheet, 3-5 goals on the Financial sheet, etc.

Some of the goals should be short-term (6 months), mid-term (1-2 years) and long-term (2+ years). If you already have a plan from last year, you can transfer whatever goals that were not accomplished to your new plan. You won’t achieve everything you’ve written down in the next year so some of your goals should continue into the future.

Next, on a separate piece of paper, write one of your goals at the top of the sheet. Underneath this goal, write down all the tasks that you have to do to accomplish the goal.

Brainstorm your goal. Remember they need to be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-Bound). Having some vague goal for your future that you can’t measure or achieve by the end of next year is not good enough.

Try to think backwards in time and that you have already accomplished the goal. What steps did you take to complete it? What was involved? Write those steps down.

Once you see all the tasks involved in the goal, you will have a better understanding of what you need to do and when to accomplish the goal. When you have the goal mapped out and it’s clear to you, transfer the time-bound tasks to your scheduling system.

Continue with the remaining categories and goals until you become excited about your future and can’t wait to get started!

Introspection

Having to objectively review what went well and what didn’t go so well in your life and what you are going to do about it, takes introspection. Inwardly reflecting on your life takes a lot of courage, too. You have to have some idea of what you want to accomplish or have in your future.

What have you always wanted to do with your life? Think back when you were a child and what you hoped for your future. Okay, maybe you thought you would grow up to be a rockstar when you grew up. It didn’t happen, but you can certainly learn a musical instrument in the upcoming year. Or you can take singing lessons if that’s something you’ve always wanted to do.

These goals should also stretch you. Don’t write down the easy stuff. Write down a goal that will challenge you and make a difference in your life.

Instead of writing down that you want to earn $500 more per month in the new year, write down that you will earn $10 000 more each month in 2010. Then write down all the tasks that you will need to make that much more money. What would you have to do to earn that much more? You can also subdivide your goals, if it makes it more achievable and measurable for you.

Commitment

You have devoted time to the task of planning your upcoming year. You have reflected upon your desires and know what you want. Now it’s time for Commitment.

Do you have the commitment to follow your plan? Do you believe in what you have written down?

Without Commitment to your goals, it’s not going to happen. If you don’t have faith and belief in yourself to accomplish the goals, your Commitment to achieving them will waver. You’ve spent time thinking of what you want for your future, do not let a lack of commitment let you down. You deserve better! Pledge to yourself that you will follow your plan to the best of your ability.

Action

You must be taking action on your goals. If not daily, then at a minimum weekly. Without Commitment and taking Action on your goals, they won’t happen. I suggest you use whatever scheduling method that works for you, whether it’s Outlook’s Calender, Google Calendar, setting up text alerts, paper and pen, etc.

Write down your goals on your calendar and track your progress. We all know that if you write something down and schedule it, the likelihood of it happening increases dramatically.

You won’t remember to do things, so write them down.

If checklists work for you, then use checklists to track your actions against your goals.

Look at your goal list and calendar daily. It will motivate you to see what you have accomplished and what you have planned for your future. You wrote those goals, so they must mean something to you, something that you want to have or accomplish in your life.

Once you have your plan and are taking action and are committed to achieving what you have written down, don’t give up. If you’ve spent the necessary time involved, the introspection to determine what you want in your future, and the commitment to achieve the goals, believe in the plan. It will happen.

Maybe you won’t achieve everything you’ve written down, but I bet you that by this time next year, you will be really surprised at what you have accomplished in your life.

No one is going to do this for you. You have to take personal responsibility for your future and planning for it is a major step to take. Keep in mind the saying, “If it’s to be, then it’s up to me.”

Photo credit: http://www.wordle.net/

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