Most people with the drive to improve themselves will start making changes in their lives. However, after a few weeks, their efforts dissipate, and disappointment kicks in. Why? Most people don’t set a self-development plan to help them make their goals and dreams a reality.
Without a plan, it can be easy to wander off and lose track of your path. Having a self-development plan in place allows you to come back to this roadmap whenever you feel as if you need help. Ideally, your self-development plan is that document you use to input the destination, with an estimated arrival time and all.
How to Use this Self-Development Plan
As you start to fill in this self-development plan, keep in mind that its efficacy depends 100% on your honesty and commitment. Keep reading to learn how to use this GR8 template to help you stay on track.
Define Your Goals
To help you find your goals, divide your self-development journey according to the different areas of your life. For example, a personal goal can be communicating better with your partner. While a professional goal might be hosting a company lunch and learn. Other goals also include fitness-related ones, such as start exercising once a week. Regardless of what your goals are, make sure they’re:
S: Specific
I: Intentional
T: Timely
A: Accountable
Use this guide to set self-development goals for more advice.
Prioritize Your Goals
Even if your self-development plan has only five different goals, you must prioritize and work at them one at a time. One of the best ways to help you prioritize is using the Pareto Principle, most often known as the 80/20 rule. Use this time management rule to help you prioritize your goals and assign a real value to each one.
Set a Timeline
An intention without a timeline is a dream, not a goal. From the moment you set your heart and mind to something, make sure you set a strict deadline for the event. Of course, you want to make sure this is a realistic timeline. For example, if your goal is to learn a new language, don’t set the goal to expire in two weeks.
Use this guide to help you plan your goals using a realistic timeline.
Find Your Execution Strategy
To go from point A to point B, you need resources, tools, and actions that move you towards achieving your goal. However, these shouldn’t be left to chance. As you write down your goals, connect the different activities that are going to help you get there. For example, if your goal is to start exercising, your execution plan should include a fitness schedule and an accountability partner.
Make sure you write down everything you need to start working towards your goals. However, writing down the things you need to stop doing — aka procrastinating — is just as important. Be mindful of these activities that might bring you down and keep you from reaching your goals.
Enlist Your Support System
Look at your mental Rolodex and figure out who can help you reach your goals. On occasions, we might need someone with a different set of skills to help us reach our goals. For example, fitness goals might require a fitness trainer. If your goal is to learn a new skill, an online course or a mentor can help. Whatever your goal is, make sure to find a professional or someone that can help you reach those goals.
Measure Your Progress
Without tracking, there’s no way to know if you’re getting closer to reaching your goals. Write down different milestones that can help you realize where you’re standing in terms of meeting your goal. These should be specific points that you can measure with a test, an activity, or an accomplishment.
Use this guide on how to measure your self-development progress to help you get started.
Choose your Rewards
Finally, once you reach your goals, make sure there’s a reward waiting for you at the end of your journey. Having a tangible reward makes the effort that much more worth it. You can choose to have small rewards at every milestone and a significant reward once you mark your goal complete. Having a reward system in place works as an accountability partner since you’re working towards something tangible.
A Note from GR8NESS
Remember that this self-development plan is meant to adjust to your journey. Whether you’re choosing to work on a personal, professional, emotional, or financial level, using a self-development goal planner can help you get there faster. You got this!
Originally published at https://www.gr8ness.com on May 13, 2020.
