Day 16: Action Planning
🎧 PRESS PLAY TO START THIS LESSON
Welcome to Day 16 of Make it Happen!
By now, you’ve identified and listed each of your Roles in life (Day 8), and you’ve used the Drill Down Method (Days 9-10) to create a separate outline for each of your 7-10 most important long-term goals.
Now it’s time to bring it all together…
Switch over to the Materials tab at the top of this page and download today’s action guide. Inside, you’ll find a productivity tool that I call the Action Planner, which is designed to help you identify the steps + strategies you need to make your greatest goals a reality.
Once you’ve downloaded the planner, print it out or open it up (you can type directly into the fields).
Once you’ve got it ready to go, hit the Play button up top and follow along.
A brief explanation for each section of the tool
- Long-Term Goal: In the section marked Long-Term Goal, write down one of your 7-10 long-term goals created with the Drill Down Method. You can choose to write your Ultimate Goal or 1-Year Goal in this section. Pick one and write it down.
- Deadline (for Long-Term Goal): In the section marked Deadline, write down when you plan to accomplish your long-term goal.
- Why This Goal is Important to Me: In the section marked Why This Goal is Important to Me, write a brief explanation of why you’re absolutely committed to making this goal happen.
- Next Actions: In the section marked Next Actions, write down all of the steps necessary to accomplish your goal, ideally in order of priority.
- Deadlines (for Next Actions): In the section marked Deadlines, attach an approximate deadline to each step.
Additional instructions
- One action plan per goal. Create a separate action plan for each of your 7-10 most important long-term goals.
- Flexible deadlines. Keep in mind that nothing is set in stone. Although you want to hold yourself accountable to each of the deadlines you set, don’t be too hard on yourself if you’re unable to meet them — the simple fact that you’ve attached a deadline to the goal is powerful in and of itself. And even if you miss a deadline, you’re still more likely to accomplish your goal faster than you would have if you never set a deadline in the first place.
What to do after you’ve created separate action plans for each long-term goal
- Give yourself a high-five. Now that you’ve broken each of your most important goals down into actionable steps, you can now schedule those steps into your months, weeks, and days.
- Keep your action plans accessible. Have your action plans close at hand and make sure they’re easy to access when you need them. Use either a paper-based solution to organize them, or a digital solution. Whatever you choose, make sure it’s simple, portable, and easy to access.
- Enhance your plans as necessary. Think of your action plans as flexible, “living documents” that you can edit, enhance, or modify as necessary… If you need to adjust or modify any of your next actions, go for it. If you need to change a deadline, do it. If you get new ideas for actions that might help you accomplish your goals, add them to your plans.
- List your goals on a card. Once you’ve created an action plan for each of your long-term goals, grab a 3X5 index card and write your 7-10 long-term goals on it—this gives you a quick glance at what matters most to you right now. Put this card in your purse or wallet and carry it with you at all times. When you wake up in the morning, take a quick look at your card. When you get to work, take a quick look at your card. And before you go to bed at night, take a quick look at your card. This way, the first thing you think about and the last thing you think about every day are your goals. I cannot overstate the power of this simple exercise.
Get ready to make it happen. You’ve drilled down on your goals and you’ve listed your next actions for each of them. But how do you know which one to work on, and when? In our next lesson, I’ll show you how to create a weekly plan that sets you up for success. But for now, think about what you can get done today, tomorrow, or next week to move the needle on your ultimate outcomes and goals. Then, try organizing and executing around these goals by scheduling some of your steps into your calendar or planning system. Go make it happen.
