September is around the corner. People are starting new jobs, moving on to further study and getting ready for the winter blues.
What are your goals for September?
What do you want to achieve that you previously couldn’t make time for?
I’ve been using action plans for as long as I can remember. It’s normal to feel overwhelmed at some points in life, but it’s important to acknowledge when you’re feeling this way, and take control of it. Creating an action plan can help.
What is an action plan?
An action plan isn’t just about setting goals for yourself. It’s about creating a strategy that allows you to meet those goals.
It can be detailed or summarised. It’s always good to get creative with it; using different colour pens for different areas, and a layout you can familiarise yourself with easily. That may be in the form of a table or a spider diagram.
It’s a tool that is tailored to you, and can be done at your own convenience. My latest book covers how I made an action plan to create a new income for myself. Find out how I did this by baking cupcakes with no experience via link below:
How To Become A Freelancer: Start Making Money On Your Own Terms
Here’s a simple step process to creating your action plan:
1. Set your goal
It’s important to be realistic when setting your goal. For example, if you’re trying to lose weight, give yourself a reasonable time frame to achieve your goal.
Example: I want to lose 1 stone in 3 months
2. Choose your action steps
Your action steps must be attainable and concrete. They must be steps that you can actually achieve so that you reach your goal. If you set action steps that aren’t attainable, then you risk not completing them at all.
Examples:
Attend the gym 1-2 times a week
Limit junk food to one day a week
Replace a sugary drink with a fresh smoothie once a day
3. Stay consistent
Staying consistent with the steps in your action plan is what will get you to your final goal. The whole point of the plan is to break down the journey towards that goal, and make what needs to be done clear to you. Set action steps that you know that you’ll be able to follow.
4. Keep your action plan time specific
Keeping your action plan time specific makes it measurable. After completing your action plan, you’ll be able to see what you were able to achieve in your specified time frame. You’ll be able to analyse what you’ve done and see how you can improve if you’d like to do a new plan.
To summarise, using action plans to stay organised and reach your desired goals is simple. You can apply your action plan to whatever goal you want. Whether you’re trying to lose weight or trying to be more productive, there are action steps for every goal.
Your action steps should be realistic in order to be attainable. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Create steps that you’re able to follow that doesn’t disrupt your priorities.
Find out more about what could help you manage your business better in my books, Time is Money and How To Become A Freelancer below:
Time is Money and How To Become A Freelancer
I’m working on some new templates for those that may need some extra help. Comment any ideas or things you’d like to see in the templates.
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