How to Create a Life Plan: Life Planning 101
So I have to be honest here… according to my “plan”, this post was supposed to come out a month ago. Isn’t it ironic that the post about having my life together is the one I procrastinated to put out there? It just goes to show you that the step-by-step outline in this post is just that. An outline. It is meant to help you guide your efforts and plan out your days to live with purpose and meaning. It is supposed to help you find your passions and make your dreams a reality. But please know that your dreams WILL change. Change is the only constant in life and although it can be very hard to accept, there is beauty in the changes that will come. So as you sit here, ready to plan out your life and every little detail to follow, know that it’s ok if things change later down the line or you need to adjust what you create today. Let's dive into your life planning 101 sessions!
HOW TO PLAN YOUR LIFE TASK #1: IMAGINE YOUR DREAM LIFE
To begin I want you to get really vulnerable with yourself. Let your imagination run wild and put no limitations on what you are capable of. Even if it seems impossible today, even if your best friend doesn’t think you can, even if it puts you in a completely different career field.
JOURNAL ON THIS:
What will your dream life look like in 10 years?
What is your career?
What is a day in the life of you in 10 years?
Who are you with?
Are you married, kids, the CEO of a major company, or maybe the founder of a non-profit?
In your journal (online or physical), take this time to write out your ideal day from start to finish, hour by hour, including what your job is, what your relationships look like, how you see yourself, and more! This is the creative and fun daydreaming that you used to do as a kid so go crazy and outline the best life possible.
HOW TO PLAN YOUR LIFE TASK #2: WRITE OUT THE STEPS
You now have a future vision of yourself. You are a badass boss babe ready to create her dream company that will impact millions in 10 years. You are the college kid learning all they can about the environmental impact humans have so that in 10 years you can spend your life helping others make a positive impact on the earth. Whatever you dreamed up, there is a path that can get you there.
I want you to outline the different steps it will take to get you exactly where you want to be. *Knowing that this path will likely change* But this will be an editable outline so you can start checking off boxes and moving in a forward direction towards your ideal life.
I’LL GIVE YOU SOME IDEAS FOR WHAT TO INCLUDE:
What degree do you need?
Are graduate programs required? Are college degrees required?
How will you begin to make an income while working to create your dream life?
What are areas you could pursue to give you experience in the field you are looking to go into? Can you be paid for these opportunities?
Can you think of potential collaborations or mentors that you should be forming relationships with to get you to where you need to be?
What are the steps to your dream job? Do you need to make a program, build an audience, and then work with your audience with your program in order to live your dream life? Or maybe your dream life requires an internship, residency, working for another business, then opening a private practice?
What is the step right before you are living your dream life?
Now that you have your step-by-step outline, put it in a place where you can check things off and see it constantly. For me, this is in a note on my phone. I created checkboxes for each of my stepping stones and as I reach them, I get to check it off and start working for the next step!
HOW TO PLAN YOUR LIFE STEP #3: BEGIN TO WORK ON THE FIRST STEP
This one step may be the hardest to focus on, but is the most critical! It is fun and exciting to dream up your ideal life, but putting in the work when the dream is nowhere in sight can be exhausting and hard. But looking at the steps you just outlined, you can imagine this outline as your road map. You must first hit checkpoint one before moving on to checkpoint two.
This is crucial in helping you focus on one thing at a time and not get overwhelmed at how daunting your ideal life may be.
HOW TO PLAN YOUR LIFE STEP #4: CHECK THE BOXES, ERASE, AND RE-WRITE THE PATH
Do your very best as you work on completing your first action item and know bumps may appear and the road map may change. But as long as you keep working on the step in front of you, you will always be moving in the right direction.
Success will not be a linear path. There will be u-turns and twists and turns that you never saw coming, but having a plan to keep you on track when the world tries to derail you will help you get to that final dream destination.
So where will your road map take you? Will you continue to move forward with your life plan and focus on the road in front of you? Make your dreams become a reality by mapping it out and checking the boxes until one day you look at your outline and all the boxes are checked!
Get to journaling and planning my friends! Your life is just as amazing as you are!
Xoxo,
LBL
