5 Steps to Making 2015 Successful: It starts with having your B.E.S.T. Plan!

In preparation for a successful new year, I have found over the past twenty years that achieving my goals is influenced by my taking time to plan.  Planning provides an opportunity to objectively assess previous performance, determine what opportunities are available, design a Vision for the New Year, define desired outcomes, establish priorities, and develop a realistic action plan. My plan becomes the blueprint that charts my path to “being my B.E.S.T.” and facilitates achieving goals. The following five steps are fundamental to establishing your B.E.S.T. plan.

Step 1. Conduct a personal self-assessment. Before deciding where you want to go this New Year, take an inventory of the past year. What went well? What were some of your challenges? Were you at your personal B.E.S.T.?  Direct your assessment to 5 key areas of your life- spiritual, health, finances, family, career. Think about what information is needed to assess your performance. Identify the objective data that you need, and seek feedback from individuals who will be honest with you and have your best interest at heart.  Based upon your review of self, identify key discoveries. What strengths do you want to build upon as you go into the New Year? What areas do you need to direct your attention because they may inhibit you from reaching your goals? Overall, what emerges that is important to your future? Having clarity about your current state is essential to creating a realistic plan.

Step 2. Develop your personal Vision.  This step focuses on creating your picture for the New Year. It’s your dream about how you see yourself, what you are doing, what impact you are making. Make a visual picture- create your Vision Board. Use your imagination and don’t limit your view regardless of past or present circumstances. Your Vision should be inspirational and a catalyst that ignites you to get up each day and do the things that are necessary to get to your desired future state.  A personal Vision provides direction and aspiration for a better quality life.

Step 3. Identify your desired outcomes and priorities.  At the end of the New Year given your Vision, what results do you want to see? Make sure your results can be measured. For example, if you want to have more money, how much? Now comes the hard part- identifying your priorities. Our tendency is to want to do too much. Accomplishing your outcomes will require strategic focus. So where do you need to direct your attention?  I want to be healthy and from my assessment recognize that I must lose weight. To lose weight, I could focus on multiple areas (nutrition, physical activity). Given each of these areas has multiple components, it probably would  be more effective if I  chose to focus on one area and mastered it. Then move to the

next area. Outcomes are sustained better when we establish priorities and focus.

Step 4. Establish your goals and actions. For each priority area set goals that are specific and measurable. Be bold- stretch- go for it!   Don’t forget to identify the time you want to complete the goal. What actions must you take to accomplish your goals? Do you have the resources needed? If not, how will you get them?  Integral to achieving your goals is defining how and when you will measure to ensure your goals are accomplished. “That which gets measured gets managed.”

Step 5. Document, review, and make your plan easily accessible.  You need to write your plan down and put it into a format that works for you. Equally important is to identify a place for your plan where you can see it. I am visual and my Visioning Board is on a wall in my bedroom  and the home screen on my Ipad so that every day when I awaken I see my Vision for the year.  Based upon my goals, priorities I develop my Monthly To Do’s that detail my specific actions and I include these on my IPad as well. Finally, I establish dates on my calendar to monitor my performance.  You can’t follow your plan if it is not visible.

It is time to get started!  Today, establish your planning date and get it on your calendar. Make sure you allocate an adequate amount of time. Depending upon how much pre-work is needed, your planning time will vary. December is my planning month. I set aside two half days; it gives me a chance to self-assess one day and then after reflection, return to planning focused on using what I have discovered from my self-assessment.  Make sure you select a place to plan that is free from distractions, and stimulates your creativity. For me that place is the beach. Annually, I return to my favorite beach and find a secluded spot. Sunshine brightens my spirit, the ocean breeze and sound of the waves creates a stimulating environment for me to think. Location matters. Don’t let anything prevent you from taking the time to plan and make 2015 your BEST!