How to Create a Good Plan for the Future

There are many good reasons to set 10-year goals. They help us better understand what we want, where we are going and how we might get there. More importantly for this article, they also help us determine the endpoint of our 10-year plan.

We might set life goals related to career, money, relationships, lifestyle and much more. The first step is to have an idea of ​​what you want to achieve in each of these areas of life over a ten year period. So, to create a 10-year plan, start by setting SMART goals. SMART goals are a special type of goals that are easier to achieve because they have a few key characteristics. (Lawlor, 2012). SMART goals are Specific, Sensitive, Accessible, Realistic and Understandable. Let’s talk a little more about how to set goals that meet these criteria.

Let’s start with the “M” in SMART, because if your goals don’t make sense, you won’t achieve them. When I say, “Set meaningful goals,” I’m not saying you can’t change your mind about the goal later and pursue something else. I just want to encourage you to set your goals based on the desire for meaning rather than the desire for results. With this change of mind, you set goals that suit you better and are therefore easier to achieve.

Set Values-Based Goals
So how can we set goals that are meaningful to us? We start with our values. If you need help identifying your values, check out this article personal values.

Let’s say you value love, adventure and respect. Ask yourself what goals you have that allow you to live these values. Perhaps you want to live out your value of love through the birth of a child. Maybe you want to experience your adventure by traveling to a foreign country. And you want to live out your value of respect by climbing the corporate ladder in the workplace. These are all objectives that are consistent with values ​​and good decisions for a 10-year plan.

On the other hand, let’s say you value generosity and equality, but your goal is to make a million dollars. If you can’t find a way to align this goal with your values, it can be difficult to stick to it. There will always be a part of you that yearns for something that isn’t really you. In this example, a resolution might be to change your goal and donate 100,000 to charity. This is how you work to earn a million dollars and experience value that you find meaningful.

Set goals based on your lifestyle
Once you understand how your values ​​contribute to your goals, think about the lifestyle you want in 10 years. Ask yourself the following questions:

• How would you like to spend your time?
• What type of work would you like to do?
• Who do you want to be with?

By asking yourself these questions, you can further clarify the goals that are important to you.

​Set concrete goals
Finally, make sure these meaningful goals are specific. What exactly will your values ​​and lifestyle goals be? Once you have at least one goal you want to work toward, you can begin your 10-year plan.

I’m usually good at achieving small goals, but when I achieve these short-term goals, I often feel uncomfortable. For me, it was a very good exercise to think ten years into the future. As an example, here is my most important 10-year goal and 10-year plan.

10-year goals

• Values: I value freedom, security, creativity, friendliness and connection.
• Lifestyle: Flexibility, creativitySpend time with loved ones, volunteer, and pursue hobbies.
• 10-year objective: Financial freedom.
  • ​I added up all my expenses, retirement savings, and “fun money” to get the “magic number,” the income I need each year to reach my goals. Aim.
• Specific objective: Develop my website to the point where it becomes my “magic number”.

10 year plan

• What are the achievable target milestones? Write 2 to 4 articles per week.
• Are these goals and plans realistic? The first year I will probably only write two articles per week while I do other work. I will slowly transition into writing and retire from other jobs. And by fifth grade, I expect to have reached my “magic number.”
  • If I had stopped there, I wouldn’t have thought about what I could do once I achieved this goal. This is why I like the 10-year plan. It forces you to think about what’s next. I realized that I would like to transfer many of my responsibilities to someone else so that I could spend even more time with my loved ones.
• Are these objectives understandable? I track my 10-year plan on a board on Asana.com. And I track the steps leading to my achievable goals in an Excel spreadsheet. Since I started tracking, I’ve published 50 items and tripled my sales. This is how a ten-year plan is implemented.

Now I want you to try to outline some steps in your 10-year plan. Try to complete the following sections on your own sheet of paper.
​
Your 10-year goals

• Values:
• Lifestyle:
• 10-year objective:
• Specific objective:

10 year plan

• What are the achievable target milestones?
• Are these goals and plans realistic?
• Are these objectives understandable?

Check out these articles to learn more about 10-year plans.