One of the great things about our Commit30 Planner is there are so many options to customize it to make it work for you! Here is a a quick video showing how I set up my planner.
At the beginning of each year (usually a few days before January 1st) but you can do this at any point - I go through a rather extensive goal review of the previous year and planning session for the upcoming year in as much detail as possible. I look at my goal list to see where I hit the mark and where I didn’t. I look at our budget - how’d we do with our spending overall and our savings goals. I look at how I spent time & energy in all of my 12 vision circles - do I feel I gave attention & energy to all aspects of my life?
Now with my new planner the first thing I do is create a vision board in the front of my planner - pictures, quotes, things that inspire how I want this year to feel like & look like. Check out our blog for tips on how to make a vision board if you’ve never made one before.
Next, I will write down my top 3 goals for the year. I set yearly (top 3 in both personal and business) goals. Your goals should be milestones that you can work toward to help you live your best life. You can’t have 45 different goals and expect success. You need to be laser focussed on 1-3 goals that by reaching them will bring you closer to your life vision & big dreams.
Powerful goals are built on your core values - the things that are most important to you (family, community, freedom, etc.). It’s also important to figure out the “why” behind your goals. Ask yourself, “why do I want to be healthier? - to be able to live a long & healthy & active life with my children & grandchildren.” What will it feel when you get there? Visualize reaching that goal.
In my vision circle pages I write down category specific goals or projects that will help me live out a well-rounded year. What do you want this year to look like and feel like? Ask yourself what do I want to accomplish this year, what adventures do I want to have, How can I affect greater change? For example, under marriage/partner - weekly date nights & at least one trip away together without the kids. I’ll do this for all 12 vision categories.
Next I’ll go through and write in things like birthdays, anniversaries, school events, school vacations, family vacations, business deadlines, launches, meetings, doctor’s appointments, holidays, date nights, self-care days, and long weekends. I’ll also add post-it notes about each month about things that I’ll need to remember or spend some time on. Here’s an example - in April I know the following big bills will be due. And I know that in late April or early May we’ll have to do all of our spring yard work; fire mitigation and clearing out the irrigation ditches. These tasks will take several weekends so I want to make note of that so we don’t overbook ourselves with guests or too much out of town travel during that time. In September I know that I will have to plan our son’s birthday party, order halloween costumes and help with classroom parties. I know that the first few weekends in November are theater shows that we’ll need to be around for.
I’ll then get to work on my January vision board & monthly goals. What specific things do I want to accomplish in January? What can I do this month to begin working or jumpstart on this year’s overall goals? What will I commit to this month? And what specific projects or tasks do I want to attempt to complete this month - I’ll pull from this monthly list to create work & life to do list priorities each week.
I also figure out what my 30-day challenge is going to be this month. Then I’ll break down my overall goals into 30 day challenges - what can I do for 30 days that will help move me forward towards my overall goals. I’ll plan out some monthly goals (eg. Dry January or March No Spend Month) and I will use the 30-day challenges to help track my efforts towards those specific goals. Check out all of our free 30 day challenges here.
Each week I’ll set weekly & daily commitments to my goals and make specific plans for how, when & where I’ll work on my goals. I suggest waking up early to focus on your goals. Be specific & consistent but also know when to rest or readjust. Make time to work on your goals everyday for at least 30 minutes. Plan out your day in detail the night before - your top priorities, your workout (when & where), your meals, etc.
For each weekly section I use the customizable rows for money spent, workout tracking & dinner plans. You can use them however you want - some people use them for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner meal plans; some for top 3 tasks of the day or as a gratitude journal.
At the end of the month I’ll review what I got accomplished and what I didn't - what might have to be moved to the next month. I’ll review my commitment to my 30-day challenge and reward myself for a job well done.
In the back notes pages, I’ll have sections using our leather tabs for meeting notes; birthday/gift ideas; holiday plans; home project lists; budget/spending tracking & more.
