How to Create a Life Plan

One of the key characteristics of life is its constant evolution. When you feel directionless or simply wish to define your priorities, it's time to think about setting up a life plan. The beauty of a life plan is that you can shape your life's structure, while still allowing room for change and growth. Continue to Step 1 to begin creating your life plan.

Reflect on your current roles. Every day, we play different roles, or label ourselves according to our actions. These roles may include 'daughter', 'artist', 'student', 'girlfriend', 'cheese lover', and so on. Write these down on a piece of paper. Which role feels the most consistent?

• Other examples of roles include (but are not limited to): chef, dog lover, brother/sister, photographer, boss, mentor, traveler, grandchild, thinker, etc.

Reflect on the roles you aspire to take on in the future. Some (if not all) of your current roles may continue to define you in the future, such as being a ‘mother’ or ‘artist’. However, these are titles you’d like others to use when describing you later in life. Think about any current roles that cause you stress or negatively affect your life – perhaps these are elements you’d like to eliminate from your future list.

• To help create your list, consider what you hope to achieve. Would you like to travel to a new country because you’ve never left home? If so, you should add ‘traveler’ to your future list.

Consider the reasons why you want to take on, or already take on, these roles. In order to create a life plan, it’s crucial to identify your current priorities. To do this, reflect on the roles you wish to continue or add to your future life. What is your motivation behind wanting to take on a specific role? Perhaps becoming a ‘parent’ is part of your future goals because you want to have children with your partner and give them a wonderful life.

• An insightful way to identify the deeper reasons behind your desires is to imagine your own funeral (though it may feel morbid, it’s a helpful exercise!). Who would attend? What would you want them to say or describe about you? Perhaps the most important thing you want others to say is that you were an amazing mother and changed the lives of thousands of animals through the organization you volunteered with.

Write down your priorities. Once you’ve considered the reasons behind what you want to become or accomplish in life, you should make a list of them. Creating a list will help you stay organized as you form your plan.

• For example, your list could include: ‘I am a ‘sister’ because I always want to be there to support my brother’; ‘I want to be a ‘writer’ to tell the story of my grandparents,’ etc.

Think about your physical and emotional needs. What do you need to become the person you want to be? If one of the roles you aim to take on is ‘climbing Mount Everest,’ your physical needs may include staying fit and eating healthily. If one of your roles is being a ‘friend,’ your emotional needs will be fulfilled when you're surrounded by people you care about.

Consider the goals you want to achieve in life. Use your roles, priorities, and needs to reinforce a few elements you want to accomplish. You can think of this list as a 'bucket list' – what do you want to do before you pass away? Remember, these are the goals you truly desire to achieve, not those you think others expect of you. If you need a little help narrowing down your ideas, consider categorizing your goals. Examples of categories include:

• Career/Profession; Social (family and friends); Finances; Health; Travel; Knowledge/Understanding; and Spirituality.
• Example goals (following the above categories): Become a renowned architect; get married and have two children; earn enough money to comfortably pay for your children's university education; maintain a weight of 54 kg; visit every continent; achieve a Master's degree in Architecture; visit the Borobudur Temple.

Write down specific goals along with a timeframe for achieving them. Once you have outlined the general goals you want to accomplish in life, such as obtaining a Master's degree, set specific targets and deadlines. Here are a few examples of more concrete goals compared to the vague ones mentioned earlier:

• Lose 5 kg by October 2017.
• Be accepted into the Master's program in Architecture by February 2018.
• Travel to Indonesia to visit the Borobudur Temple in 2019.

Define the steps necessary to achieve your goals. This means evaluating your current situation. What steps must you take from your current position to actually accomplish your goals? For example, if your goal is to obtain a Master's degree in Architecture:

• From now until February 2018, you need to: A. Research graduate programs in Architecture. B. Write all necessary documents to apply for the program. C. Complete the application form and submit it to the relevant authority. D. Wait for responses from the school. E. Choose the program you want to attend based on the school that accepts you. F. Register for classes!

Write down the steps you need to take to achieve each goal. You can do this in any format you prefer – handwritten, in a Word document, on a large sheet of paper, etc. Whatever format you choose, ensure you write down the steps needed to achieve each goal in chronological order. Congratulations – you’ve just created your life plan.

• This is a good time to review the details of each step – for example, the names of the graduate programs you plan to apply to. Or, if one of your goals is simply to be happy, write in detail about what would bring you the most happiness throughout the process.

Reevaluate your life plan. The truth is, life is constantly changing – and so are we. The goals and priorities you set at 15 might not align with the ones you have at 25 or 45. You need to regularly reassess your life plan to ensure that you're on track with a plan that can lead to happiness and fulfillment.

• When reviewing your life plan, you should also evaluate the success you've achieved. Tracking your achievements is a good practice.

Adjust your life plan. When you notice that your priorities and the related goals have shifted, it's time to reconsider at least a part of your life plan. Take into account what matters more to you now and the steps required to reach these new goals. You can readjust your life plan as often as necessary.

• Don't limit yourself to a few specific goals – your life plan is flexible. Add new goals when they become priorities and remove those that no longer matter.

• Continue reassessing and adjusting your plan. Your life will frequently change – so will your plan.
• Don't be too hard on yourself if you can't achieve your goals within the timeframe you initially set – adjust your plan and keep moving forward.