Update // The Art of Crafting a Year - Hello 2018

Back in January 2015, I wrote a pretty extensive blog post about my planning process that you can read HERE. I had been asked for years to document it, but I did not....because frankly it is a work-in-process (much like it's author). Of course, no sooner had I finally pushed that post out, I wanted to delete it - worried it was incomplete or too much. Since then, I have taught others from it, spoke on the topic, and continued to tweak my own process. It still feels incomplete and undone, but I am pushing through to write an update here and share. I believe I have learned a lot over the past three years since that original post; I guess you could say I have new words on the subject I want to share.

 

So....without further ado...

Planning is an art, not a science. I promise. If you are not looking at is as something you study faithfully and then make your own, you are going to fail before you start. We are all hot-wired differently and to try and all follow the same exact process is an act of futility. Case in point, my business partner has a once in a generation mind, but he couldn't follow my planning process if his life depended on it (and lets be clear, sometimes it has...;) because I thought I would kill him for not being prepared for this or that). I have learned over five years to let him find his own way (also called a lesson in patience #blessme). So, I BEG you dear reader to read this, click and read the links I am imbedding throughout, and then sit down with water/coffee/wine/etc., and take the time to figure out what your optimum planning process looks like. Don't be a child (like I myself often am) and just throw your hands up; do the work. It is worth it; I promise.

 

In the past, I have been ALL about finding a quiet place to start, but this year I got a little excited (like my niece's new puppy) and just dug in between meetings at the office. I squeezed in the tasks throughout the days, over dinner, and then curled up in bed before going to sleep. Yesterday, I knocked out the next to last - really the hardest part when you start pulling it all together (hence the link above to my detailed post), and then today I am making sure I have everything in my new 2018 planner. It is a WHOLE THING I can tell you that.

 

 

Here are things I have added:

 

• Click HERE and sign up for The Well Studio Dreamers + Doers emails and get access to their FREE "Reflect + Refocus 2018 Worksheets" which compliment well...

 

• ....the End of Year Reflection pages at the back of your Passion Planner which I have promoted for over three years; I love mine. The monthly and yearly reflections are amazing, but the real GIFT is the front "Passion Roadmap" pages which I can testify actually works as I just finished late yesterday my 2017 reflections and was SHOCKED at how much I had accomplished in a year where I was sure I had come up short. Joke is on me. It matters...this act of WRITING it all down.

 

• If you use a Passion Planner and the "Passion Roadmap," I add a step highlighting those items that are carryovers from a previous year. I like to know what I am STILL working on.

 

• I ordered my word for 2018 (see post about that HERE) on a Giving Key (link in the post) so that I would have it with me throughout the year to remind me. Also JEWELRY! Also job creation. Triple WIN.

 

• I put post-it notes on my mirror (not new) with my word for 2018 (new) and reasons for it (also new) and my top three BIG goals for 2018 (also new) as a daily reminder while I get ready in the morning of what this year is about for me + God.

 

• I started two additional "journals" for 2018. One for JUST the business I co-run day-to-day, and the other for EVERYTHING else (personal projects, ideas, dreams, writing, etc.). I have tried doing just one Moleskine for everything, but that just gets TOO hard...and confusing.

 

• Going back to my planner, I go ahead and map out the first month and week in it. I really want to wake up that first day of the new year/first work day of the new year with a plan in place. It truly helps me.

 

• I write out an "optimum" daily schedule, Sunday - Saturday, in the back blank pages of my planner. I write it in pencil. It is an optimum, but it also is apt to change.

 

• I also added this year a list of "selfish" wants for the year. I have done a lot of gleaning over the past 5-6 years so this year I wanted to acknowledge that there are some things I don't really need, but I do really want in my life...and that is okay. Manicures and pedicures were at the very top of the list. I am such a girl (and proud of it). The list is made up of stuff I want weekly/monthly or even simply ongoing. An example from the ongoing list is that I really want to hire a virtual assistant. I mean FOR REAL. I have a lot of "pet projects" and board stuff I am involved with, and it is not optimum for me to be doing certain items tied to any of it. I need some tangible help. Also, lets be clear, there is a lot of stuff I am simply not very good at, and I am giving up trying to focus on getting better at it. I would rather focus on stuff I enjoy, need to improve on, or that I am good at and want to get even better at. Another ongoing is one I am really excited about tied to my HEALTH, but I am not leaking that one yet because I am going to be a guinea pig (a very willing one) so that will have to be shared in time.

These are the big changes, and I would add that one thing I am committed to this year is looking at this planner every single day, even if just for a couple of minutes. I invest a lot of time in prepping for the year and too often in the past, I sit my planner aside and get consumed in the hustle and bustle of the year. The whole point of doing all of this is to use it as a guide ALL year, EVERY day. Not hit it and quit it. I challenge you to do the same. Get one that is small enough (or big enough) to carry in your purse or briefcase. Keep it with you (like your cell phone or wallet). There is solid gold material in there - treat it as such.

 

Now...go find a place to sit and dream for a spell.

 

Wishing each and every one of you a wonderful new year.

 

Here is to 2018.