My Year-End Planning Routine
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I didn't anticipate getting Covid—who does? But especially not "long Covid.”
I’m grateful that fatigue and brain fog were the only two issues that lingered since my late-May 2022 infection. But recently the fatigue has subsided, and the brain fog is seemingly lifting a bit.
Now, I’m actively trying to read and write daily again.
It’s been tough, but I’m doing my best, and that’s what matters.
I taught planning and organizing “for success” in my former business, but the pandemic’s surprises left me with years of unmet goals and needs. And after 2022’s continued surprises, I decided a solid, flexible plan (now that I've rebuilt other important routines) is absolutely necessary to continue growing and producing.
And now I'll share my method with you.
First off, in preparation of each new year, I brainstorm what my most important goals are for the next five years.
Since I do it annually, I simplify the goals and confine them to one page.
After, I brainstorm all the projects I want to accomplish in the new year.
These don't have to reflect the goals, however, before moving onto the next steps, note that your “top priority” projects should support your goals.
I say “should” because I’ve found that the only projects myself and others I’ve coached ever actually complete are ones that align with our goals and values.
Dream big, but be realistic.
I’ve found that keeping these lists to a single page—like in the pictured cloud-like format above—infuses them in realism, even when my goals have been grandiose in the past.
Based on the 5-year goals and listed projects for the upcoming year, brainstorm recurring tasks that support achieving said goals while also completing your projects.
For example, I have:
[Regularly] attend writers group(s)
Dedicate time to reading
Take writing class(es) and/or utilize Skillshare/Masterclass/Hugo House (a Seattle writing instruction hub) classes
Write 12-16 hand-written (equivalent) pages every weekday
Walk daily
Complete daily “brain dumps”/daily reviews/closing of loops
Write 3 affirmations or at least 1 thing I’m grateful for daily
And so on.
Then review current, active, or ongoing projects.
Ask yourself: What else do I need (to do) to complete them?
Write those actions down (even if some are repetitive) from your recurring support-tasks list.
And be sure to ask yourself if your current projects still align with your (new) goals and projects, or if they’re worthwhile continuing.
I know it’s hard to drop a project sometimes, but if it’s not the time or it doesn’t align with what you want moving forward, it’s better to cut or pause it before you get in too deep.
After, brainstorm personal and family needs or appointments. Include (estimated, even) timeframes.
Say, you're planning a trip to see family in February, and you know you need to schedule a procedure or surgery sometime in the first quarter of the year, as well.
Here are some of my example questions I ask myself in preparation for a scenario like this:
Did you already schedule a consult? When is that?
Can you estimate when the procedure/surgery will be? Or, when could/should you request for it to occur?
Based on forum research, can you estimate how long recovery may take? (In my specific example-case: My right arm and hand are currently almost 11 weeks post-op and I’m still experiencing some soreness, stiffness, and occasional pain. I’ll estimate 12-14 weeks for a full recovery on the left arm and hand.)
How will you spend the downtime post-op?
How can you prepare in advance for the downtime?
Will you take a break? Or will you have, say, pre-written material to share during that period?
Note as many details as you can fathom.
And, seriously, don’t forget to plan fun stuff. This is probably more a note to myself than it may be for you. But if you’re like me, prioritizing fun and social events is a must because my work is fun for me. I’ll completely neglect a social life if I don’t plan for it.
A vacation? A not-so-random day-trip with your family? Parent-child date(s)? Dates with your friend, partner or spouse?
I tend to not plan these things and go years without a proper vacation/well-spent time off.
Then, refine (if necessary) your projects list.
Which projects are priorities (based on your goals and/or your immediate needs)?
You can print and display both activities side-by-side to help you visualize and decide. Then, based on their priority level, break each project and even your events down into actionable steps.
One of my 2023 Projects is to redesign my writing website. It’s low priority for me, but using that as an example: Some steps I need to take are to:
get professional headshots and photos done
set new goals and a primary homepage focus for the site
set a goal with a single, desired outcome for each page
rewrite the homepage intro
rewrite the About page
etc.
I also list things that “might be nice” if the time/energy/necessity exists or comes into existence.
One direct example of that is to potentially redesign the actual site; or even take it off Squarespace and code my own website since I've already riddled the existing one with so much HTML and CSS to make it do what I want that there's really no point in spending the extra money on a higher cost content management platform when a static website is all that’s necessary. (They’re so much faster, too.)
Then, estimate how long it will take. Guess high.
For example, I tend to underestimate how long things take me. Even editing this: I spent the whole day picking up any home project I could find just to avoid editing. I estimated it would take me two hours to snap some photos (on a seriously gray Seattle day…), plus proofing, rewrites, and editing… I don’t know who I thought I was when I estimated two hours, but it’s been almost triple the time at this point. (I completely forgot about the worksheet templates I wanted to make for you.)
A recent tool discovery that is improving my planning and prep is Goblin Tools—a neurodivergent-friendly free web app (check your App Store for a low-cost phone application option).
Under the Magic To-Do tab, you can plug in your project or task, select your “spiciness” level (how much heavy-lifting you need the app to do to break it down for you. Then select the magic wand icon for the AI to break down the project/task into subtasks for you, which each can also be broken down into further subtasks. Then click on the three-dot menu and select “Estimate” to have the AI break down how long the project will take you, roughly. This also estimates each individual subtask for you.
I’ve found that the AI is way more detailed in task breakdown than I would be, as it covers basically every conceivable subtask possible. So you won’t always follow everything. However, it’s so nice to see it break everything down and give you a solid idea of the (roughly) maximum amount of time said project or task should take you.
This tool has been incredible for me!
Here’s the screenshot breakdown of what I just described:
Once all of your projects are broken down, you can map them out in whatever order you choose. But I recommend going by priority level and personal necessity.
For example, I listed out all the major events with dates that I know of or have estimated for 2023.
Based on those timeframes, I can see that January through March is a rough time to get started on anything major. One of my kids is struggling with in-person school and is switching back to online learning, which will require a fair chunk of my attention. Until she’s settled, starting a priority project isn’t a good idea.
I see that over the summer, one of my kids’ friends from Florida will be staying with us for a few weeks. And since my kids will be home already, summer is never a good time for a high-priority project anyways.
Also, if possible, I plan to schedule the dominant hand/arm surgery in October for optimal familial support and recovery.
Basically, 2023 will be a rough year for high-priority projects, so I’m extra pleased that I broke them all down into actionable steps that I can span out over a larger period of time.
So, instead of trying to “write novel” as one of my projects, I opted to “contribute scenes/ideas to novel” as a project.
And if I happen to find myself able to work on the novel project more than I planned for, then great! I can do that as I’m able to, but it’s not set as a firm goal and project within a busy year.
I look forward to the year ahead, but forecasting a few creative deadspots has let me set realistic expectations for myself.
And although this is a lot of information in one post, I hope you can gather some planning tips for yourself within it.
Next, I’ll share about values versus goals as a palette-cleansing chaser, and I’ll continue with greater project breakdowns and other New Year planning suggestions throughout January 2023.
For now, I hope you had a wonderful holiday season, and Happy New Year!
My best,
Sara
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