Dear daughter,
I’m writing to you today to talk about planning. I know that you are at a time in your life when you’re making big decisions about your future. I want to encourage you to take some time to think about what you want to achieve and to develop a plan to get there.
But before I start offering you planning help and ideas, I want to tell you how proud I am of you, I believe in you, and I’m very excited to see all the great things you will accomplish in the future.
Planning is the process of establishing the goals and objectives that you want to achieve and determining the strategies, tactics, resources, and actions needed to achieve those goals.
Planning is very important for people. It is helpful in many ways.
Table of Contents
- Planning is helpful to you
- Set goals
- Identify your resources
- Brainstorm ideas
- Evaluate your options
- Create a plan
- Take action
- Be flexible and patient
- Conclusion
Planning is helpful to you
Here are some ways that planning can be helpful to you:
- Achieve your goals.
- Avoid feeling overwhelmed.
- Make better decisions.
- Stay on track.
- Be more productive.
- Be more successful.
I sent you not long ago 21 benefits of planning. Please read them so you understand what these benefits are in detail. While you read them, think about how your life will be if you have all those benefits. I’m sure you will feel motivated to have that in your life, as it will make your life better, and more fulfilling.
Now that you understand the benefits of planning, let me remind you that there are different types of planning. There are strategic planning, tactical planning, and operational planning.
Some people consider the previous types of planning should be done only by managers, or business owners.
However, when you study them, you can easily see that we, as individuals, need all three types of planning in our lives, to be able to enjoy all the benefits of planning.
As you plan, you can use several tools.
Without regard to the tool you are using, the process is always the same. I describe the steps above for you.
Set goals
The first step to planning is to set goals.
What do you want to achieve?
Once you know your goals, you can start to develop a plan to achieve them. Remember that goals are personal, it is what you really want, not what other people want/expect from you.
Write down what are your goals for the next 5, 10, 15, and 20 years.
Make sure that you read your goals every day and read them aloud so you can hear your voice saying what you want to achieve. This action is very powerful, as it can influence your subconscious mind.
Identify your resources
What resources do you have available to you?
This includes your time, money, and skills.
Do you need more resources?
Where can you get them?
For instance, if you don’t have certain skills to achieve one of your goals, who have them? How can you get help from the one who has the skills you need?
Brainstorm ideas
Once you know your goals and resources, you can start to brainstorm ideas for how to achieve them.
This does not mean to start talking to other people and asking what they think.
Usually, it is recommended not to share your goals with others.
Many people, at least the ones who are not interested in achieving what you want to achieve, will discourage you from pursuing certain goals.
Of course, you can always count on me for this. I won’t answer according to what I want you to do, I’ll use the knowledge I have to think about how I can help you best to achieve what you want to achieve.
Evaluate your options
Once you have a few ideas, you need to evaluate them and choose the best one.
What is the best one will depend on your current situation, and especially on the resources you currently have.
That’s why before this step you need to analyze your resources, if you need some more resources, is achievable for you to get them?
Create a plan
Once you have chosen an option, you need to create a plan for how to implement it.
You can use the pyramid I shared with you here as guidance to write down your plan.
A part of this process may include tools like a calendar, to-do lists, etc. Don’t overthink it.
Just choose one tool, and if it does not work for you, change it and move on.
The most important thing here (and everywhere else) is to use what works for you, which might not be the same as what works for other people.
Take action
The final step is to take action and implement your plan.
This seems obvious but I can tell you many people fail in this step.
Here is something that happened to me, for you to be alert.
I did all the steps above and started to take action. The plan was to achieve a long-term goal.
After several months, I found myself procrastinating in the action I needed to take to execute my plan.
It was like I took for granted that the plan would be executed.
Silly, isn’t it?
So, make sure to have a system in place that reminds you every day to take action, and to be consistent.
One of the things I did was to write in a sticky note the following “Consistency is the key”. I pasted it on the display of my computer. Every day I read the quote several times and every time I read it, it makes me think if I’m being consistent in my journey to achieve my goals.
Give it a try and let me know if it helped you in the same way that is helping me.
Be flexible and patient
Things don’t always go according to plan. So, it’s important to be flexible and be willing to adjust your plans as needed.
The plan you created, is your plan, not someone else’s plan. So, own your plan. If the plan needs an update, do it. Update it as many times as you need, modify it if necessary. The plan is there to serve you, not for you to be the slave of the plan. This is very important to remember.
Also, be patient.
Remember that Rome was not built in one day.
Conclusion
I know that you’re a smart and capable woman, and I believe in you. I have no doubt whatsoever that you will achieve great things and life, the great things that matter to you!
I’m here to support you in any way that I can. So please don’t hesitate to let me know if you have any questions or need help. Anything! Always remember that I’m here for you!
Love you, Dad.