The Final Step for a Productive New Year. Part 5
January 10, 2022
I think you are ready now.
After discovering our purpose and determining our callings, last week we arrived at our vision a.k.a. long-term goals/objectives (or what I like to call, vision goals). I hope you created professional and personal vision goals. Incorporating the whole person into our life planning is healthy for our spirit, soul, and body.
So, do you have a vision board worth living for? That was the question I left us with last week. My guess is that if you followed my earlier suggestions, you should have a vision for each calling, and a vision board by now. If not, everything is still posted for you to read and work through to your heart’s delight.
Life Action Plan
If you do have a vision worth living for, then you are ready for the next step of creating a Life Action Plan. Today, I want to challenge you to break down each vision goal into an action plan that will keep you on track. As described in my eBook, each goal needs to be measurable, specific, and within our control.
Start with at least one corresponding action for each objective or goal you hope to accomplish within the first quarter or year. Cap your actions at five, though. Remember that you cannot do it all at the same time. So be selective.
The last requirement is to write everything down.
“A seed unplanted cannot grow.
And a goal unwritten is meaningless.”
-ReallyLeah
My strong advice is to write everything down as if it were an affirmation that you will speak to yourself each morning.
CHECK THIS OUT
Here is a simplified example of everything discussed thus far.
You, Inc.
1st Quarter Life Action Plan – 1/10/22
Mission/Purpose:
I will glorify God through the use of my natural gifts and abilities.
Callings:
Right now, I am using my natural gifts and abilities to work as a writer, dancer, and mathematician.
Vision/Big Goals and Corresponding Actions (based on the time constraint. In this case it is for the quarter).
A. I am called to write.
- I will love others as myself starting with my family.
- I will host a monthly brunch with extended family members at my home.
- I will complete four chapters of the family cookbook
B. I am called to dance
- I will encourage kids to fall in love with math
- I will increase volunteer time at the local dance studio to twice a month
- I will ask the students to help me choreograph dance routines about math that we can post on YouTube.
C. I am called to lead the math department
- I will become the mathematics department director this year.
- I will sign up for the leadership certification program this week.
- I will complete the three-month course.
GET UNDERSTANDING
Do you see how I did that?
The You, Inc. example incorporates a variety of actions to accomplish to meet its long-term goals in three callings. Each is written with an affirming tone which builds confidence and encourages accountability.
In the end, this high-level overview of all that you hope to accomplish can be written on one sheet of paper or within one digital note, and amazingly enough, it will work as a daily guide. The Life Action Plan is also good for the weekly and quarterly reviews I suggest you do to maintain your focus.
IN CLOSING
Remember, we are the engine that makes the written plan work. It is important to have the vision written down, but if we do not follow it, then we will not get to the place we long to be. We must be intentional about getting to our expected end. And for the most part, there is nothing stopping us, but us.
Use your Life Action Plan as a reminder that you have a vision worth living for.
Feel free to let me know how you well you enjoyed this information? Or ask me a question. I look forward to hearing from you.
Till then, Shalom,
ReallyLeah XO / A place where passion, productivity, and purpose harmonize.
If you like what you’ve read, please share it and support me by downloading at least one copy of my 21 Days to Your Best Life Yet ebook for $4.99 or making a donation below. Thank you. XO
Special Note:
Please excuse me if you see a typo or a misspelled word. I feel like a scribe, trying to capture all that is in my heart on this subject in a timely fashion. Oh, if I had an editor-on-call my writing would be tighter. But I do go back and reread my posts. And when I notice errors, I make the correction. If you have subscribed to my mailing list, you will get the revision in your email. So, subscribe to ReallyLeah.com, if for no other reason than to get a better draft of what you might be reading now.