008: Annual Plan • Map Your Year

Annual Plan • Map Your Year

Today in the Connector Life we will discuss Annual Plans - Mapping Your Year in 5 Steps.

You are a successful person. Yet, I am sure you still people who appear to be more productive and achieve more goals.  The secret really is strategic planning of your goals and time.

We are into the new year - Did you make a plan?  Are you on track with your plan?

If not, now is time to regroup, reflect and plan for your greatest year ever.

"Annual planning is a high performance habit that allows you to lead a more intentional & successful life." - Kimber Boothe Tweet This

I strive to lead an intentional life and I treat my year like a strategic plan that I need to execute on - much like the strategic plans I write for corporations. 

Five Steps to Prepare and Execute Your Annual Plan

1. Goal Brainstorming
2. Confirm Priority Goals
3. Write Smart Objectives
4. Write Action Steps
5. Schedule & Execute Plan

This year was a little different for me as I wrote my goals during our family trip to New York and I switched the tool I used for my annual goals.   I used to do my goals in a spreadsheet project plan with goals/objectives/actions/subtasks. I started using Microsoft Planner which is much like Trello or Kanban with a more visual way to see your goals on a board.  Connect with me if you want to know more about my preference.

The terms for goals and objectives get thrown around and not always used correctly. Here is how I think of the definitions and it is clear to see how the annual plan real helps connect the dots from Mission/Vision to Execution.

Definitions:

• Vision:
• What I/We want to become
• What is the bold future
• Mission:
• What is my/our PURPOSE and WHY?
• Values
• How I/We want to be
• What I/We believe in
• Goal
• What we must achieve to get there
• Objective
• Concrete, measurable milestone on the way to achieving a goal
• Action
• Planned specific actions to achieve objective (may also be grouped by strategies)
• Metric
• Measure of success

 Now that we have clarified that, lets go over the 5 steps in more detail.

Five Steps to Prepare and Execute Your Annual Plan - Detail

Tips to Keep You from Getting Stuck

• Consider all areas of your life in your plan.  The areas I focus on are Self, Family/Friends, Career, Community. My philosophy is to have as much work-life integration/connection as possible which is why I show the areas of life as a Venn diagram. Rate yourself from 1-10 for your current and target score for the areas of your life to help with brainstorming.
• Write your objectives from the positive perspective and in the past tense like you are reflecting on your achievement at the end of the year.
• Write/type your goals - any format will do, but having them in a central location is key.  In the download, I provide examples for a Trello/MS Planner board and a complete project plan template. 
• For Step 5 you will want to add monthly/weekly/daily specifics to your regular calendar or planner system.   
• You ultimately hold yourself accountable for your plan, but sharing with an accountability partner is helpful        

My 2019 Goals

So speaking of accountability, I am going to be vulnerable and share my 2019 goals with all of you. These are my prioritized short and long term goals by area and the objective. 

To take it a step further - here is an example of the Action step for one of my goals. 

• Maintain current position on state pharmacy society board. (Q1-Q4)
• Apply for American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP) Delegate position (Q1 WK 3)
• Apply for an ASHP Committee (Q4 WK 40)

Join the ongoing conversation at kimberboothe.com and subscribe to my email list so we can connect regularly and you will receive content I don't share anywhere else.

You can access the Bonus Blog Download - Annual Plan Template which you can download and map your year.

Now it's your turn….

Identify your top goals for the year.  Share the actions you will take in the comments section at kimberboothe.com/blog/008.

Be bold, be a connector, and excel your life.  Invest in your career development!

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