Planning for 2022 (Part 1: Preparation)

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"Next week is already New Year, and I am thrilled to start off anew!" Well, most of us might feel that way. However, starting something new does not mean that you throw yourself out of the cliff and hope everything will be okay. Prior to starting anything new, there must be preparation made and a clear plan set, so in this post, I will walk you through the steps I make as I plan my 2022. There will be three parts of the planning, which includes preparation, execution, and reflection.

This post will cover the first part, namely preparation. But before we get down to the article, do not forget to like ❤️👍 this post and subscribe 🔔 as this will help the channel grow! Also, feel free to share this link with anyone who might find these preparation and planning tips useful ✍️

With that being said, let's get down to the preparation how-to!

1. Make Plan

As boring or delusional as it might sound, plan-making is not daydreaming about an unreachable future, but a process of breaking down a big project into smaller tasks. Imagine that you have to go to the 10th floor of a building. Since normal people cannot fly straight up, you need to find another way to go there. Either you take the elevator, if there is any, or you walk through the staircase one by one. Making smaller tasks plan is like taking those tiny steps on the staircase; even though it did not take you far at the moment, but slowly, they surely add up to the progress that you are making towards reaching your goal (Clear, 2018).

Some people have the so-called elevator in their life; they got "unfair advantages" of having been raised with a golden spoon in their mouth or having someone to rely on financially and mentally (Ali & Kubba, 2020). Nonetheless, not having these things do not mean that we cannot achieve our goal; we can achieve them, even though our pace is slower than theirs. That is the point of planning, which relates to understanding what you have (energy, time, money, and sources) and managing them to get what you want (your goal).

2. Write The Plan Down

Forleo (2019) said that writing makes our dream becomes more physical and real, and I could not agree more than that. Having a written plan is easier to follow, check, and adjust. Some people prefer paper planners, some others prefer digital planners. Whichever suits you best. As for me, I use both. I utilize a paper planner for the daily to-do list and a digital planner for the monthly spread. Hereby I attach a free version of the planner I designed, and if you want to get the full version, you can purchase it by clicking here.

StudyandEtch Monthly Undated 2022 Planner.pdf

Download PDF • 8.73MB

3. Follow Up

I like to follow up on my plan on a weekly basis. I usually use my Sundays to do weekly reflection ("How much have I accomplished? Am I happy with my accomplishments so far?"), check on updates ("Has there been any change on the plans? Have I promised someone something for the upcoming week?"), and adjust my upcoming plans accordingly.

Furthermore, I also use keys to minimize the look of my planner. That is how I keep track of what tasks I have completed, which ones need to be migrated or rescheduled to another day, or if a certain project has reached the deadline. Here you can see how the key points can be made based on STEM Advocate (n.d.) bullet journalling:

Reference(s):

Ali, A., & Kubba, H. (2020). How you already have what it takes to succeed the unfair advantage. In Profile Books (pp. 13–19). Retrieved December 23, 2021, from https://profilebooks.com/wp-content/uploads/wpallimport/files/PDFs/9781782835974_preview.pdf

Clear, J. (2018). Atomic habits. Instapdf.in. Retrieved December 23, 2021, from https://instapdf.in/atomic-habits/

Forleo, M. (2021, January 6). Everything is figureoutable - Setting goals? 2 Steps to achieve. Today Novels. Retrieved December 23, 2021, from https://www.marieforleo.com/2017/01/goal-setting/

STEM Advocate. (n.d.). Bullet Journal key page. [Image]. In Pinterest. Retrieved December 23, 2021, from Retrieved from https://id.pinterest.com/pin/3799980924860149/