Why You Should Be Planning for 2022 — Not 2021

2021 is here and like many of us, you aren’t fully ready for it. The bills are too high, there is too much weight to lose, there isn’t enough time to do what needs to be done…The list goes on.

This is the time of year that many of us are scrambling to grab at straws for easy wins. We attempt to set goals around healthy eating, physical activity, or we want to finally stop smoking.

In all the cultural noise aimed at making positive changes to your lifestyle in the New Year, it is so easy to get overwhelmed.

If that is you, you should stop reading now because I want to talk to those who already have plans and goals in place for 2021. If this is you, read on because I want to talk about 2022.

By the winter comes, it is too late for many birds to migrate to warmer climates. They typically start their migration patterns BEFORE the season comes.

A Bear put on extra weight weeks before they go into hibernation rather than just trying to put on extra hibernation weight in a couple of days.

My point here is that different species prepare for different seasons of their lives well before that season approaches. It is late December so planning to change your life within the next week is like migrating hundreds of miles in a couple of hours or adding 50 lbs of hibernation weight in a couple of days. It is too late.

You need to already have your game plan in place so that you can begin shifting your thinking to what you want to achieve in 2020.

2020 is just a bit over a year out and everything that you have planned for 2019 should lead you to even bigger and better things in 2020. If you believe me in this, here’s how you can start planning for 2020.

Build Synergy

If you want to build a life that is great and fulfilling, you need to look at the goals and plans you have set for 2021 and ask yourself this one question: “Are these goals and plans setting me up for bigger goals and plans in 2022?” If the answer is yes, then you need to begin brainstorming what those bigger goals and plans will be in 2022 right now!

Think Micro

Micro mapping is a way to achieve huge success. What do I mean by micro-mapping? Micro mapping is the term I use to describe the process of mapping out your current action steps that lead you towards your specific goals.

Think Macro

Big wins can equal more big wins. Tracking that is called, ‘Macro Mapping.’ For example, if you think about the big picture of your life, what big wins are you looking to achieve with your current goals and plans in 2021? Once you have thought through those things you want to achieve in 2021, ask yourself how they will compliment what you want to achieve in 2022.

Evaluate

As with anything you want to achieve in life, you must be able to evaluate it. Do you have an evaluation system developed for your 2021 goals and plans that you can use to evaluate and plan for 2022? Each evaluation marker should provide you with an outcome and those outcomes should feed into what you want to build on to achieve in 2022. For example, here is what I have set up in my journal of accomplishment tracking to help me look ahead/plan for 2022.

Did I achieve this goal?

Partially

Fully

This can be a simple evaluation/tracking system that you can use to support your goals and plans for 2020. Evaluation tools should be simple and streamlined.

Document

Document everything! If you want to lose 20 lbs in 2021 and 10 lbs in 2022 you need to document everything. Documenting everything via journal entries, goal tables, etc. can serve two purposes. 1. It can serve as a motivational tool to reflect on if you put weight back on or plateau with your weight loss and 2. It can leave a trail of breadcrumbs for how you became so successful in achieving your goals and plans. Document, document, document!

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I wish for you to ‘go deep’ in your own life. For additional strategies on how to become more confident, organized, productive, and successful in your life and vocation, I encourage you to pick up my latest ebook: Thought Leadership. →