How to Plan Your Way to Success

How to leverage a planning process for success in every area of your life

If you have been a part of the Career Mom Community for a while, you already know that I am a huge advocate for planning. Leveraging planning for success in various areas of your life involves thoughtful organization and consistent planning. Here are five tips to help you plan effectively for success in every area of your life.

I have a stack of planners each year. Yes, you read that correctly, a stack. I prefer pen-and-paper writing over apps and computer systems. Therefore, I invest in physical planners. I get this is not everyone’s vibe, but it works for me. Now and again, I will use spreadsheets but that’s not my routine.

How planning has benefited me

I was going through my bin of old planners that date as far back as 2013! Wow…

I was able to look through and reflect on different parts of my life journey. I found a debt payoff track showing progress in paying off over $30k. It was paid in full in less than a year. I also found my business launch planner for a cheer and dance non-profit that I founded several years ago.

Planners become time capsules when the year is complete.
– Debranetta, Career Mom Community Founder

Here are my top 3 benefits of planning:

#1 Creating Action Plans

Goal setting is not enough to achieve success. An essential component of success in any area of life is breaking goals down into actionable steps that can be executed effectively. This is the art of planning. It includes organizing and incorporating action steps into your daily life. Include timelines, resources needed, potential obstacles, and strategies to overcome them.

#2 Minimize Scheduling Conflicts and Overlaps

Have you ever experienced a day when your entire schedule went up in smoke?

When I ensure my plans consider all aspects of life, such as work, family, health, and personal interests it leads to a more harmonious flow, what I like to call balance. Striving for a balanced approach helps to avoid burnout and maintain overall well-being.

Planning gives me a big picture, or birds eye view, of my time, appointments, and commitments. Several times, planning has saved me from double booking and mitigated conflicts before they spiraled out of control. Additionally, having a plan also helps me to recognize when I need to delegate tasks or collaborate with others to achieve goals more efficiently.

#3 Prioritizing

To me, prioritizing is the process of identifying “first things first”. Put more eloquently, it’s the process of arranging things in order of importance. It allows you to focus your time, energy, and resources on the most critical tasks. For me, I focus on impact, importance, and execution.

Impact: I ask myself, what gets me the most bang for my resources? What is most meaningful?

Importance: I ask myself what things must I do in this season (or right now) that will impact a future commitment or activity. What has drastic implications if not completed?

Execution: I ask myself, what am I able and willing to get done in this season?

By implementing these planning strategies, you can create a structured ana purposeful approach to achieving success in various areas of your life.