How to plan
In order for your plans to actually come to life, you need to do planning the correct way. Usually different methods work for different people, but these general tips and tricks might help you get started!
1. Write it down!
Whether it's in your laptop, an phone app, or a planner/calendar - it always helps to write down your plans and tasks. If you have a few peaceful minutes, sit down and collect your thoughts. This way, you won't have to think about what's next to do when you're busy running around. You can get everything done quicker and you'll have more time left for other things!
This is how I do it: Personally, I use a ring planner, because this way I can take out/put in pages. Every week I write a list of all the things I want to get done during the week. The reason I first write a weekly to do list is that I don't always know in advance which day I'm doing what. All the appointments that I know the exact time of (like meetings and such), I write into the given day, and then, as the week goes on, I distribute the tasks among the days. If you're writing a to buy-list, it's best to do it according to the places where you're buying the different items, so once you're in the store, you can see what you need to buy there in one place. It's also a good idea to write a little reminder to yourself, if there are any coupons you want to use up.
2. Be realistic!
"In 2018 I'm going to read a new book every week, I'm going to work out every day and I'm going to brush my dog's teeth twice a day." Sound familiar? In New Year's resolutions people tend to set unrealistic goals, that they give up quickly and get discouraged. Give yourself a chance to actually achieve your goals by giving yourself enough time. If you want to give up a bad habit, or gain a new, good one, you need to do it gradually, that's the only way it's going to last. Set smaller goals that you're likely to achieve - these are going to encourage and motivate you until you get to the final goal.
3. Be specific!
However, it's also important to be specific about your goals/tasks. If you write "study", "work" or "do chores" in your planner, it can seem like an endless and daunting job. You'll probably procrastinate these painful tasks during the day, do everything else first and finally, claiming that it's late and you're tired, you put it off for tomorrow. Instead, write down specifically - and realistically - what you can accomplish in a certain time frame, like "clean the kitchen", "read two chapters", "do a 100 sit ups".
It can also help to visualize - imagine yourself as you're doing your tasks, just like you're watching a movie. If you imagine doing them, they won't seem so difficult.
4. Manage your time!
Our time is limited but also relative. A day is equally long for all of us, but some people fit ten times as much stuff in there as others, and afterwards they're not even as tired. How? First of all: doing nothing is tiring. When you're productive, it can give you so much extra energy that you want to keep going, and you get into a positive spiral. The same way, you can get into a negative, demotivating spiral too, which leads to all your time slipping out of your hands.
Wherever you're at right now, just think about how it's always the hardest in the beginning - it's only going to get better and easier.
When planning, give yourself an exact time frame for each task and again: be realistic! Don't think that you can clean the entire house, or cook a three-course dinner in 30 minutes.
Multitasking has been around for a long time, and there's a reason for that! To me, it doesn't mean juggling around with five different things at a time, because that way you're going to do each of them wrong. It's rather about combining one or more passive tasks with an active one. For example, while the dinner is cooking, you can do something else (just use a kitchen timer, so that the food doesn't burn). During a walk, or ironing clothes, you can listen to audio books, watch educational videos or even learn a language. If you have a baby, you can get a lot of things done while nursing, and when you sit down to watch a movie in the evening, that's the perfect time for a little diy project, or folding laundry. The point is, to only combine things that don't really affect each other.
Also, if you combine something pleasant with something useful - so you do a task while doing something relaxing - then the whole process will be more tolerable.
5. Don't think, just do!
Once you've planned out your day, try not to change your plans later, because in most cases it's your momentary mood, tiredness and laziness that controls your brain. If there's no real reason why you can't do a certain task, then don't think about it, and how much you don't feel like doing it, just do it! You'll be done sooner than you think, and you'll be so proud of yourself!
6. Reward yourself!
It could also help motivate you before a tough task, if you know what your reward is going to be. This might be a primitive method, but sometimes it's okay to "bribe" yourself: If I do this, I can rest for 20 minutes/eat a slice of cake/buy something nice for myself. Just make sure that the size of the task is proportionate to the size of the reward! For example: "If I take out the trash I don't have to do anything else for the rest of the day." <-- This is not okay:)
7. Make plans to plan!
Okay, this might be a little "Monica Geller" of me, but logically, you need to plan some time to do further planning. Because planning is not a one-time thing. Every day/week/month - however you like - you should devote some time to planning the next period. And it's a good idea to select this time in advance. Make a routine out of it: for example, every night, designate 5 minutes to planning the next day, every Sunday, to planning the next week, and look through your finances/make a budget at the beginning of each month.
8. Don't panic!
If you can't manage to do something as planned, don't panic, don't get discouraged. I know how demotivating it can be when things don't go according to your plans, but just think: if you do it the next day, it's still better than dropping all of your plans because your sad. In other words: If you fall down, pick yourself up, dust yourself off and keep on going!"
For long-term goals:
1. Find the preconditions!
Generally, a bigger life goal has multiple preconditions, without which you cannot possibly achieve that goal. So you need to deal with these first. For example, if you want to get your dream job, but you have to be able to speak a certain language or get a driver's license in order to get it, than you need to accomplish these smaller goals first. If you want to get accepted to University, you need to get good grades in high school, and for those, you need to study harder; if you want to buy an apartment, you need to save money, but in order to do that, you need to give up costly pastime first, and so on... So, when you're writing down your long-term goals, don't just write down the goal itself, include the preconditions too!
2. Divide it into smaller tasks!
By the same logic, when planning a bigger project, write down and schedule the subtasks as well. Most planners/planner apps give you the option to list subtasks under bigger projects and give them individual deadlines. That way you can make sure that you're getting closer to your goal, step by step. Use apps like Anydo, or Todoist!
3. Make a vision board!
Your subconscious is a powerful thing. If you can literally see your goals in front of you every day, that motivates you on both a conscious and subconscious level, to work for them. That's why vision boarding is a very popular tool that provides constant motivation. You can do it multiple ways: either on a computer or on paper, make a collage of all the pictures or quotes that describe your goals, or just simply write a list of your bigger goals. The point is, that you have to put your vision board in a place where you can see it all the time: hang it on your wall, use it as a background on your phone or laptop. Loads of success stories prove that it works!
