Life planning

None of this is expert advice. It's what people worked out for themselves, usually the hard way — what actually helped, and what they'd tell someone standing where you are. Take what fits and leave the rest.

How this was put together

If you only read a few

  1. Reflect as you are doing stuff and listen to real-time feedback rather than waiting until the end of the year.

    Sitting down for hours at the end of the year can be overwhelming.

    one person who lived it

  2. Build skills and hobbies early to prevent falling back into accidental routines during low points.

    Lacking these skills can lead to regret later in life.

    one person who lived it

  3. Save time for pure enjoyment activities to learn from them, provided you do not lose yourself in the process.

    You will always learn something from these activities.

    • Do not lose yourself.

    one person who lived it

  4. Build routines and habits during low-pressure periods like summer.

    This helps ensure they last through busy seasons like the school year.

    one person who lived it

  5. Regularly review your plans to catch yourself straying and refocus on the next task.

    One person found that regular review of their plans was the biggest key to their success.

    one person who lived it

  1. Examine what you want a typical week to look like and take practical steps to make that ideal ordinary week a reality.

    It is practical to look at life on a micro level to see how you would like to live.

    one person who lived it

  2. Create lists to act as an external prefrontal cortex if you need a boost to make and meet goals.

    Lists provide perspective and help those who struggle with internal executive function.

    one person who lived it

  3. Copy your unfinished goals by hand onto new pages once a year to help internalize them.

    It helps internalize the goals.

    one person who lived it

  4. Ask yourself what your perfect life would look like if money were no consideration.

    one person who lived it

7 more on this
  1. Start by becoming aware of internal issues, such as emotional healing, raising consciousness, and removing blockages, so you can solve external problems.

    Whatever manifests externally will follow once internal issues are addressed.

    one person who lived it

  2. Create a mission statement that evokes an emotional charge to provide the 'why' behind your goals and ensure full commitment.

    Emotional charge provides the 'why', and fully involved emotions lead to full commitment.

    one person who lived it

  3. Identify the type of person who achieves your dreams, then build a character and routine based on those traits.

    one person who lived it

  4. Define your own definition of success to create a personalized list of goals.

    one person who lived it

  5. Clarify goals by defining what you want for relationships and intellectual growth, then visualize achieving yearly goals for positive motivation.

    Visualizing achievement provides positive motivation.

    one person who lived it

  6. Place physical reminders for daily tasks in the locations where you perform them.

    one person who lived it

  7. Focus on building recurring habits over setting specific goals, as discipline in habit formation makes goal achievement a side effect.

    one person who lived it

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