So many of us don’t achieve what we thought we would in life because of two reasonably simple reasons. Firstly, we are unsure (and have not written down) what we want. Secondly, we are also unsure how to bridge the gap between what we want to achieve and where we are now. These two things are what an action plan can help us deliver on.

An action plan can be a very effective tool to help you achieve your goals and objectives. An action plan will help you establish a systematic, proven goal-setting method if done correctly. The plan will then set out both the actions required and the monitoring of these actions to attain these goals and objectives.

The first step in creating an action plan is deciding what you want from life. Jim Rohn talks about how setting and attaining our goals is so important. He says who we become as we work to achieve our goals is even more important.

I wrote an article on setting goals you can go through, but let’s look at a straightforward way to set your goals.

Firstly: It is important to look at all areas of your life. If you set goals and even achieve your goals in one area of your life but neglect other areas, the gains don’t last.

You may set goals for your career or financial needs but neglect your health, family, relationships, community, and spiritual goals. You would be wrong if you think separate ‘areas’ of your life don’t impact each other. Suppose you prioritize financial goals and neglect your health goals. In that case, it won’t take long before your health starts impacting your ability to earn and enjoy your additional income.

We must set specific and measurable goals for every part of our life. Then, we can become a well-oiled, goal-setting and goal-achieving machine.

Secondly: We need to write these goals down – on paper. Most people don’t even know what they want. Brian Tracy says most people are unconsciously afraid of failure. They don’t even know they are too scared to write their goals down – in case they don’t achieve them. Are you one of those people? If so, start to let go and trust this process. It may change your life.

Apparently, only 3% of people have written down their goals. Everybody else says they will get to this someday…

If success starts with things as simple as a pen, a sheet of paper, and a few minutes of your time, then why not give it a shot? Writing down your goals is such a simple action item. There is almost no excuse if you aren’t improving in life and you haven’t spent a few minutes developing an action plan.

“We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.” Jim Rohn

As discussed, you can use the more extended goal-setting method above, or we can use a straightforward technique. Get your paper and pen, and give yourself under a minute to do the following:

Quickly write down the three most important goals you want to achieve now. Whatever three goals you have written down are probably an accurate picture of what you want in life. Writing your goals down has many advantages; one of them is you can read them back to yourself every day/week so they become entrenched in your memory. Your mind also somehow starts figuring out how to achieve them. This type of plan has a strange psychological effect of programming these goals into your subconscious mind.

When you take steps to reach your goal and are consistent and resolved to reach your goals, circumstances often change in your life. Maybe it is because our attitudes change, and we become more attractive, positive people.

Either way, we often see favorable circumstances and situations emerging in our lives – often in only six months to one year.

Then, set deadlines for these goals. Put in a timeline when you want these goals achieved. Ask yourself what you must do tomorrow and each day after that to achieve these goals. Say you have written down that you want to run a specific half marathon in under a year. However, you can barely walk to the kitchen to fetch more donuts and back to the TV without breathing heavily. Tomorrow’s goal may be walking a mile or two early in the morning or after work. Maybe it is also eating whole foods for dinner, etc.

Then, give yourself a timeline for extending your daily walk. When will you jog for one block and walk the rest?

There are no unreasonable goals, only unreasonable deadlines.

Set out daily specific goals or disciplines that are attainable. Work out what daily disciplines are needed each day to achieve whatever milestone you have set for yourself in the future. Make a list of everything you need to do to achieve this goal. Include every little thing you will need to get there. Identify some obstacles you will need to overcome. What skills, knowledge, and information will you need? What help will you need, and what courses must be done? Work out the resources required to complete this endeavor so you reach the project goal. What will it take to achieve a better life?

And, VERY importantly, make sure your ‘why’ is stronger than each day’s small daily action step. If it isn’t, you may give up. Visualize daily what attaining the goals will give you. In your mind, picture the feeling of accomplishment and success.

Lastly, if you don’t quite make the goal in the time frame you have set out, don’t worry. Just set another time frame. The deadline was just a guestimate. You may achieve it far earlier than you thought. Maybe it takes far longer than you thought. Do not beat yourself up about the deadline.

The most successful people are very good at a few things: They know what they want from life. They take the steps necessary to achieve these goals. Lastly, they are very good at getting back up. If they mess up and don’t do the daily disciplines, then the next day, they make sure they do them. They don’t beat themselves up. They don’t allow emotions or negative thinking to rule their actions. They mess up; they get back up with almost no regrets. This is a skill that is learned.

You will mess up, learn to live with it, and get back up tomorrow.

This is a strategic plan; it is an action plan that drives us towards success. We will use every advantage available so our inner voice can’t shut us down.

Use an action plan to assign tasks according to the following:

Priority: What is more important and what is less important?

Sequence: What must you do before doing something else, and in what order?

Take your to-do list and set out your priorities. What is most important? Then, figure out what needs to be done ahead of other tasks. The 80/20 rule tells us that 80% of our results come from only 20% of our activities. If you can go some ways to isolate what activities will impact your progress most, then you have a more effective action plan to help you achieve. The purpose of an action plan is to move you to taking effective action.

This reminds me of the old saying, ‘If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.’

Be specific with your action plan steps so you don’t get overwhelmed. Learn how to write the steps in the above order. An action plan clarifies what is most important and when to do it. Your entire action plan is used to determine the next action. What action is needed to achieve the daily disciplines.

The plan outlines the most important actions and when to take them to reach your goals.

This planning process above is precisely that: the process. A template where you learn to love and enjoy the daily disciplines and list of tasks you need to complete each day. This is because working through the process starts to change you. If you got out of bed earlier each day for a week to do whatever your daily discipline or action was, you are learning to become a person of discipline.

Pat yourself on the back. You will find yourself walking a little taller. The process of an action plan helps put your life on a better course.

Finally, monitor these daily disciplines throughout the project. Track progress and monitor progress each week. The plan might also change. If you keep this up, different circumstances and opportunities will likely come into your life. Keep adjusting your daily disciplines so you can accomplish your goal.

Now that you have a type of action plan schedule it into a comprehensive and effective action plan.

Plan each day, week, and month in advance. Plan each month at the beginning of the month. Plan each week the weekend before. Plan each day the night before.

If you are detailed about planning your clearly defined and specific tasks, you can accomplish more in the same time. This ensures the action plan stays on track. The old rule is that each minute spent on planning saves 10 minutes in execution.

When planning each day, select the number one and most important goal for the day. You can set your priorities with the 80/20 rule. Ask yourself, if you could only do one thing on the list, what one activity would be the most beneficial of your time? That is number one. Then, ask yourself what other task would most benefit your time. That is number two, and so on.

Revise your action plan with these priorities. This makes it easier to identify actions and tasks in your action plan that must occur first. What is most important in helping you complete a project or goal in time? You must plan regularly—each month, week, and day.

It is so beneficial for your growth to write an action plan. But you also need to take action to reach your project goals. Start with what one task needs to be done first.

Get working on that task. The plan is designed to help get us into action. You wrote the plan to help you create an action. It has helped break your goal into smaller daily tasks that need to be done daily to achieve your objectives. When will you work on these daily actions or daily disciplines? What sacrifices will need to be made so your first action or daily discipline can be accomplished?

You will need to sacrifice time and resources; you may need to sacrifice some unhealthy habits. An action plan requires sacrifice. What will you give up to attain your goals? Everybody sacrifices something, whether you make daily sacrifices or disciplines to attain your goal. Or you are sacrificing the dream. You can’t have both.

Whether your action plan is the most beautifully written project or something that could do with much improvement, neither will work unless action is taken daily to move you closer to your goal. A traditional action plan has both planning and project execution. They almost can’t work without each other. It’s not like your action plan might work if you don’t make the daily sacrifices – it definitely will NOT work without your daily sacrifices. Start and end each day with your goals in mind and the action taken to reach these milestones.

As discussed earlier, so few people know what they want. Even fewer write it down. The action plan is useful only if it is acted upon.

Your action plan is a document that can literally change your future. You will be successful if you ensure your action plan is written correctly and you act daily to complete the project or goals.

Keep the action plan simple and the daily sacrifices achievable; be ruthless with your time. As discussed above, create a timeline for your action plan to achieve your project goals in a reasonable period. Remember, the action plan timeline is a guestimate. If you don’t accomplish the task or goal in the time allocated, re-set the timeline. Never give up!

And above all, get back up quickly. Do not beat yourself up if you miss a daily discipline or it takes longer than expected. Be easy on yourself. Celebrate the daily wins and the process. You know you are becoming a better person and more disciplined, and you are learning new skills. Slowly, you are becoming a person of proper substance. You are becoming the person you were created to be. Work and discipline change a person.

The above is an action plan template for any area of your life, even your relationships. The principles stay the same. The disciplines need to be done.

Build your action plan that is right for you, built for you to reach the goal or goals you want.

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