How far ahead do you plan?
One of the ways we hit our goals is by making plans.
Even if things change, just mapping out the target and the timeline makes it easier to move toward it.
But here’s the thing: long-term plans often don’t work out. Personally, I’ve found that 5-year plans feel almost impossible. By the time you get there, everything’s changed.
So I’m curious: what’s your approach to planning and sticking to it?
Here’s what works for me:
1/ Keep plans within a reachable horizon. I usually set goals for the next 2–3 months.
2/ Review weekly. It keeps things fresh and lets me adjust fast if something changes.
3/ Break it down into detail. I try to describe every step, knowing I won’t hit 100%, but even hitting most of them gets me close to the goal.
What about you? How far ahead do you plan and how do you make sure those plans actually happen?👇
Replies
I really like to plan quarterly. It is enough time to accomplish something.
Regarding our work, we plan in 2-week sprints.
+ Right now, I have a buddy – he sends me every Sunday the summary of accomplished/not accomplished goals so I decided to join as well and see whether I can be more punctual/dedicated.
@busmark_w_nika Cool. Where did you find that buddy?
And how does he help you achieve better results? How much time does the communication take you?
@byalexai We write these goals once per week. We found each other on Bluesky, but now communicate on LinkedIn and via email, where we discuss goals and revise them.
Hi @byalexai ! Great question.
Lately, I have been trying to differentiate between my vision for the future and my plans for getting there. A lot of my progress is thanks to improvements to my standard operating procedure that make it a little easier to roll with life's punches — professional and otherwise (read: living better and in accordance with my values).
As for specific events/routine planning, it really varies, doesn't it?
We are launching a personal planning app in the next few weeks. I often wonder about how much people want or need to plan daily life vs. longer term goals. There is a line between 'I've got this' and 'Uh, I don't got this', but it seems to be somewhere different for everyone.
The best thing I can say when it comes to planning is know thyself. Do you need a loose map of key events or a detailed plan with every detail engineered? If how you think of plans is solely determined by what works for somebody else, you can go your whole life thinking that planning is hard or flat out not worthwhile.
@cholden_lewis I agree that everything should match your character. Because there are many people who do things that aren’t for them. And they’re not happy. They don’t succeed. And that’s because they’re playing someone else’s game. It’s important to play your own game.