Thinking about your Plan for 2022

It's hard to believe, but we're less than a month away from a brand new year. There's a magical quality about a new year – a feeling of new opportunity and new potential.

And I find that the magical feeling is more present in December before the new year than in the hustle and bustle of January itself!

Chances are, this month is a little bit slower for you. You may be itching to take a step back from out of the weeds, take a breath, and assess what it is we're doing here.

Something I've been struggling with lately is a feeling that I'm working really hard to keep the creative machine running...but what is the machine meant to accomplish? What am I actually working towards?

This is pretty normal. I often find that as the year goes on, my goals drift a little bit out of focus, and I find myself working in the business, but not on the business.

And that's why, every December, I dedicate time to planning the year ahead.

Over the last five years, I've built a process of setting goals (annual and quarterly) and creating a plan of attack. And not only do I use that process, but I've taught it to more than 100 others as well.

It starts with this question:

What is your vision for your work?

Don't limit yourself to the next 365 days. I'm talking about thinking years ahead – where do you see yourself?

I heard this first from Debbie Millman and an exercise she does with her students around creating a 10-year plan:

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So let say it is Winter 2031. What does your life look like? What are you doing? Where are you living? Who are you living with? Do you have pets? What kind of house are you in? Is it an apartment are you in the city are you in the country? What does your furniture look like? What is your bed like? What are your sheets like? What kind of clothes do you wear? What kind of hair do you have?

Tell me about your pets, tell me about your significant other, do you have children? Do you have a car? Do you have a boat? Talk about your career. What do you want? What are you reading? What are you making? What excites you? What is your health like?

And write this day, this one day ten years from now. So one day in the winter of 2031, what does your whole day look like? Start from the minute you wake up, brush your teeth, have your coffee or tea, all the way through until minute you tuck yourself in at night. What is that day like for you?

Dream big, dreams without any fear. Write it all down. You don’t have to share it with anyone other than yourself. Put your whole heart into it. And write like there is no tomorrow; write like your life depends on it because it does.

And then read it, once a year, and see what happens. It’s magic.

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I know that 10 years may sound daunting. So start with five. And if that's too daunting, start with three.

But ask yourself what your vision for your life is in 3, 5, or 10 years...and use that as a north star. THAT is where your planning for next year starts.

There's a lot of clarity that comes from setting aside a few hours to have an honest conversation with yourself about your goals and what it would take to achieve them. It's even more powerful if you're willing to work through that process with someone else!

When you do this exercise with a partner or a group, you both share your goals with someone OTHER than yourself (makes them more real) and you get feedback on any blind spots that you may have.

On Friday, Dec. 17, I'm offering to work through this exercise in a live, 2-hour workshop with folks who want to work through it together.

Over the course of two hours, you will:

• 📝 Get my planning template
• 🔥 Work through a step-by-step plan together
• 🎯 Set annual & quarterly goals
• 🔨 Break big goals into small tasks
• 🗣 Receive feedback from me and the group

Date and Time:

• 📅 Friday, Dec. 17
• 🕙 10am-12pm ET (7-9am PT)

And of course, those who enroll will also get the recording.

If you want some solid footing heading into 2022, I'd love for you to join me. I'll be doing my own annual planning and sharing it right alongside you.

🔗 Join the workshop

But even if you don't join, please take some time this month to write down your goals for the new year. Make them measurable and make them specific. Don't let yourself think too small!

Next year is your year. I can feel it.

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#82: Michael Bungay Stanier [Simplicity] – How to Begin Setting a Worthy Goal

Michael Bungay Stanier has written books that have sold about a million copies all told, including The Coaching Habit, a self-published book that’s become the best-selling book on coaching this century.

He was a Rhodes Scholar, and he founded a training and development company, Box of Crayons, that has taught coaching skills to hundreds of thousands of people around the world.

His new book How to Begin: Start Doing Something that Matters will help you find, define and start your own Worthy Goal.

In this episode, we talk about Michael’s career as an author what makes a worthy goal, how to clear space for your worthy goals, and why striving for simplicity helps you be more effective.

🔗 Listen to the episode

There are a lot of books out there about planning, goal setting, etc. And I've read quite a few of them!

Very sincerely, How To Begin is the most practical and helpful goal-setting book that I've read. The book itself is a hybrid with a workbook, providing prompts and space for you to work through your own goals alongside the frameworks Michael provides.

He has a three-part matrix for your goals:

1. Thrilling – Does this goal light you up?
2. Important – Does this goal serve the world beyond you?
3. Daunting – Does this goal scare or stretch you?

Since reading the book and having this conversation with Michael, I've literally changed the way I think about the projects I take on. I've found that a lot of my goals in the past have not scored sufficiently high on the matrices above, and the energy I've put into them has been low as a result.

I loved this conversation, and I hope you will too. I've actually wrapped this framework into my 2022 Annual Planning workshop I shared above! So if you're interested in using this structure in YOUR goals, I can help.

Cheers,

Jay

Hey, I'm Jay Clouse! And I'm here to help you find creative independence.

Most of my creative energy is directed towards my podcast, Creative Elements, and my newsletter, Creative Companion.

I've created a number of courses and workshops including my best-selling Podcast Like The Pros and my Freelancing School Course Bundle.

I want to support YOU on your own journey to creative independence.

The path is long, but you can do it. And I'll be right there by your side, encouraging and inspiring you the whole way.

You can also connect with me on Twitter or Instagram.