"If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much." Jim Rohn I am not one of those super organized people, but since 2008 I have gotten into the habit of planning out my year. I’m asked all the time about how I manage to race and focus on my career while spending time with those I care about most.

Here is how I do it: Prior to utilizing this method, I would go with the flow. I would respond to whatever screamed loudest usually pertaining to work. I played a game of whack-a-mole, focusing on one aspect of my life often at the expense of the other. That’s until I experimented with something different.

In one word: Integration.

Since I have started planning out my year in advance, I've noticed an interesting side effect. I get a lot more done and most interestingly, I'm less busy than most around me.

Caution: this whole process takes a time, but it pays dividends…

** Step 1 - What did you do the previous year?

I start with a simple brain dump of what I have accomplished the year before. You might be surprised by what you have or have not accomplished. What trends do you notice? I usually do this exercise with my family. We try to find trends or interesting patterns that can shape the coming year. For example:

  • Where did we travel?
  • What did the kids accomplish?
  • How much money did I save/state of my investments?
  • Major accomplishments at work/business?
  • What books did I read? What have I learned?
  • What did I learn last year that I didn’t know before?

I personally use Google sheets for this exercise. Finally, we finish with the question, "what is this the year of" or "how will we remember this year"?

** Step 2 - Generate ideas for the following year

I start with a "brain dump" of tasks and goals I want to accomplish next year. Just sit down and write anything that comes to mind. I allow my ideas to flow. I do the same exercise with my wife and kids. My wife usually doesn't want to do this and rolls her eyes, but eventually she will start telling me what she wants the children to achieve and furthermore what she wants to achieve. The kids rattle off their own lists too. We iterate through these lists, adding, and removing. Major themes begin to emerge. They will form the major "rocks" for the year. For example

  • Run an 'X' mile ultramarathon
  • Increase the revenue for my company by X%
  • Travel to 'X' new cities
  • Publish my first book
  • Children become proficient Turkish speakers
  • Children become better swimmers
  • Actively help out a charity

I take these goals and make them scary/exciting. I am not sure why this works for me, but it does. It triggers something within me that makes me more likely to achieve the goal. Sometimes it will take more than a year to accomplish them. E.g.

  • Rather than run 50 miles -> run 100 miles.
  • Rather than learn Hindi -> give an entire lecture in Hindi
  • Rather than my son learns to swim -> do his first triathlon

** Step 3 - Look for "triple wins"

My goals used to be all about me. What I have been doing recently is trying to find goals that overlap with my wife and kids. That increases my chances of actually achieving the goals and it brings the family together.

Once my family and I have the lists and they are sufficiently scary and exciting, I start looking for synergies. For example, the kids need to practice their Arabic next year, my wife wants to visit her sister in Jordan, and I want to do a multi-stage running race. I started googling and found a one-week desert Ultra in Jordan in March. A triple win.

We arrive at these through talking, talking, and more talking. This is the secret sauce of the whole process. If my wife is part of the planning and I take her wants into consideration she will be my support system. In addition, this is how my wife supports what I do.

** Step 4 - Categorize things into months

I start putting things onto the yearly calendar. I add major events like holidays, work commitments, and travel commitments. I search for gaps in my calendar I can play with. My wife wants to visit Japan. I want to do an Ironman and my son wants to do his first Iron Kids. Ironman Japan in August goes up on the calendar.

** Step 5 - Put "it" up or shut up

Once I'm done with my goals, I post them up on the wall where I can see them every day. In addition, I have a yearly calendar where I can see the major events I have planned. It's the first thing I see when I turn on my phone.

Visualization is the second secret ingredient.

** Step 6 - Get started right away

I will make things real by booking races or holidays. I start right away. I don't wait or put it off.

** Stay connected!

I would love to hear how you are doing and if you have any big plans for the new year.