Thursday, October 7, 2010

Making a life plan

Few weeks ago, hubby asked me “Why don’t you put together a plan for us?” I was like “What?”. Being a project manager for a large pharmaceutical company, he never had less than 3 projects to manage at one time. Every single day, he is dealing with plans, timelines, budgets and things involved with planning. It’s very understandable that he wants me to put together a plan for us.
Photo credit: Google's images


I’ve never been a long range planner. I deal with things as they come. It’s frustrating sometimes when things didn’t go as planned (well, because there was no plan!). Once in a while, I told myself “I wish I had a plan”. I quickly realize to be successful in life, I need to have a life plan. Without a plan, many of my dreams will only be dreams. Last year, I got a kick out of myself when hubby represented me with his honey-do list. I’ve asked him to do several small projects for the house but never put them on paper. 9 out of 10, I forgot about them few weeks later and things never get done. He decided to make a honey-do list for himself. He checks them off as he gets them done. One by one, he went through a whole list in no time. The honey-do list is just an example of how helpful to have a plan in life. It serves two purposes: 1. Things get done the way we planned and 2. When the list is completed, it gives him a sense of achievement.
Photo credit: Google's images
I sat down and started asking myself all these questions. What do we want to achieve this year? What is our short/long-term plan? Where do we see ourselves in 5 years (or even 10 years)? What I have below is a master plan (very general) that gives me the big picture of what I want to do with my life.


 Short-term goals
Goals
Timelines
1. I am going to a training in the next couple of weeks to get myself certified. End of October (if I pass the test). This will help take my career to the next level
2. Have the house’s exterior painted before winterCompleted - Thanks to a friend for recommendation. We hired somebody who did such a great job
3. Remodel our master bathroom DIY project
4. Expand our familyIn the near future
5. Plan our dream vacation Planning in progress
6. Move into a bigger houseIn the near future


Long-term goals
My ultimate dream in life is to have a family’s business and I am still working towards that dream (and it's not involved online selling)..LOL :)
Photo credit: Google's images
One good thing is that both of us are very happy with our career’s choices. As always, there are things such as acquiring new knowledge and learning new skills to improve our careers. There are lots of small steps we need to take in order to reach our goals. (i.e.: in order to move into a bigger house, we need to put X amount of money in savings and in order to put X amount of money in savings, we need to do Y actions). More than likely, our life plan will change over time as our motivations and priorities will change. Regardless of having a life plan for not, it’s helpful to find your life purpose. Having a life purpose gives you meaning in everything you do. It also makes your life fulfilling.
It would be nice if every life experience was a good experience but that’s not realistic. Everyone is unique and everyone has a different perspective on life. We learn through experience and we learn through bad experiences. I’d rather make mistakes and experiencing life than living a life without a purpose. Many people spend their lives waiting for something to happen. That’s not me. I’ll make things happen. In the end, no one is responsible for your life except yourself


Readers, do you make plans for your life? Feel free to share any thoughts


21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes I've made lots of plans for my life, but I haven't put anything on paper yet. I organize my life with an agenda and put everything in it. Graduation, a career, marriage, etc. Planning on getting my real estate license soon as well. What do you do for a living? : )

xx The Little Dust Princess

Callandra said...

Good point. I have found that things get accomplished (and are not forgotten) more when I put them on paper than just trying to remember in my head. (and I do love checking them off too)!

PetiteXXS said...

Hubby thinks I'm too much of a planner lol. Well not on paper, but I do always have a rough idea of how things should go. I find that when I don't, I end up wasting a lot of time doing nothing and nothing gets done. But I like to give myself a lot of leeway in terms of time line though , because I get really stressed out by deadlines. I also don't like to make to-do lists because often times it'll get so long that it makes me depressed and I won't want to do anything lol.

SewPetiteGal said...

Yay for #4 on your list - we are also thinking of expanding the family :) :) I am an anal list maker at work and when planning vacations, but haven't really sat down with hubby to make a life list (though we do talk about it).

Nelah said...

What a nice post.Your husband sounds like a very organized person (which I am sure he is because of the type of profession he is). I am a planner both at home and work but my husband is a complete opposite. I was looking at calendar the other day and freaked out because it's already October but I still have so many things I want to accomplish before then.

Jessica said...

How exciting! Congratulations to you on accomplishing your goals and expanding your family! Maybe we will see some petite maternity fashion posts soon? lol.

I think it's great to have a life plan. I am definitely a list maker and it's the only way I get things done. I thought it was cute how your hubby made his own honey do list :)

Mimi said...

i have a plan mapped out in my head - what to do while in school, what classes to take, how to excel in school, what to do next... i like how i have a plan like that because it helps me focus, but of course those are also subject to change. :D

<3, Mimi
http://whatmimiwrites.blogspot.com/

Lisa - respect the shoes said...

I NEED a life plan! Sometimes I wonder if I'm behind the times (BF and I have been together a long time and watched all our friends get married, etc.) - but then I also wonder if I just personally feel pressured bc that is what is expected. It'd be a good idea to put my ideas down on paper and try to figure out what I really want!

Ping said...

oh wow ... that is really inspiring. i just realized I have no life plans.

i have definitely a free spirit and just roll with the punches. i guess my parents never taught me any of that stuff besides saving money and buying a house.

i guess at the moment (maybe even the future), i don't want kids or get married. i just want to enjoy life with my bf and that's it. hahaha!!

thanks for sharing this!

BeautyAmbition.net said...

i hope everything works out for you, this is a great idea actually, it really makes you think about life, and work harder

Cherie said...

i think that is so great, putting it on paper just makes everything more real, at least it's a first step. that reminds me, i have to do this sometime too.

xo, cherie of Parade of Dresses

Venoma said...

I think thats really cute :))))

XoXo

Venoma

AubreyOhDang! said...

I like #4!

Jean said...

Ooo, you are expanding your family soon? : D I echo petitexxs...are petite materinity clothing reviews in the near future?

I guess my "life goals" now are similar to Pings...I don't want marriage nor kids for at least 5 more years. I want to have a good time now, then settle down after 30.

Sydney's Fashion Diary said...

Thanks ladies for sharing your thoughts! Although we have plans, it doesn't mean we're going to accomplished them (but we'll try)

Angie | Pandaphilia.com said...

it's great to have such nice goals :) you can do it! i am a terrible and overly ambitious planner - i always overbook and then feel sad about failing to meet my goals on time

Unknown said...

Good for you! I'm usually too lazy to plan too much. I am busy with work, but I should just make time for more goal planning. :-)

April said...

I definitely make life plans. Aww congrats on expanding your family in the NEAR FUTURE!!! How interesting, Justin, my fiance does the same similar thing for a living, but not for pharmaceuticals, but for a medical devices company.

Jen said...

Goals are so important to have and I've never made them... you have just inspired me! I like what you said about making plans happen for yourself :) My plans for my life are basically to start a family and have my own boutique!

Hope you're having a great weekend girl!
Jen

Elaine said...

That's great! I don't feel like we have a set plan right now - mostly get out of school debt and finish school..

CLOTHED MUCH, a modest fashion blog

sunny said...

As a new entrepreneur, I can appreciate the aspiration to start your own business someday. I hope you succeed at it, and if you've ever got questions, I'd be happy to try to answer them. Action plans are fantastic. I'm all about lists, matrixes, tables, and outlines. =) You have a natural knack for branding, I can see that already via your blog here. You'll do fantastic as a small business owner!