Planning Ahead – it’s not just for business

My husband and I have a tradition.   Every year we ring in New Year’s Eve by spending the first half of the evening partying with our kids- complete with party hats, dancing, games and lots of Happy New Year shout outs.   Believe it or not, our house gets pretty rockin when all three kids get those noisemakers going!

The second half of the evening is all about us.  Once the last child is down we open up the champagne, enjoy a beautiful gourmet meal and start our annual planning session.  Planning?  That doesn’t sound very romantic, does it?

Maybe not but it definitely sets the year off right and brings us closer together. 

We start by opening up a fresh new notebook and creating pages for the following categories:

-       Proudest achievements

-       Best moments

-       Biggest regrets

-       2010 GOALS

We take about an hour or so brainstorming these topics.  We reflect on the year, talk through our favorite memories and mutual frustrations. Think of this like creating your own personal montage movie scene.   It brings some clarity to our lives, which as we all know, can often be a bit of a blur as we dash from one thing to the next.

Here is a glimpse at our discoveries:

• Proudest Accomplishments?  Finally cleaned the scary attic.  Goal for 2010 -  tackle the even scarier basement!
•  Best moments? Hanging out with our friends at the town pool on summer weekends,  going on a Fall weekend getaway without the kids.  So Goals for 2010 would be:   Join pool and plan another getaway!
• Biggest regrets- didn’t see enough adult movies.  Goal?  See at least 6 films this year (sad, I know but at least its achievable)

We came out feeling incredibly blessed to have great jobs, friends and family and that our frustrations and regrets can often be minimized by refocusing our priorities on those things that bring us the most joy and satisfaction.     I highly recommend you try this exercise – either with your partner or by yourself.   Just make sure your goals are SMART ones (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely) and check your progress at least quarterly to see how you’re pacing.

 “Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now”