How should I break down my long-term plans?

[CreamCat]

Right now, I have long-term plans for the next year, the next 3 years, the next 5 years, and the next 10 years. It looks like the following text document.

Quote

= Long Term Plan (This doesn't reflect my actual plan, but this should be the plan for my life purpose)

== Japanese

=== By the end of 2019

* A
** A1
* B
* ...

=== By the end of 2021

...

=== By the end of 2023

=== By the end of 2028

== Music

=== By the end of 2019

=== By the end of 2021

=== By the end of 2023

=== By the end of 2028

For each section, I stipulate a set amount with a set date. For example, by the end of 2023, I will be making 4000~8000 USD by selling this kind of product that resembles the work of someone, someone else, blah blah, .. and has such qualities, blah blah ...

For the current year, I make a yearly 3-month plan to make progress in the long-term plans. By a yearly 3-month plan, I mean the following text document.

Quote

= Yearly 3-month plan for 2019

== One Year

* A
* B
* ...

== Months 1~3

* A1
** A1-1
* B1
* ....

== Months 4~6

* A2
...

== Months 7~9

...

== Months 10~12

...

I think it makes sense to make progress in each quarter by breaking down the current quarter's plan into projects, adding a few small unplanned projects, and making the current month's plan out of the projects. Daily plans also make make sense in my experiences.

However, in my experiences for the past few years, weekly plans tend to not make much sense. It's hard to make a meaningful progress in one week. But, making a tangible progress is possible in one month or 6 weeks. I also tend to be lazy and shift some weekly tasks to the next week. Shifting weekly tasks to the next week every week adds seemingly unnecessary complexity to my planning system. With or without weekly plans, I would do weekly reviews.

I try to stick to David Allen's Getting Things Done(GTD) system for actual execution.

How do you suggest that I modify my planning system? A suggestion can either be a good refinement or a paradigm-shifting change.

Edited January 6, 2019 by CreamCat

[RichardY]

@CreamCat Have you been to Japan or Asia?

[CreamCat]

14 hours ago, RichardY said:

@CreamCat Have you been to Japan or Asia?

It seems you wonder if I have been to japan because my example long term plan includes japanese. I haven't been to japan. It's just a random example.

Edited January 7, 2019 by CreamCat

[Joseph Maynor]

Good.  Turn that into a list of 50 objectives.  And then take that list of 50 objectives and turn that into a projects binder.

Edited January 7, 2019 by Joseph Maynor

[CreamCat]

53 minutes ago, Joseph Maynor said:

Good.  Turn that into a list of 50 objectives.  And then take that list of 50 objectives and turn that into a projects binder.

The devil is in the detail. Can you go into details? I can't implement your suggestion as is.

Edited January 7, 2019 by CreamCat

[Joseph Maynor]

18 minutes ago, CreamCat said:

Devil is in the details. Can you go into details? I can't implement your suggestion as is.

Take all your goals, tasks, and projects that you want to do and just get all of that into one single list first.  That’s what I’m calling a list of 50 objectives.  Most people never do this kind of consolidating work.  When you have one document with your top 50 objectives it will be worth it.

Edited January 7, 2019 by Joseph Maynor

[non_nothing]

I'd approach to your problem very simple.

If you were to draw a line dividing your whole plan into two, where would you place this line? Think about it and draw that line.

Now you have another 2 plans divided. If you think this is not enough small to be handled by you, Apply the step 1 to each two new sections else you're done.

 

The thing is, you don't have to divide each section, you can have some sections not separated, meanwhile having some sections divided so tiny. It usually happens for dates closer to now, as would anyone expect, the closer the future is, the more predictable and manageable it is.

 

Just to give you an idea:

My undivided plan look like this:

#######################

End of 2019:
Goals = { A , B .... }
End of 2020
Goals = { C , D .... }
End of 2021
Goals = ...
End of 2022

Now I will apply the step 1:

End of 2019
-----------------------
Start of 2020
End of 2020
End of 2021
End of 2022

########################
Now I have two sections. I will now apply step 1 to each section.

Present moment
Goals = { A }
End of June
------------------------ ( divided year 2019 from july to two manageable sections)
Start of July
Goals = { B .. }
End of 2019

........................ (dots represent splitted sections in steps before)

Start of 2020
Goals { C, D }
End of 2020

------------------------ (by merging, actually I draw another line to split this section)

Start of 2021
End of 2022 (I merged this two years towards 2 year plan because I have concluded that section is
             far too in future to manage)

########################
Now I have four sections. I will now apply step 1 to each section, actually I consider to leave
sections 3rd and 4th not divided because I think they're in far away future and looks more 
manageable that way

Present moment
Goals = { Keep a journal everyday, meditate for 25 mins everyday until march then increase 
          to 40 mins }
End of March

------------------------ ( I now applied another division for meditation increment on april)

Start of April
Goals = { A }
End of June

........................

Start of July
Goals = { keep yourself happy and rested throughout the summer }
End of August

------------------------ ( I divided the other half of year on september)

Start of September
Goals = { Prepare for next fiscal year }
End of 2019

........................

Start of 2020
Goals { C, D }
End of 2020 

........................

Start of 2021
Goals { 2 year plan }
End of 2022

 

Edited January 7, 2019 by non_nothing

[RichardY]

8 hours ago, CreamCat said:

It seems you wonder if I have been to japan because my example long term plan includes japanese. I haven't been to japan. It's just a random example.

Not really, just recently came back from the Far East and thought of it as a topic for conversation, if you were looking at a language it would provide structure to a plan. As it's not really a plan, but a template. If it's going to be expanded, more of a journal. In which case why not write a blog.

Read a while a go there are four base processing methods of information. I can't remember the names, but I think they relate to the following.

A) Integration of old information with new. Integral. Inductive. Dialectical. (very slow). My default.
B) Integration of new information with old. Integral/Systematic. Deductive. Rhetorical. (slow)
C) Addition of expanding chains of new information. Journaling. (Fast)
D) Random allocation of space. Fragmentary. (Very Fast)

All processing methods have advantages and disadvantages. I think they ascend in incidence, consciously being aware may provide some ability to alter the method. Buddhism seems to seek to breakdown chains of thinking, of which I tend to think of a Schopenhauer or U.G Krishnamurti, personality wise.

A) I like the commonplace book suggestion of Leo, I have heard the suggestion before referenced by a New York teacher, Gato something, to Benjamin Franklin. The booklist is only a tip of the iceberg of what needs to be read, some discarded, others studied intently. B) may benefit from a systematic approach, commonplace book.... C) From expressing their journalism, or transcending that way of thinking. D) I'm not fundamentally sure, what can be done, journaling may help.

[DayProv]

@CreamCat

great way to divide long-term goals is in my opinion:

1. make a big goal (let´s say 5 years from now)

2. make a year goals (What could I do this year to get closer to my big goal?)

3. do this with monthly, weekly and daily goals too

Always ask yourself every day "What could I do today to reach my weekly goal?" - even when it will be only 1 thing). 

This concept is greatly explained inside the book from Gary Keller - The one thing (one of the best books I ever read). 

In my article where I wrote about 7 tips to Effective time management, at the end I shared 2 frameworks for setting and dividing long terms goals (one from Russell Brunson and second from Warren Buffet). You can check it out here when you want:  https://dayprov.com/7-practical-tips-for-effective-time-management/

[CreamCat]

On 1/7/2019 at 3:30 PM, Joseph Maynor said:

Take all your goals, tasks, and projects that you want to do and just get all of that into one single list first.  That’s what I’m calling a list of 50 objectives.  Most people never do this kind of consolidating work.  When you have one document with your top 50 objectives it will be worth it.

I will try and see if there is some value in making my top 50 objectives from long-term goals, yearly goals, quarterly goals, projects, and tasks. I might stop making quarterly plans, though.

I just expect that updating the top 50 objectives would incur a lot of overhead and shouldn't be done everyday. Maybe, once a week during my weekly review sessions.

Edited January 8, 2019 by CreamCat