Have you ever noticed that successful people typically know where they are going and how to get there? How do they know what the next step is to get to the result they want? I believe they know what to do to achieve the goal because they have a 10-year plan, or something like it.
For example if I decide I want to be a millionaire today chances are slim I’m going to wake up a millionaire tomorrow. But if I decide today that I want to be a millionaire and then figure out what steps I need to take each day, month and year to achieve that goal, chances are I will one day be a millionaire.
Why You Need a 10 Year Plan
There are a lot of reasons we each need to have a 10 year plan. Here are just a few reasons I think having a long term plan is important.
It’s Easier to do Hard/ Mundane Tasks
I have found that by having a long-term plan makes it easier to do mundane and difficult tasks each day. There are so many little tasks that get old really fast but overtime those little tasks make a big difference.
It Gives You Guidelines for Setting Goals
Having a 10 year or even longer term plan makes it easier to set goals. If you know what you ultimately want to accomplish than the yearly goals should be something to help support you in achieving those things on your long term plan.
It Helps You Focus
I don’t know about you but sometimes I can get easily distracted going after one thing and then another. Having a plan helps me stay focused on working towards accomplishing something.
It Helps You Achieve Your Dreams
Having a 10 year plan and an even bigger plan of things I want to accomplish is helping me achieve my dreams, instead of waiting for things to happen I’m getting out their and making things happen.
How to Create a 10 Year Plan
Writing a 10 year plan can be as simple or as challenging as you want to make it. Here are the steps I took to create my long term plan
Image and Write a List
First get a paper. Then imagine what you want your life to be like in 10 years, including things you want to have accomplished. Write it down, the more detail the better!
Example: In 10 years I want to have a passive income of at least $5,000 a month. I want to be completely out of debt. I want to be able to spend a lot of time traveling. I want to have a vacation home in Florida. The list could and does go on a lot longer than this example.
** If you really want to challenge yourself before writing down what you want your life to be like in 10 years. First make a list of 100 things you want to accomplish in your life. Then from that list take things you want to have accomplished in 10 years.
Review List and Prioritize
Now looking at your list of what you want your life to be like in 10 years. Take from that list the 10 most important things you want to happen and breakdown exactly step-by-step what you need to do to accomplish each item.
Example: I want to have a passive income of at least $5,000 a month.
- I want at least half of that income to come from my Blog ($2,500)
- Write Valuable Content for my blog
- Share content on social media
- Get Sponsored Posts
- Use affiliate links
Break it Down into Steps
This is just an idea of how you can breakdown each of the top 10 most important things you want to accomplish.
Now that you have listed step-by-step what you need to do to accomplish your Top 10, take at least one of those “steps” for each item that you can work on this year. These items become some of your new year’s resolutions.
Example: Write Valuable Content for my blog.
Write Smart Goals
Now that you know what you’re going to do and can see the long-term picture of why you’re doing it. Turn each of your “steps” for your top 10 goals into SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant &Recorded, Time-Bound) Goals to help you achieve the life you want.
Example: Write one post each week this year with at least 1000 words.
Tip: Once you set your SMART Goals get an accountability partner. I know I do a lot better at getting things done when I know someone is going to be checking up on me.
Do you think having a long-term plan helps you accomplish your short-term goals?