How I Turned From a Plan Rejecter to an Enthusiastic Life Planner

Insider information with examples

I grew up as the messy child of a tidy mother, and whenever my mother told me to tidy my room or dress more neatly, I would instead do the opposite.

I considered it a virtue to live what life gave as a surprise at that moment and accept it as it is. I avoided making plans unless it was essential.

Even after starting a job, I continued in this way. It was enough for me to live within the company’s time rules and borders; I didn’t need to make a plan or program myself. Until I heard a sentence from the lecturer in a corporate training I joined by chance. She said,

Planning gives you the chance to live the things you prefer. If you plan your time, you gain the right to choose. Living without a plan means rejecting the right to choose and being content with whatever life gives you.

The habit of years did not change in a day, of course. I kept putting no effort into being a planner. But what the instructor said opened up a new cloud of thought in my head and lit a spark in my consciousness.

What changed my clutter habit sharply was that I unbearably needed a system to manage an entire team after being promoted to a manager myself. I had thousands of issues to deal with, and I pathetically knew I couldn’t handle it without a strategy. Also, my manager was the most disciplined and planned person I have ever seen. As a result, I had come to the end of my hippie life and was on my way to being a more planned person.

Finally, I made plans for everything; big and small programs such as a one-on-one meeting plan with my team members, a follow-up plan for the projects, a daily work plan, etc.

Every morning, I came to work earlier than most. While having my breakfast, I checked my plans, planned meetings accordingly, and sent emails. Before the workday started, I could have dealt with a considerable workload. I was feeling delighted and at ease. There are very few things that can make a huge change so quickly.

After a while, this habit became genuinely life-changing for me. It has been so helpful that I regretted why I had avoided it so much in my past life. Who knows how much more successful I could have been, what opportunities I missed.

As a self-employed person, planning is more important to me now than ever.

The biggest challenge of being self-employed is planning your time and business. Without a plan, you can’t finish the right work at the right time, learn, or produce anything good. Days just fly by before your eyes, and years pass before you can create anything meaningful.

That’s why I’m wrapped up in planning like a lifeline.

How do I plan?

Everything starts with setting my goals. I go from the big picture to the smaller.

First, I set my annual goals. This is not a plan rather a strong wish list.

Then, I make monthly, weekly, and daily plans. It may sound boring, but it will be much easier once you prepare it, like just filling in the blanks. Let’s see in detail.

Annual Goals

My favorite is the part of the annual goals.

It’s so enjoyable to dream of a much better version of yourself. The desire to be the better, happier, wealthier is a magical transformer.

I determine my annual goals in September of each year. Not in December or January. Because the business year starts with the opening of the school year and the end of the summer slumber. I live in a country where the sun makes you pretty warm in the summer (Turkey), and summer is usually a time of slackness, vacations, and fun. So, the working year begins with autumn.

First, I check my goals for the previous year. These would be personal growth or work-related purposes. Both are important for me, so I have no reason to separate them.

When setting my goals, I ask myself this question:

What kind of Gulsun do I want to be when we reach this time next year?

According to my answers to these questions, I chose the satisfactory subjects that will help me make significant progress in my life. I pick the top 10 and write them to check during the year.

An important nuance is the writing style of the goals. I write them as an expression instead of item-like writing. Such as, “I have been gaining money for my articles” or “I have a habit of walking at least half an hour every day.” Not like “gaining money from writing” or “running every day.”

Expressions of situations give the feeling of faith, so they are more robust.

Monthly Plan

I prepare my monthly goals, and plans based on my annual goals.

In this plan, there are topics such as the books I need to read that month, the movies I need to watch, the training I need to complete, the texts I need to write. I use colors to paint my completed one green which gives me the satisfaction of achievement.

At the end of the month, I can see how significant progress I made.

Here’s an example:

Weekly Plan

I originate a weekly plan from the monthly one. I use the same coloring pattern here as well.

Also, I note the good and bad experiences for learning forward and improving the week's schedule.

Daily Notes

I also keep small notes for each day. I use Google Keep for note-taking. It’s free and online so that I can reach my notes everywhere, both from my laptop and phone — no need to pay anything else.

I open a note page every day, write daily works here. I also note new items, for example, an inspirational action originating from a book, podcast, or class.

These notes are for actions, not a quote list or ideas.

Additional Suggestions

• Follow-up is critical. Make sure to mark whether or not you have accomplished the item in the plan.
• It would help if you also allowed some flexibility in your plans. Life happens with something new every day; we read, learn, get inspired. So we can always add or subtract.
• If you don’t like planning like my former self, I suggest adding fun to the process. You can use colors, photos, special notebooks, or apps.
• Use an app that you can access anywhere. So you can make changes throughout the day and see them updated at home on your computer. (I use Google Sheets)

Proven to Work — Give It a Try

It may seem like crazy work at first, especially if you are not familiar with planning at all. But once you’ve got it ready, all you have to do is add items and follow through.

You will set your goals based on your thoughts and dreams, and you will feel pleased and thriving when you see that you realize them step by step.

Thanks to these plans, I had many achievements:

• I managed to write a 120 pages fiction book in less than a year
• I created a fictional character and wrote stories about it
• I have read hundreds of books
• I acquired very effective habits such as meditation and journaling
• Now I’m on my way to establishing new publishing ideas and channels

Most importantly, I didn’t get lost like a small sailboat in the open sea after quitting a corporate job. I travel with confidence on a route that I set myself.

If you can put the habit of planning into your routine, your life can change in an unbelievably positive way. It doesn’t have to be so detailed. Just give it a try.

I would appreciate it if you could share your experiences by leaving a comment.