Bestselling author and motivational speaker Harvey Mackay says, “A dream is just a dream. A goal is a dream with a plan and a deadline.” As the season of giving arrives, one of the best things you can give yourself is time to set goals and create a plan for a new year, one filled not just with dreams, but with the plans and deadlines to make them happen.
Taking time now to plan out the rest of your year and your 2026 objectives will help you start the new quarter or year ready to act, ahead of the curve. It will allow you to keep your highest priorities in focus, and it’ll help you make measurable progress towards them. So many of us have been conditioned to think of planning as just a chore, but this year, think of it as an opportunity – a chance to find the path that will align your dreams with your reality.
Give yourself a minimum of 90 minutes for this exercise, set in stone on your calendar. When the time arrives, clear your desk, pour a coffee or a cocktail, toast to your good health, great aspirations, and get started:
Step 1: Think Big
The first stage of goal-setting should include a healthy dose of wishing. Write down the things you aspire to accomplish in 10 years, in 5 years, and in the year to come. Don’t be afraid to reach; the seeds of solid plans and future successes often come when we dare to consider not just small, achievable objectives, but big, unwieldy ones too. For this phase, don’t confine yourself to a notebook. Use a whiteboard or poster board divided into your major planning areas—for example: personal, financial, career, and family. For each, list all the big ideas on your mind for the future. Even if you ultimately decide not to pursue some of them, this is the time to give each some attention.
Step 2: Make It Real
Okay, now which among those big goals can you envision achieving in the coming year? Which do you need to right-size to a single-year’s goal, knowing there will be others to come? Choose some that will be easily attainable and others that’ll be a reach. Don’t neglect the personal or the professional aspect of your lives; both are equally important.
Step 3: Break It Down
Now take each of those goals and break them down into achievable steps you can follow and measure day-to-day, week-to-week, or month-to-month throughout the year. You’ll need milestones on your way to each goal to help track progress and spur you on to ultimate success.
Step 4: Write It In Ink
It’s time to move from the whiteboard to the planning book and calendar. Divide a planner or binder into equal sections for each goal and give each a title page. Now, flow those milestones into your calendar so you’ll be able to see them up ahead as you go into the new year.
Step 5: Celebrate
Seriously. You’ve cheerfully, efficiently created a plan for the coming year that’s going to bring you closer to your long-term and short-term goals.
Step 6: Revisit
One of the best advantages of planning early is the time it’ll allow you to let your plans and ideas marinate before you start putting them into action. Re-read and review your goals throughout the month. Think about them. Fine tune. By the time the new year rolls around, you’ll have had a chance to truly know and aspire to both your intentions and your action plan.
