How I Plan My Year: Simple Yet Effective Strategies

Since studying abroad 10 years ago, I’ve made it a habit to plan for myself every year. I find it effective for two key reasons:

1. It helps me reflect and define my goals for the year.
2. It keeps me motivated to improve myself and achieve the goals I set.

Everyone has their own way of planning. I know many young people today use vision boards, Notions, or other professional planning tools. Personally, I prefer to KEEP IT SIMPLE—just old-school Excel .

Here are some tips from my own annual planning process that might be helpful:

1. See the Big Picture

Since it’s an annual plan, I start with broad pillars before breaking them down into specific goals. Each person has different core pillars, but for me, the three most important ones are:

• Education (knowledge, skill development)
• Experience/Career
• Personal Growth (self-awareness, health, personal activities, etc.)

2. Limit the Number of Goals

Unlike monthly or daily plans, annual plans should focus on just a few big goals. This helps with prioritization and makes it easier to stay on track and achieve them.

3. You Don’t Have to Quantify Everything, But Try Where You Can

Since annual goals are more aspirational, you may not be able to quantify every single task or activity. However, within each pillar, I set measurable tasks that help me reach the bigger goals. This makes tracking progress easier and increases the chances of success.

4. Review & Update Periodically

My yearly plan doesn’t change much, but I do add details each month and update progress as I go. If you wait until the end of the year to review, you might forget about some goals. Regular check-ins help you stick to the plan.

The picture below shows my 2017 plan when I graduated from my MBA and was job-hunting. As you can see, my goals back then were mostly focused on job search activities. By mid-year, I updated my goals after landing a job.

Hope this was helpful! Wishing all of you looking for internships, jobs, promotions, or working on other plans success in reaching your goals!