I am a fan of owning the results in my life.
I much prefer to ‘win’.
I am also not a fan of ‘winging’ the stuff that really matters.
Which means today we are going to have a sticky beak (peak) at how to start the New Year with a bunch more certainty, when it comes to creating your ideal experiences in 2025.
We are now officially at the tail-end of 2024.
It is almost time to tie a bow around it, say bye-bye, and have a look at what’s next.
Now, is also a great time – at the front end of December – to get more intentional about 2025.
Especially with the most important business in your life.
The business of you doing you, with this playing field called ‘life’.
And we don’t really want to do show up like an amateur.
However, let me put a cavity here. Of course you can show up however you want. What I am suggesting is if you want to have more sh#t work out for you (more wins), then my suggestions, may be of great benefit.
So let’s dive right in.
Where most people miss the mark
Has anyone noticed that “hoping” for stuff to turn out in your favour, without actually doing anything, has a success rate of about 13% of the time.
It works – sometimes – but just not very often.
I sort of put the New Years Resolution process, which most people adopt, into the same category.
Especially if they are doing it after two bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon!!
There is this burst of energy and excitement, when the resolutions are made, and maybe some clever people actually write them down on paper (or on their phone / computer).
But a little ways into January, probably around the mid point, when the Xmas and New Years festivities and holidays have truly ended, and you are now back into the real-world stuff of ‘work’ and other commitments, and are way too distracted to inject energy or enthusiasm into your epic “ideas” , which you busted out on 1 January.
Here’s the thing.
And I know you know this too.
An “idea” without a PLAN is back to playing the game of chance.
Maybe your resolution will work, and maybe (most likely) it won’t.
Which is okay if your resolution was nebulous or pie-in-the-sky dreamy, but if your ‘idea’ is something that really matters, or will make a significant difference in your life, it is best IMHO not to wing it.
A much better strategy, which is so doable
Again, I have the sneaking suspicion you already know this stuff.
But…knowing and DOING are two very different realities.
Do you know any people in your life who are big talkers, but absolutely crappers at the doing thing?
You don’t want to be one of those.
So here is what I do, and I do it at the start of December (actually for me personally, I started doing this on 26 November).
Firstly I have this formula in mind:
Idea + PLAN + Action = increased probability of sh#t working out in my favour.
Today the focus is on the “PLAN” bit.
And again this does not have to be a 97-page Strategic Plan.
A moderately okay plan is MUCH better than no plan at all.
Let’s assume you have a pretty good idea of what you want to DO, HAVE, or BE in 2025 (your ‘Goals’).
I figure out my Goals by asking questions like: “What different things would I like to create in 2025?” or “What do I want more of or less of in 2025?” or “What are the non-negotiables I want to experience in 2025?“.
Here are some simple suggestions for the PLANNING piece:
1. Don’t try to get everything done in January (give yourself appropriate time).
2. Write down all the things that need to happen, or may need to happen, to achieve your Goal.
3. Highlight all of the (absolutely) ESSENTIAL things you need to do to reach your Goal.
4. Get a piece of paper, where you mark a timeline of 12-months, and then – as your best guess – see if you can assign essential tasks to your timeline.
5. Work out the 3 most essential first steps.
6. Make sure they are ‘achievable‘ (start with some early wins and create momentum).
7. Schedule these 3 steps (or activities) into your Diary.
8. Commit to doing these 3 things, even if they are not done ‘perfectly’ (done, not perfect).
Obviously, there are more precise, and strategic things, you could do to increase the probability of success even more; but this will create at least a ‘moderately okay‘ Plan, which is way out in front of the festive or alcohol infused ‘resolutions‘, which most people dream up but never follow through on.
In fact, there are LOTS of ways to come up with a good Plan to get stuff done.
It is less about how great your Plan is and more about actually having a Plan.
That mere act just quadrupled your chances of success in 2025.
And this might be the appropriate time for me to suggest that if you want a more pimped-up 2025 Strategic Plan, then get in touch with me, but that would be WAY too cheesy and salesy, so I won’t be doing that.
Ha, ha, ha.
In Summary:
The main point: Only about 99% of the time, a pretty average PLAN is still much better than none at all.
If what you want to achieve in 2025 is of high importance to you, take the time to create a Plan.
The main thing when planning to achieve something in 2025 is to give yourself enough time. Don’t rush into it head first on January 6th and burn yourself out early. Take your time, and don’t get suckered into thinking ‘faster’ is better.
Start your planning now – do a little bit each week of December – so you feel like you are on track when you roll back into work in 2025 with an actual Plan.
My Parting Words
On a purely philosophical level, one day is pretty much the same as the next.
A mix of day and night in differing measures throughout the year.
But having a calendar, and milestones imbedded (like a New Year), can also be a useful tool.
It can allow us to reflect back on the past 12-months, to gain insight for future choices.
And it can give us something to aim for.
Apparently us humans are these teleological beings who thrive on Purpose – something to work towards.
So use the milestones of the transition between years, to get a measure of where you are at (honestly), and where you want to get to.
Then the likelihood of achieving that outcome, significantly goes up if you take the time to Plan.
My observation is that people are pretty good at planning when it comes to their work or profession, but pretty crappers when it comes to planning their lives, and who they want to be in relationship to it.
What are some of your SPECIFIC Plans for 2025?
Don’t come up with New Years Resolutions, come up with a 2025 (Personal and Professional) “PLAN”.
Thus endeth the message.
All yours.
Have a thoughtful day of dreaming up possibilities for 2025, and a week of patching that Plan together.
Take care,
Carl
Quotable QUOTE:
“Only about 99.6% of the time, a pretty average PLAN is still better than none at all.” Carl Massy
(Author of 18 Ways We Make Life WAY Harder Than It Needs To Be)
PS: Have you read or listened to this book yet? 18 Ways We Make Life WAY Harder Than It Needs To Be