NEW YEAR PLANNING TIPS

New Year Planning Tips

By Brian Nambale,

As the year ends this holiday normally comes with tension for Christmas just after the children have gotten long holidays; with our known yearly saving groups “Bi’biina”and it ends with starting a new chapter of the known and unknown programs ahead.

Most Christians are guided by their Pastors, Reverends, Deacons and Prayer partners in planning while believing God to fulfil it as they write these on cards especially for National celebration, Passover festival, Cross over nights and many more which is good.

For most of us, this year started out with set budgets, plans and goals – both professional and personal. Then it all got shaken up, flipped upside down, and our only plan became adapting as quickly as possible.

It is an understatement to say that this year has looked nothing like we thought it would. Next year may not either. That being said, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t still plan for the year ahead. You should take note that whether you are looking to advance your career, Promotion at work place or among the team, new employment, Travel visas or changing directions, planning ahead will help you stay focused. We just need to acknowledge that our plans will have to accommodate for some uncertainty.

Sure, you can keep on working the same way you have been. But if you do, don’t be surprised if you find yourself in the same position this time next year. Take some time to create a plan for the year ahead that is worth your time and energy.

Planning Helps you to walk your talk, avoid unnecessary expenditures, get focused, avoids time wastage, and enables self-accountability through evaluation.

These are the 12 ways you can take to help you have a better SMART plan commonly called New Year RESOLUTIONS

1. Plan your professional and personal year separately

You may want to make one plan for the year ahead that includes both your professional and personal lives. Don’t. These plans should be kept separate.

The goals you have for work will be very different from your personal goals. Yet they still need to work in tandem with each other. Otherwise, you may not achieve as much as you expect to.

Remember that you only have 24hrs in a day. Be kind to yourself when you plan your goals so that they are achievable, and you still maintain a healthy sleep schedule.

2. Review the past year

Before you can plan for the year ahead, you need to review the year you have just had. And don’t only assume everything was awful.

No doubt there were victories, mistakes, experiences that grew your skills, and those that didn’t. Look at what moved you forward and what held you back. Write these details down so that you can use them to make a strategically sound plan for the year ahead.

·????look at how you spend your time through the year – did it align with your goals and what didn’t

·????Identifying three large wins and three areas that needed work and you may have to generalise at first. But knowing these details will set the foundation as you plan for the year ahead.

·????write down all the important dates, meetings and deadlines you know about for next year

·????decide what you need to prioritize for your?mental health

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3. Create your not-to-do list

This isn’t only about getting rid of the tasks you don’t want to do. It is also about getting rid of the ones that prevent you from greater productivity. Identifying which tasks should be delegated will allow you to be more efficient. This will save you time, day-to-day.

While these tasks may be a time waste for you, they may be a huge learning opportunity for your team. Make sure to incorporate your task delegation into your teams’ goals and professional development plan for the year ahead.

4. Establish a routine

Think about those tasks that reappear regularly; those that you need to do on a perpetual basis. Add them to your calendar on repeat for the whole year, so they become part of your schedule.

Think about big quarterly events and schedule those in too. It helps you to plan your week in advance instead of scrambling for time to get everything done. It also helps with delegation.

While you are accounting for those tasks, plan time for quarterly reviews to monitor how you are doing in achieving your goals. Readjust your plans accordingly to keep you on track – or set new goals if you are ahead of schedule.

Even if you find yourself not meeting the expectations you’ve set for yourself, this allows you to reassess and reset any goal or plan for the year ahead.

5. Learn to say No

This comes in times when peers have outings and you have tasks unaccomplished or certain emergency meetings which may need your support even when you don’t appear physically and your presence is 50/50 beneficial to lose your planed day; peoples programs which benefit them and you have no much impact to their presence.?

Say No!!!

6. Make a plan for the year ahead

Think of exactly where you want to be by 31 December of next year 2023. Now, plan the steps you will need to get there.

Note down key activities or achievements along the way that will help you reach that outcome. These could be projects, mentorships, or skills development.

Also, take into consideration possible obstacles. If this year has taught us anything, its that you always need to have a plan B. And maybe a vague idea for a plan C. You may never need these alternative plans. Yet having them helps create some peace of mind.Classify your needs, wants and Priotise.

?7. Work on a side project/ hustle

Explore your passions by working on a side project/ hustle so include them in your plan. Side projects help you learn new techniques and skills that you may otherwise never learn in your daily job, and can benefit your career. They encourage creativity, self-development, confidence and training – all skills not often developed in a traditional work environment.

Don’t dismiss your side project as?that thing you do when you have some free time because not everything meaningful can be measured.

You will need to set aside and invest, the time and energy into making it work. Be patient with yourself. Get excited about all the things you are learning.

8. Celebrate every win

Commit to celebrating the wins, no matter how small

No matter how much you plan for the year ahead, it is sure to have surprises and diversions. That is why it is so important that when you reach a goal, no matter how small, you take the time to congratulate yourself. Years ago I remember my Late grandfather often reminded us to slaughter our rabbits and chicken after achieving.

9. Give yourself some space

Remember your health, learning skills, physical fitness, nutrition and rest make you an indomitable lion in most of the plans you do.

If you’re everything for everyone, you’ll have no time to be the best version of you. Learn to delegate duties to allow you do much on your plans. You can Set reminders in your calendar to stop work on time, work out, and take breaks. Give yourself space to decompress.

Set daily to do lists to avoid wasting your small valuable time or wasting other peoples time.

?10. Adjust your attitude

It should be noted that how you choose to allow certain things to affect your attitude will change how you approach every task and person you meet. The most important decision you can make is to be positive, hopeful, and open every day

Remind yourself that while you cannot control the outcome of your year, you can control how you react.

Remind yourself every day that your attitude determines everything. Life isn’t all roses, and things will happen that aren’t pleasant. Having goals and a plan for the year ahead will help you decide which direction to go when you need to make any changes – because you’ll already know where you want to end up.

11. Allow for flexibility

A plan for the year ahead is only as good as your ability to understand that things happen outside of our control. It’s about patience, consistency, and flexing your plan when you need to.

It should be noted that change in most cases comes with change of mindset and great support from others that’s why it’s advisable to get your team involved where you can, especially when you need to decide on change. Your combined thinking can produce ideas you would never have imagined on your own.

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12. Draw a table of your SMART Goals

The New Year is a time of change and improvement .Along with change comes a fresh start and a clean slate; therefore what you all plan to achieve, drop and invest in is better achieved by making sure you set SMART Goals.

S-Specific

Setting a specific goal makes it easier to know exactly what you are trying to accomplish and does not leave much room for any grey area. Putting some thought into this before you start your goal can make the process run more smoothly and will allow you plan accordingly as to how you will achieve your specific goal.

If I plan to rear chicken, I need to specify the type whether layers, broilers, croilers or local ‘kigisu’ chicken while specifying my market and time of expected sales and disposal.

M-Measurable

Secondly, Making a goal measurable entails setting a deadline and making sure you know what you are looking for once you reach that deadline. Asking yourself, “How will I know when I have reached this goal?” is a good way of coming up with your measurement. Also, thinking about what it will feel or look like when you reach this goal can help you visualize what type of measurement you will be using

A-Achievable

Third, make sure your goal is achievable. Ask yourself if the goal is realistic with some effort and commitment on your part. It is important to be honest with yourself about this section of your goal-setting process. Setting a goal that is unrealistic can lead to feelings of defeat and failure. You can also ask yourself if you have the proper resources to achieve this goal. If you answer no to either of these two questions you will need to alter the goal to make sure it is realistic.If I earn 175,000/- UGx monthly can I startup a soccer academy? Knowing very well that the most durable balls costs 200,000/- Ugx each.

Ask yourself how funds to feed young lads, pay coaches, buy uniforms , Pay media will be got; otherwise youll eat up your time in borrowing and cursing friends for failing to support you.

R- Relevant/ Realistic

Fourth, ensure that your goal is Relevant. Think about what your reasons for setting this goal are and list them out. Why is it important for you to achieve this goal? What relevance does it hold in your life and how will it impact your happiness and well-being? Processing these questions and coming up with answers for them can help you figure out why this goal is significant in your life. Reminding yourself of the relevance can be a motivational factor in accomplishing your goal.

For instance, travelling OVERSEAS without a passport, visa or air ticket; driving a car without a permit or scoping a Uganda Airlines Job without knowledge of Aviation. This is where spiritualists go wrong with slogans like Pray Until Something Happens (PUSH).That’s why Ugandan TV programs like High flyer, Prescription for success , Omukozi (A worker), Yiga Okuyiya(Be creative) extra are so important to people to bring reality towards achievement.

T- Timely (set deadlines which are realistic)

Fore-instance, if i plan to do farming on a local free range system and anticipate good profit out of?local eggs it’s important to know the exact time a local hen is expected to start laying eggs so that realistic time frame is mapped in the Smart goal chart.

Deadlines can be set in Seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years depending on the Tasks therefore take time to think about how long it will take you to accomplish this by looking at the past patterns/ reading others experiences on that with a great vision on how long it will take you to achieve a resolution if you put in time and effort for it.

Using these helpful steps can make your New Year’s resolution one that is actually worth creating and one that can be accomplished through some hard work Prayer and dedication. Take some time to think about these five different areas of goal setting and write out a SMART goal to work towards this New Year. After all, everyone can use some change every once in a while.

Happy Blessed and Fruitful New Year 2023 our Readers.

About The Author

Brian Nambale (Hon.), Palliative Care & Meningitis Advocate,

Clinic Manager at Medicure Trauma Centre Nabumali- Mbale;

LCV Councilor Mbale District,

Health & Education Committee Member Mbale District Local Government and a Writer?