Writing Your Action Plan: A Crucial Goal Setting Activity

Once you’ve familiarized yourself with the sample action plan, it is time to go ahead and write your own.

The easiest way to carry out this goal setting activity is to consider and address specific questions for each section. Refer to the questions to complete each section of the plan. For your convenience, click here to review a blank action plan annotated with the sample questions. Or follow along on the action plan template itself.

The Big Picture – Your Goal and Motivation

Goal

This section asks the $10-million question – what are you going to accomplish? What is it that you will achieve by taking the steps in this plan.

To make your goal setting activity most productive try to focus each action plan on one subject area, with at most one or two specific goals. This is the best strategy even when you are working on a large goal and wind up creating an action plan that is a smaller portion of a larger goal.

Cramming too much action into one plan defeats the purpose and can wind up stalling your progress rather than propelling you forward.

Motivation

Focusing on why you want to achieve your goal is a key goal setting activity.

A reminder of your motivation boosts your commitment to taking action.

Fill in your motivation in this section of the action plan.

Why is this goal important to you? Are you hoping to get something? What? Will you feel something or achieve a status?

Putting your motivation down on the action plan template makes it easy to review not just what you’re working for buy why you’re working for it. And sometimes that is just what you need to keep going.

The Meat of the Action Plan: Action Steps & Timing

Action Steps

This section is the heart of the action plan.

List the steps you’ll need to take to get where you want to go.

If you’re not sure what your action steps should be then make figuring out the next step one of your tasks.

Be comprehensive and don’t worry if you have a long list of action steps. A list with lots of small steps is just as effective as a list with fewer larger action steps if you carry the steps out in both cases.

Timing

When your list of steps is well underway start to fill in information about when you will take each step.

In some cases these may be specific dates. Other times you’ll set a range of times, or a sequence (such as doing one task when the previous one is complete) or even a start date.

Anything that gives you a time to target as a start or finish will work. The key to this portion of your goal setting activity is tying each action step to a time. This leaves you with a plan that can be tracked instead of a more abstract to-do list.

Success Boosters: Obstacles, Responses, Resources, Action Starters, Mini-Goals & Milestones

In the balance of this goal setting activity you focus on avoiding problems by advance planning.

Obstacles

In the obstacles section you review the potential challenges to executing this plan in advance.

You may be aware of some barriers to execution – whether they are competing commitments, old habits, or external factors beyond your control.

Use this section to note the barriers you can reasonably expect to arise as you put your action plan into effect.

Responses

For each obstacle that you identify, select an appropriate response.

If these problems do get you off track how can you get back on track again?

Designing an appropriate response is a lot easier when you’re not in the press of a crisis. Make your plans in advance, and adjust them if necessary, when the problem arises, and you’ll often avoid time-consuming and frustrating delays.

Resources

Listing resources on your action plan is another important goal setting activity.

You need to know where you can turn when you’re stuck. Are there people, books, websites or other references that can support you in taking the actions in your plan?

Putting them in one spot makes them easier to reference when a problem develops. And if you find you’re lacking resources you can think about where you might find them so they’re available when you do need them.

Action Starters

No action plan proceeds from start to finish withOut a surprise twist or two. Sometimes you’ll hit an obstacle and sometimes you’ll just plain feel yourself slowing down.

In this section list two or three ways to get going again if you feel your momentum slipping away. They won’t get you to the finish line any faster, but they will keep you in the race when you hit that unexpected speed bump.

Mini-Goals & Milestones

One more way to keep yourself going is to set progress markers.

You will track progress on a tracking sheet and check off each action step as it is completed.

Use this section to think of other ways to note the fact that you’re really making progress. Can you identify a mini-goal, or a specific milestone that has meaning to you?

The satisfaction you get from reaching these milestones will increase your commitment to making it all the way to your goal.

Return from Writing Your Action Plan to Setting and Achieving Goals home.