Image Credit: Viridiana Rivera, Pexels

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The future you get tomorrow comes from the choices you make today.

I’m not one for New Year’s resolutions. Yet I’m definitely into being intentional to create the life I want. The difference is the structure I put around my intentions. It’s like building a castle in the air and then creating the foundations under it.

This is important to me because I’m at a stage in life where I want to make every day count (actually, shouldn’t every stage in life be about that?) If you’re thinking along similar lines, you might also be asking questions like:

• How can I ensure I don’t get caught up in the endless grind of busyness and reactivity?
• How can I put my time and energy towards the few things that will make the biggest difference?
• How can I end the year with as much energy as I began it?

Around this time every year, I do a ‘Year by Design’ process that helps me to define my intentions and the structures that will help me realise those intentions. It’s a methodical process that I’ve refined over the years. Here’s what it looks like:

1. Do a year-in-review
2. Identify patterns and themes
3. Set intentions for the year ahead
4. Define Bigger Me
5. Schedule the good stuff
6. Make a ‘great people’ list

Breaking it down:

1. Year in Review

There is a useful Māori proverb ‘Ka mua, ka muri’ which means ‘look back to look forward’. The past gives useful clues for the future. So before I do any intention setting, I get some perspective on the life I’ve been living so far. I look back over the previous 12 months and review the people and experiences that I consider positive, and those I consider negative, getting as granular as I can.

2. Identify Patterns and Themes

Next, I look for patterns and themes. For example, a theme I’ve noticed was that ‘positive’ people seem to all be very generous with their time and ideas, while the people I had more ‘negative’ experiences with tended to be time-poor and/or somewhat selfish. Interesting. I find that the most positive experiences speak to and reflect my deepest values, and it’s worth you reflecting on this too. The Schwartz Values Model is a useful tool here.

3. Set Intentions

Then I ask myself: “What are my intentions for this coming year?” I’ll take the themes and values, and build from them. Useful sub-questions for me include “Who do I want to hang out with?” “What work will be really interesting and engaging for me?” “What adventures do I want to have?” “What do I want to achieve?” “What could I do that would cause me to grow?” and, crucially, “What do I want to drop, or dial down?” Ya gotta make room for the good stuff. Tim Ferris also suggests asking people close to you “What could I do more of this year?” and “What could I do less of?”

4. Define Bigger Me

Bigger Me is the version of you that you want to show up more often. Smaller Me is the version that shows up more often than you’d like. Bigger Me is the version that will help you realise the intentions you’ve just set. Yet simply deciding you want to be ‘less busy’ won’t cut it. This is where you need strong foundations and smart habits. I use the free Bigger Me tool to help me define the behaviour, mindsets and enablers that will help Bigger Me show up as my default version. Give it a go.

5. Schedule the Good Stuff

Next, I schedule the good stuff. Steven Covey calls this putting the ‘big rocks in the jar first’. I’m a big picture kind of guy, so I’ll make a big calendar and put it up on my whiteboard in my office. Here’s what that looks like:

It’s colour-coded as follows:

Blue = creative pursuits, adventures and time out. These are based on my values of adventure, learning and creativity. These are all really important to me, so they go in first. The ‘blue time’ includes adventures like my annual surfing and windsurfing trip, family snowboarding trips etc. as well as less intense activities where I’ll take some time out to read, write and think.

Green = ‘delivery’ work. This is the time where I’m earning money, but more importantly, it’s also time spent where I have a chance to make a difference using my talents. Scheduling the green time serves two purposes: it shows me my cash flow (am I earning enough?) and it also gives me a sense that I’m spending enough of my time doing worthwhile work.

Orange = professional development. This is structured time for me to reflect on my work and practice, and plan ahead. I happen to be doing a programme that forces me to build in these days, which really helps.

`The three categories reflect the types of activities that are both a) important to me and b) able to be scheduled in advance.

When I step back, I can see that I’ve got ‘enough’ happening in the blue space, I’ll need some more green going on in the latter half of the year, and there’s lots of ‘white space’ that I can use how I want (which might include spending time with good people, booking in quality work, or finishing my book!)

I’ll book all of these activities into my calendar, which my Practice Manager and family can see, and I can access easily from anywhere.

6. Make a ‘Great People’ List

Finally, I’ll make a list of the people I enjoyed hanging out with last year, as well as new people I would love to connect with. I’ll make the list visible. It’s currently posted on my wall next to my computer. Every week or so, I’ll have a look at it and make contact with someone on it. That ensures I’m getting the people connection that is important to me.

A few important things to note about this process:

• My year by design is just that: mine. It’s based on what’s important to me. You don’t need to replicate the colour-coded categories that I have. Go do your own.
• This process applies to anyone, not just those who are self-employed like me. The fundamental idea is about deciding on, and committing to, the stuff that you want to have happen.
• When you book in the ‘good stuff’ first, you make less room for the crappy stuff. If your time is spent doing good stuff with good people, it’s hard for the other stuff to find a way in.
• 90% of the value of scheduling something is in the anticipation of it happening.

That’s it. As you can see, it’s not really about luck. There’s quite a bit of work in it. Although I wouldn’t call it ‘work’ – it’s a fun, energising process that helps to ensure I am making the most of my time on the planet. Go do it.

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