Concurring Life Going Backwards!
Going backwards is something that I have always done in life. Mostly because I was in survival mode, and had no idea what life was going to bring me. Doing things backwards has always worked out for me in the end, but probably in the way that you would think. My husband, and I celebrate moving forwards by going backwards so much that at our wedding we had the cake served before the food! Everyone loved it, and it has continued to be a major part of our world!
If you didn't know where to start that is okay! It is a common feeling, and it is not natural for people to think backwards. Setting goals and coming up with a plan can lead to a sense of being overwhelm, and that makes it hard to get started. But that's where backward planning comes in! With this technique, you start with your end goal and work your way backward to figure out the steps you need to take to get there. It's a great way to break down big goals into manageable pieces, and today we're going to dive into how to do it.
Before we dig into how to do backwards planing I want to make it clear that your goals will change over time, and that is okay. You are leaning, growing, and changing everyday! Your priorities can change, or life can throw you a curveball that will change the way you view things. An example being for me I have always wanted a lake house to live in. (I love the water and it is where I find peace.) I have always had it in my mind that this lake house would be on the lake in my home town. Over the last year my husband and I have conversation that maybe being here might not be the best fit for us. The cost of housing here has gone through the roof and there is no guarantee that our kids will be here, we have other family obligation to take into account, among a number of other reason. With that we actually have begun to think that it might be better if we choose a different location for this house. In the end we still have the same end goal of having that lake house, but we have opened our minds for what that will look like. Start with the end in mind
Before you can plan backward, you need to know where you're headed. So take a few moments to envision your end goal. What does success look like to you? Is it running a marathon, starting your own business, finally paying off your debt, buying a house? Whatever it is, write it down and be as specific as possible, and if you're more of the arts and crafts type make a vision board…pinterest has plenty of ideas of some inspiration.
Break it down into smaller steps
Once you know your end goal, it's time to break it down into smaller pieces. Ask yourself what needs to happen to get there. If your goal is to run a marathon you might need to start by building up your endurance with shorter runs, then gradually increasing your mileage. If you want to start your own business, you might need to research your market, create a business plan, and secure funding. (If you're not sure of the steps you should take hop on to one of my coffee chats, or cocktail hours and we will figure it out together!) When planning backwards you want as many steps in your ladder as possible. Doing this will make your goals not seem to be so much of a stretch. (See what I did there ;P)
With our goal of owning that lake house we having things to consider some of them are with in our control and some of them are not. Examples being: We won’t move until our oldest son is out of high school. We may choose to stay until our youngest is out of High school, but that is something that we will visit when his brother graduates. What are things that will make it easier to achieve this goal or what can we do to get ready while our son’s are still in school? I look at theses as mini goals or side quests…… We can pay off our debt, save money (Obviously), get our current house ready to sell/ rent. How do we pay off our debt and save money? Pay off credit cards, pay off cars, and any build a savings plan. Do you see where I am going with this? You keep breaking your goals in to smaller manageable pieced until you have it down to an individual task that you can handle. Once you have the individual tasks you are ready to plan out the whole plan and Map it out!
Assign deadlines
I, myself am a very visual person so I like to write my list on actual paper, with an actual pencil (Yes I prefer to use pencil). I take each step and think hard about how much time I think I can realistically get it done then I add some extra time to that because life has proven to me over, and over that something will come up, or that I forgot to consider something in my original planing phase. Examples being overly enthusiastic about how much I will get done because I didn’t plan for illness, or just pure exhaustion from being a business owner, mother and wife.
These “deadlines” are incredibly important when it comes to goal setting. They help hold you know if you are on track to meet your goal. Once you've broken down your goal into smaller steps, assigned how much time you think it will take for you to do it’s time to make it out. Be realistic and look at your week or month, or even year as a whole when planning out your deadlines. With forward planning it is easy to miss big events that can conflict with your goal. An example being I am planing a launch of a business to happen by July. I have to have a number of things done by then for this to happen. As I am making out the time that I will need to get this done I see that we have a family vacation scheduled for a week, and I have a surgery scheduled that will limit my abilities for a few weeks.
With that I now know I have three options, I can either extend when I plan to launch, I can look at the mini side quests to see if I can get more done in the same amount of time, or a combination of both. By doing this you are less likely to miss things that have priority and you are more likely to succeed! One thing I can not stress enough it to give yourself some extra time. If you finish something early take it as a win and celebrate it! You can always move faster then planned, but you can’t slow down time to catch up. It is a game of pushing yourself to greatness, but realizing that you are human and there's only so much time in the day.
Stay flexible
Again, remember that not everything will go according to plan, and that's okay! I am reiterating this because life does happen. You have to learn to be flexible and pivot. Sometimes you might feel like you are spinning you are pivoting so much, but as long as you are moving forward to that goal you will reach it in time.
Something that use to be said when I was in the Marines was “Semper Gumby”. I am sure at this point that most probably have no idea who Gumby is at this point, but the phrase is still quite fitting. I have been training for the same marathon for the last 8 years! Some of the things that have gotten in my way to achieving this goal are cancer, a broken foot, school (when I was in college), trick-or-treating, and CODID to name a few. This year I am still planning on doing it, but we will see what 2024 has in store for me. This could be the year……or it may not and that is completely okay. The key is to NEVER give-up and forward progress is forward progress, no matter how many side quests you end up on to get there.
In the end backward planning is a great tool to help you reach your goals. By starting with your end goal and working backward, you can break down big goals into smaller, manageable steps. Remember to plan out your steps, give more time than you think you need, and “Semper Gumby”! With this tool you will be moving forward to achieving success!
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