I’ve recently begun the process of looking back over 2010, seeing how well I stuck with my 2010 action plan, and creating an action plan for 2011.

I first came across the idea of doing an annual review and creating an action plan over at the Art of Non-conformity website. Basically, Chris takes a week in December to look at how things went over the last year, and outlines a plan for the upcoming year. I know that I can tend to wander aimlessly so I thought that this would be a good idea. In 2009 I looked back over the year, and then made the 2010 action plan.

Some Realizations

As I’ve been looking back over 2010, a few things have occurred to me about the approach I took.

Mistakes
1. Some of my goals interfered with each other – Under the Physical category, I had two competing goals: the 100/200 challenges and the running. If I had focused on one or the other, I could have easily completed them. By having them both, I couldn’t decide and so completed neither one.
2. I didn’t have a set of actions planned out – I had goals, but no plan to actually achieve them. So while I had some great momentum at the beginning of the year, it soon fizzled out because even though I had a destination, I didn’t quite know how to get there.
3. It was out of sight – Even though I published my plan here on Adventure-Some, it wasn’t somewhere that I was reminded of it on a regular basis. After a few months it kind of faded from mind and I quit actively pursuing the goals I set.

Fixes
1. Scheduling – I still have a variety of physical goals that I want to complete in 2011. Instead of trying to do them all at once, however, I’m going to plan them out consecutively so that I can be sure to complete them.
2. Make a plan, not just a list of goals – I love to plan, so I will take the extra time needed to figure out how to get where I want to go in 2011
3. Display that map – I don’t know if it will be a poster on the wall, a new background on my computer, or a series of sticky-notes on my bathroom mirror, but I will be displaying my goals in a very prominent place.

While I’m fairly happy with the results of 2010, I’m also looking forward to what 2011 holds. With some planning experience behind me, I expect it to be an amazing year!

I’m in the process of drawing up the 2011 Action Plan. As soon as I get it finished, you’ll get to see what I have in mind for next year.