Speaker 1: 0:01

Hey there and welcome to Productivity Hacks, your go-to podcast for quick hacks to help you to get things done and to do them well. I’m Jasmine, your host, productivity coach and consultant, and my mission is to help people increase their productivity so that they have time for what really matters. Each week, I’ll bring you a short episode packed with tips that you can implement right away to boost your output, so let’s dive in. Hey, welcome back to Productivity Hacks. It is early January and a perfect time to talk about planning, so today we’re going to get into long-term planning, the kind that spans three to five years, or annually, so sets the foundation for your year ahead. Whether you are someone who loves planning or finds it overwhelming, this episode is for you, and I’m going to help you by breaking it down simply. We’re going to explore why planning is good for you, for both your productivity and your peace of mind. We’re going to explore some common blockers that might stop you from creating or sticking to a plan and, most importantly, a practical outline to help you craft plans that work. We’ll also look at the difference between dreams and goals and how you can turn big aspirations into actionable steps. Let’s go so. Firstly, why should we plan. So, firstly, why should we plan?

Speaker 1: 1:24

Planning gives us direction and clarity. Psychologically, it taps into our need for control and certainty. When you have a plan, your brain feels safer because it knows where you’re going and what you need to do. It also reduces that pesky decision fatigue because you’ve already decided what’s important, and it saves you those precious decisions down the line. There’s also the endowment effect at play, which is when you invest effort into something like a plan, you’re more likely to stick with it. It’s why people are more committed to goals that they’ve written down, and research shows that goal setting triggers the Zygarnik effect, which I’ve talked about in previous episodes. This is a psychological tendency for our brains to feel tension until a task is complete. By starting a plan, you’re creating a sense of mental incompleteness that your brain wants to resolve, which keeps you focused and motivated.

Speaker 1: 2:19

Long-term planning, specifically, is about vision. It’s about zooming out to see the bigger picture and asking yourself where do I want to be in three, five or even ten years or the end of the year? This kind of thinking helps align your daily actions with your bigger goals, ensuring you’re working towards what truly matters. The things you do each day become the direction you go in a month, which shape how your year looks. Knowing how you want your year to look and beyond drills down into the things that you need to do today to get there.

Speaker 1: 2:53

While planning sounds great in theory, it can be daunting in practice for many of us. So I wanted to talk about some of the most common blockers which you may have experienced or be experiencing and how to overcome them. Number one is a fear of commitment. Many people hesitate to plan because they’re afraid they’ll commit to the wrong thing or that their plans might change. They’ll worry that they’ll lock themselves in and then regret it later. This fear is rooted in loss aversion, which is a cognitive bias where people feel the pain of loss more strongly than the joy of gain. The idea of being stuck with the wrong decision can feel too risky. So if you think this is you, how can you overcome it?

Speaker 1: 3:38

I’ve got a couple of tips. Number one is to reframe your plans, as flexible Plans aren’t contracts. See them as best guesses based on your current knowledge, your current desires, your current dreams. You can adjust them as new information comes in. Your future self will thank you for having a starting point. You are completely in charge of your plan and you can change it whenever you want. Another tip is to focus on the next step, not the entire journey. So instead of planning every detail of the next five years, just plan the next step. You’re not committing to one path forever, just that next step. I usually have an overall plan for the year and that’s pretty top level, but then I plan the next quarter a month, with more detail and more on this next time as we get into medium-term planning.

Speaker 1: 4:30

Another blocker is that you could be feeling that pressure to get it perfect. Sometimes the idea of planning can feel really overwhelming, like you have to get it all right. Perfectionism kicks in and you’re paralysed by the what-ifs and this stops us making any plans at all. Perfectionism can often be a defence mechanism against fear of failure or judgement, because if you never start, then you never fail. If you see yourself in this, how then do you overcome it? You could adopt a progress over perfection mindset, which is one of my top mottos. Plans don’t have to be perfect to be useful. Even a rough plan is better than no plan at all. You could also use the 80-20 rule and aim for good enough rather than perfect. Ask yourself. Will this get me 80% of the way there? If so, then it’s good enough to start.

Speaker 1: 5:22

The third potential blocker I wanted to mention is feeling overwhelmed by the big picture, because thinking five years ahead can feel intimidating, especially if you’re not sure where to start. That bigness of it all causes paralysis. This is because the human brain struggles with abstract, far-off goals. Our present bias makes us prioritise short-term needs over long-term ones. To overcome this, break it down. Use chunking to divide big goals into smaller time-bound milestones Instead of focusing on the entire five-year vision. Ask yourself what do I need to do in the next 12 months? You could also do a future self exercise. Picture your future self five years from now. Write a letter to your present self explaining what you’ve achieved and how you did it. This makes the abstract future feel more real and can give you a glimpse into your biggest desires for the future.

Speaker 1: 6:21

And the final common blocker is about plans changing, because a lot of people avoid planning because they’ve been burned before they planned. Plans didn’t work out or life took an unexpected turn. This is known as learned helplessness. If past plans failed, you may believe there’s no point in planning again. Plans failed, you may believe there’s no point in planning again. So if this is you, you could plan for change. So build change into your plan. Build flexibility, expect change. Add review points every quarter where you are allowed to revise your plans. Remember you’re the boss. You could also focus on the process, not the outcome. Instead of rigid plans, focus on consistent habits that move you forward. Habits are more resilient to change than plans.

Speaker 1: 7:10

At this point, I just wanted to clear up an important distinction between dreams and goals, because people often use them and interchange them, and I think both play an important part in planning, but there are some distinctions. Dreams are your big, exciting visions for the future. They’re inspiring but often vague. For example, I want to build a thriving business or I want to travel the world. Dreams can be something that you’re not sure how or when you’re going to make it happen, but it is a desire. You could have a dream of having a family, a dream of being financially independent All beautiful dreams, but hard to take action on. Goals, on the other hand, are specific, time-bound. They take your dreams and break them down into actionable steps. For example, I will grow my business to six figures by 2026, or I will save £5,000 for travel by December next year. Dreams are your why, while goals are your how. Both are essential, but it’s your goals that turn your dreams into reality.

Speaker 1: 8:15

Here is a simple outline to get you started in creating a long-term plan that works for you. Number one start with your vision. Picture your ideal life three to five years from now. What does success look like to you? Where are you? Who are you with? Take some time to really imagine this future and write it down. Number two break it down. Take your vision, your dreams, and identify key areas of career, health, relationships, personal growth, etc. Number three set annual goals From your vision. Ask what can I achieve in the next 12 months? And, if you’ve set a word for the year, what goals are aligned from this? Number four create a plan for each goal. Break your annual goals into quarterly, monthly and weekly actions. And number five review regularly.

Speaker 1: 9:13

Planning isn’t a one and done process. Schedule regular check-ins, monthly or quarterly, to review. Tip is don’t go for too much. It is better to go for one or two things and really be focused on achieving them than try and attempt 30, 40, 50 goals. It isn’t achievable and your brain will shut down. So really, really slim it down and focus, focus. So really really slim it down and focus, focus, focus.

Speaker 1: 9:51

Long-term planning is one of the most powerful tools that you have to create a life that feels purposeful and aligned. Remember your plans don’t have to be perfect, but they do need to exist if you want to be fully in the driver’s seat of your life. Don’t overwhelm yourself with too many plans. Choose the most important things and take it one step at a time. If you found this episode helpful, I’d love to hear your thoughts, drop me a message or connect with me on social media. Here’s to a year of purposeful planning and achieving your dreams.

Speaker 1: 10:18

Next time, I’m going to be exploring more medium-term planning that’s quarterly and monthly, and I think this is my favorite space to be in planning wise. It’s just far enough away that you can achieve a lot, but near enough that it all seems possible. Make sure you do some of the long-term dreaming and planning before this episode, as we will really start to build on your progress. See you then. That’s it for today. Thank you for tuning into the productivity hacks podcast with me, jasmine. What is your action point today? Write it down and make time to do it. If you like what you’ve heard. Follow this podcast to get notifications of the weekly episodes and please, please, share it with your friends.