Several years ago, I developed a Life Plan, outlining the most important aspects of my life, and what I wanted to achieve in each of those areas. Periodically, I take the time to review that plan, in order to make sure I stay on track.

I was first introduced to the idea of a Life Plan by Michael Hyatt, through his blog on leadership. At that point, he was the CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, and was striving to help others develop their leadership abilities on the side. Since then, he has made his leadership platform his main work, and has developed it into a full time business.

His blog and podcast are full of great leadership resources. Most of these are designed for the corporate or business mind, but there is a lot of overlap into the church as well. I find a lot of his resources to be extremely helpful, to the point of being almost invaluable.

One such resource is the development of my Life Plan. I initially wrote out a detailed plan for my life around 2011, identifying those areas of my life that were most important to me, and striving to make them the best that they can be.

I have written about this before, describing what a Life Plan looks like, and how I have fit it into my life.

But a Life Plan isn’t effective unless you refer to it, using it as a guide into the future. If you write it out and then set it aside, you have created a neat document, but one of little value. In order for it to be effective, you need to use it, refer to it, tweak it, and allow it to direct your steps into the future.

That’s why it’s important to review it regularly. I take the time to do this at several different levels in my life, in order to keep the priorities laid out in my Life Plan in front of me constantly. I do this in three different ways.

Annually

Each year, I set aside a day where I do nothing but review in detail my Life Plan. I go over it with a fine toothed comb, tweaking it to make sure it is as accurate and as practical as I can make it. In the annual analysis, I may make big changes, adjusting areas of priority to greater or lesser importance. Or, I may make small changes, incrementally tweaking it to make sure I am making forward progress.

Quarterly

Once a quarter, I read through my Life Plan completely, making sure I am still on track. This may take me a couple of hours, but I focus on each area, identifying two to three action steps that I want to accomplish in each area in the coming quarter. I jot these down in my planner, and keep them in front of me as reminders to take the steps that I have outlined.

Weekly

This is where the rubber meets the road. Each week, I will skim through each section of my Life Plan, but focus on those action steps that I outlined at the quarterly review. I make sure that I have these action steps in mind as I plan my week, so that at the end of the quarter, and even more so, at the end of the year, I can see how I have progressed.

Prayerfully and Intentionally

This isn’t necessarily a level of viewing my Life Plan as much as it is an overview for it all. I do nothing with this without prayer first. I want my goals and ambitions to be in line with what God desires for me, and in line with the vision he has given me for my life. So every time I open this document up, I pray over it, asking God to be clear in his guidance, and for my strength to be sufficient to follow.

I want my life purpose to be clear. I want my goals to be achieved. I want my impact to be meaningful. In order to do that, I must be intentional. Intentionality requires effort. And even though sometimes it feels easier to simply go with the flow, I know that won’t get me to where I want to be. Intentionality is key.

I encourage you to check out the concept of a Life Plan. I know you would benefit from it, and the intentionality and purpose it brings to your life are unmatchable. You can get started by reading Living Forward by Michael Hyatt & Daniel Harkavy. In this brief book, they outline the concept of a Life Plan, and help you get started living the life you’d like to have. You can pick up a copy on Amazon using the link below, and I’m sure you can get it from several other retailers. I highly recommend it.

And in the meantime, keep it covered in prayer!

Question: Have you ever developed a Life Plan for your life? If so, what benefits have you seen from doing so? If not, what’s keeping you from doing so? You can leave a comment by clicking here.