Visioning & Planning

VISIONING

"A way to live a life of choice, not chance"
"A picture of what success looks like at a particular point in the future, with enough richness of detail that you'll know when you've arrived"
"A vision without execution is a hallucination" - Thomas Edison

Rules:
1. Set your vision 5 or 10 years in the future.
2. Start by writing the date.
3. Write in present tense.
4. Describe your ideal life, in rich detail.
5. Include professional and personal life.
6. Cover everything that defines success to you.

9th November 2028

It is September 2028, and I am living in Lithuania with my husband Aistis and our two children.

I wake up each morning to walk our German Shepard and get the kids ready for school. I drive my car into the city to my full-time job as a Graphic Designer at an established design studio. I am involved in various projects, both commercial and creativity driven. My role includes graphic designer and art director. The studio is not very large, up to 15 people, and we are all like a family that support each other and enrich each others skills and work. I work 4 or 5 days a week, 9am to 5pm, so I have evenings and weekends free to spend time with my family. I earn around 50k a year, which gives me confident financial stability and allow us to live stress-free.

We are able to provide for our children, as well as save up for a family holiday each year. For our annual holiday, we go to a different country each time, so we can explore all the beautiful places of the world, as well as teach our children about the world. Throughout the year, we take day and weekends trips around the country. We visit museums, parks, beaches, forests, hills and etc. We camp, hike, walk, run, play and take part in sports.

We live in a beautiful two-storey, three-bedroom house with a big garden and garage big enough for our two cars. The garden includes a large plot for running and playing sports, as well as things such as a swing and sandpit for the children. The interior of the house is quite modern and minimal, but very homey and cosy. My Graphic Design work and paintings are hanging on the walls, as well as many family photos.

Each year at Christmas, we invite the whole family, my mother and brother and Aistis' mother, dad, brother and sister (and any boyfriends/girlfriends they may have). The house is decorated with various wonderful decorations, some hand-made with the family. We cook, eat and celebrate being together. It's a white Christmas, and we all go outside to the garden to have snow-ball fights and build snowman's.


PLANNING

Simplicity + Consistency = Productivity

3 priorities for the week.
3 priorities for the day.
3 wins for the week.

PLAN -> DO -> REVIEW

Sort your tasks from £10 up to £10,000 in their worth. List your priorities and value them.
Start with the £10,000 tasks and work your way down the list.

Don't try and change everything overnight. Try and fins one new positive habit for each day/week.
Set annual goals (3-10). Review them throughout the year.

Pomodoro: 25min work, 5min break. Every 4 cycles, 15min break.
Eat the Frog: Start the day with your most daunting task. Give it 100%.
Getting Things Done: create a master list of tasks, label them 'Next Action', 'Someday Maybe', and 'Waiting For'.
Apps & Software: Stickies, Tuex-duex (paid), Marinara (Chrome), SelfControl, Toggl.

Stage 1: Set your annual goals.
Stage 2: Set goals for each term.
Stage 3: Create an hourly plan for next week ensuring that it works towards your goals for the term.
Stage 4: Test and identify some productivity tools that will help you to stay focused.

STAGE 1 - ANNUAL GOALS

1. Get my degree, a 1st or a 2-1.
2. Get a job within my field eg. junior position in an agency.
3. Save up and visit back home (Lithuania).
4. Save up a buy a car.
5. Solidify my personal branding. Create a strong website, social media etc.

STAGE 2 - GOALS FOR EACH TERM

Autumn:
1. Complete COP.
2. Complete 2 or 3 Extended Practice Briefs.
3. Create personal Christmas presents for my family.

Spring:
1. Focus on Extended Practice and PPP.
2. Go on work experience/ an internship.
3. Work on my personal branding.

Summer:
1. Create my portfolio.
2. Start to go to job interviews.
3. Get my degree.

STAGE 3 - HOURLY PLAN FOR NEXT WEEK

STAGE 4 - PRODUCTIVITY TOOL