Create a Personal Timeline To Reach Your Goals!

Creating a personal timeline helps provide a long-term vision toward directing your life and reaching your goals. This post will show you how to create a personal timeline to reach your goals. I started doing a one-year timeline a few years ago, and it really helped me get a visual and be able to be realistic about how things can get done. I also did a 5-year timeline where I can see my vision in an even longer term. You can create a timeline anytime, however, it is easiest to develop one after you completed your annual goal-setting and planning.

Creating a timeline is also useful if you have certain life change going on such as planning a move, planning travel, or a time period when you want have a big project completed. Just create a simple timeline as described below with milestones, then add in action steps on a project planner.

Read on to follow the steps in creating a 1-year and 5-year timeline.

HOW TO CREATE A PERSONAL TIMELINE TO REACH YOUR GOALS

Step 1: List your goals/outcomes

Write a list of your main goals/outcomes you want to achieve in the next 1-5 years, separated by year. Remember to list only major goals. An example of a bigger goal would a major move, travel/vacations, changing career, an income goal, etc. It is important to note that smaller action steps or to-do items do not belong on this list as they will fit more into the day-to-day processes.

For step-by-step instruction on setting goals, visit the blog post: Goal-Setting Methods That Work!

There are also many books about setting goals. A couple of my favorites are: “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen R. Covey, and “The 12 Week Year” by Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington.

Step 2: Ask yourself realistic questions and create smaller milestones

Look at your goals and outcomes list and determine realistic time frames for them. Ask yourself: Which goals and outcomes are most important to me right now? What smaller milestones need to happen before I can reach those goals/outcomes? Write those smaller milestones down next to your bigger goals/outcomes. Also ask yourself: what goals and milestones will take longer to reach? Remember to-do items do not belong on your timeline. An example of a main goal/outcome and a corresponding smaller milestone to reach first is: Main goal/outcome: Publish a novel/be an author. Smaller milestones: a. complete first draft of first novel; b. final manuscript is complete, etc.

A note about processes, habits, and smaller action steps: when striving to abide by a timeline to reach your goals, it is vital to form processes and habits to help you along the way. Otherwise, the time will still go by without having much to show for it. I have struggled with this for years and continue to work really hard on beating procrastination and forming helpful habits. If you feel your are prone to procrastination or want to implement some habits to boost your productivity, the book “Atomic Habits” by James Clear offers powerful insight on developing better habits and systems to help keep you moving forward. Another good book is “Eat That Frog!” by Brian Tracy, which provides specific methods to beat procrastination and taking action on the most important tasks first to help you reach your goals faster (or within your timeline!)

Step 3: Rank in order

Now that you know what your main goals and smaller milestones are, rank them in order of the most important ones or according to attainability. Then put a year or range of years next to them that you would like to achieve them.

Step 4: Create your 1-year timeline and add goals & milestones

The first timeline will be your current 1-year timeline. You can draw the timeline out on a sheet of paper, can create it on your computer such as on a Word document or on a design platform like Canva.

Next, you will place your main goals under the appropriate month that you want to reach them. If you are unsure about specific dates or a goal runs through several months, you can create a sub-timeline above or below the main timeline that covers the time period for that goal. Also place in your smaller milestones signifying different stages toward reaching your main goal. The below figure is an example of a 1-year timeline.

Step 5: Create your 5-year Timeline

Draw out your 5-year timeline on a piece of paper or on your computer and section it off evenly by year. The 5-year timeline will consist of the current year and then four years after. I color code my years on my 5-year timeline for easy visuals.

Next, bullet point under or above each year your major goals and milestones that you want to accomplish that year. Remember not to put in action steps or to-do items on your timelines. It will start to look cluttered and will take away from the bigger, clearer vision. The below figure is an example of a 5-year timeline with some goal examples.

Conclusion: Create a Personal Timeline to Reach Your Goals

Creating a personal timeline can level up your goals and provides a long-term vision in directing your life where you want to go.

Each year after you set your goals, create a new 1-year timeline for that year and revisit your 5-year timeline. Some of your goals and milestones may have changed so it is important to go back annually and adjust as needed.

Print and post your timelines somewhere you will see it or in a notebook or binder as a visual reminder and to help keep you on track with your vision and in reaching your goals.

Related Posts by Bloom Brillance

If you haven’t set your yearly goals yet, take a look at my post Goal-setting methods that work!

For a more detailed review of some of the books I mentioned in this blog post and more, read: 3 Inspiring Books to Help Increase Productivity and Achieve Goals and 5 Self Help Books for Personal Development.

To learn how I created my life mission and vision, check out this post: Create your Personal Mission and Vision.

Also, to delve deeper in your own self-reflection, see my self-reflection series here

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