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 two years ago, and it really helped me get a visual and be able to be realistic about how things can get done. This year, I also did a 5-year timeline where I can see my progression in an even longer term. It is easier to develop a timeline after you completed your annual goal process and planning. See my post goal-setting methods that work that explains the process I use in setting goals.
Creating a timeline is especially useful if you have certain life momentum change going on such as planning a move, planning travel, or a time period when you want have a big project completed.
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. Action steps or to-do items do not belong on this list as they will fit more in your day-to-day processes. An example of a bigger goal would a major move, travel/vacations, career changes, an income goal, etc.
Step 2: Ask yourself realistic questions and create smaller milestones
Look at your goals/outcomes list and determine realistic time frames for them. Ask yourself: Which goals/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. For more information on milestones, check out this article from Asana.com: https://asana.com/resources/project-milestones. 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.
Step 3: Rank in order
Next, rank your goals/outcomes and smaller milestones 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: Draw your 1-year timeline and add goals & milestones
The first timeline will be your current 1-year timeline. If you are determining your goals for 2021, you will label it “2021 Timeline” and draw the timeline out on a sheet of paper or you can create it on your computer. 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. So, if we are currently in 2021, the 5-year timeline will be 2021-2025. 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!
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
Sage