Article: It's hard to know what to do with something on a five year plan list like, "Be a better person," because it's hard to define what will make that so. Try to stay focused, instead, on tangible goals that you can accomplish in a real way, or can research the steps necessary to complete. Be as specific as possible and your plan will have a much higher chance of succeeding. In each category, Try to identify the things that you feel are the most important to you at this time. Try to keep it to no more than a handful of important goals, because you need to narrow your focus and think specifically about the subsidiary goals for each item. In the margin of each list, label every item on the list either A, B, or C. Label an A goal as a goal that is extremely important to you and that you want or need the most. Label a C goal as something that would be nice to have, but isn't something that you really want or need. If a goal is in between the two categories, label it a B goal. In order to find out what your priorities are, be as honest as possible. Once you've organized your list into the most important items of your five year plan, it's time to get out a new piece of paper, or open a new document. It's important to address each goal individually, especially if it's complicated enough to spend time working on. If you identified, "Get a graduate degree" on your list as an important item, make a separate list for each goal that you identify as being very important, such as this. Even if it seems simple, something like, "Get organized," it's still important to treat that with as much attention as possible. What needs to happen for you to accomplish your long term goal of getting organized, or of getting a graduate degree? What needs to happen for your goal to become a reality? You might need to do a little research to find out for sure what needs to happen to turn your goals into a reality. Once you have your subsidiary goals in place, separate them into the individual years, to translate your long term goals into a series of short terms goals that you can accomplish, in order. What needs to be accomplished to move closer to meeting your goal by the end of year one? Year two? What can you do today to start moving toward your long-term goals? Make each list as specific as possible and continue breaking it down to make the list more manageable. How deep you get will depend on how much you have to add to each item on the list, and how much guidance you require for a five year plan. If you want to get a graduate degree in the next five years, what do you hope to have done by the end of this year? What can you finish at the end of the week to move yourself closer? What can you do right now?
What is a summary of what this article is about?
Be as specific as possible. Identify the most important items on each list. Make a separate list for each item. Identify subsidiary goals for each item. Write an item for each year. Narrow your focus.