How to create your own self-improvement plan (step by step)
The key to making progress on your personal development journey is to create a self improvement plan. Having a plan makes it easier to know what to do, to track your progress and to understand what areas of your life you need to focus on to see results.
With the right plan, it’s possible to make huge progress in as little as 3 months and completely transform your life!
Creating a solid plan was a massive step in my own personal development journey. It helped me to focus on key areas that made a difference instead of doing random bits of self-improvement here and there.
It took me a while to figure out how to properly plan for self-improvement. However, over the years I think I’ve nailed it! In this guide, I will walk you through how to create your own self-improvement plan that will highlight exactly what you need to do.
Ready to get started with your self improvement journey? See our other self improvement tips.
Step 1: Get to know yourself
If I asked you to create a self improvement plan for me, you probably wouldn’t know where to start! This is because you don’t know my strengths, weaknesses, goals, bottle necks, and lifestyle.
The same goes for creating a plan for yourself.
Therefore, the first step to creating a self improvement plan is to get to know yourself.
This means thinking about your values, what you're good at, where you struggle, what you want to achieve, and your dreams. By asking deep questions, you get to know yourself better. This helps you set goals that really matter to you.
One of the best ways to get to know yourself is to start journaling. I recently wrote a helpful post on how to journal for self improvement that could help you to get started.
Another way to get to know yourself before creating a self improvement plan is to ask yourself the following questions:
What are my core values and beliefs?
What activities make me feel most fulfilled and why?
What are my greatest strengths, and how do I use them in my daily life?
What are my biggest weaknesses, and how do they impact my life?
How do I handle stress and difficult situations?
What are my long-term goals, and what steps am I taking to achieve them?
What accomplishments am I most proud of, and what did I learn from those experiences?
How do I define success, and am I living in alignment with that definition?
What fears hold me back from pursuing my dreams?
How do I show love and appreciation to the important people in my life?
What habits or behaviors do I want to change or improve?
How do I take care of my physical and mental health?
What do I enjoy doing in my free time, and why do I enjoy these activities?
How do I handle criticism and feedback from others?
What roles do I play in my relationships, and am I satisfied with those roles?
What motivates me to get out of bed each morning?
How do I cope with failure or disappointment?
What qualities do I admire in others, and how can I cultivate those qualities in myself?
How do I express my creativity, and how does it contribute to my well-being?
What are my financial goals, and what steps am I taking to achieve them?
How do I balance my personal and professional life?
What are my most important life lessons, and how have they shaped who I am today?
How do I stay true to myself when faced with external pressures?
What kind of legacy do I want to leave behind?
How do I prioritize my time and energy, and are there any changes I need to make to better align with my goals and values?
I know this list might seem pretty long! But, try to answer at least a few of the questions above to get to know yourself and understand what self improvement might mean for you.
SAVE this post to your Pinterest so that you can answer the questions later!
Step 2: Evaluate your strengths and weaknesses
Self improvement is all about harnessing your strengths and learning to manage your weaknesses.
After answering the questions above, you should have a pretty good idea about what your strengths and weaknesses are. Write them down in your journal under two columns.
Being honest with yourself is very important during this step. Don't let too much pride, only seeing what you want to see, or being afraid of criticism get in the way. Talking to friends, family, or mentors can help you to get a better perspective. It can help you really understand what you're good at and where you need to improve.
I like to use this exercise to understand my strengths and weaknesses:
Step 1: Write down everything that happened over the last 7 days in as much detail and possible.
Step 2: Use a marker pen to highlights points where you felt a negative emotion.
Step 3: Use a second colour marker pen to highlight points where you felt a positive emotion.
Step 4: Negative emotions often go hand-in-hand with weaknesses. Try to identify potential weaknesses that occurred when you felt negative emotions. For example, you might have snapped at your partner which made you feel bad.
Step 5: Positive emotions signify strengths. Use these to identify what your good at. For example, you might have felt happy when you helped a friend with a problem.
Evaluating your strengths and weaknesses isn’t as easy as it may seem. You might find yourself thinking of new strengths and weaknesses over the course of creating your self improvement plan, this is fine!
Keep a self improvement journal at hand to jot them down.
Step 3: Prioritise your goals
Prioritising is key to creating an effective personal development plan. Starting with the most important areas for improvement sets a solid foundation to work on the other stuff.
Think about what truly matters to you and what you need to achieve first. This way, you lay a strong foundation for reaching your dreams.
When choosing your goals, think about:
Relevance: Does the goal steer you towards your dreams and aspirations? Pick goals that align with where you want to be this time next year.
Urgency: Do some goals need to be done now or very soon? Tackling these first keeps you moving forward smoothly.
Importance: Which goals will have the biggest impact on your life? Focusing on the most powerful ones boosts the impact of your efforts.
By focusing on the most important self-improvement goals, you make sure your time is well spent. This approach lets you make the most of your efforts.
Step 4: Make your goals SMART
The most effective self improvement plans are actionable. This means that your plan should contain a step-by-step over view of exactly how you are going to achieve your goals.
It’s great saying you want to do something. But, if you don’t explicitly state how you’re going to do it, your chances of success are relatively low.
The best-selling book, Atomic Habits, explains how planning how to do something increases your chances of starting the journey towards success.
One of the most popular frameworks for doing this is the SMART goal framework.
‘SMART’ stands for specific, measurable, actionable, realistic and trackable. It is a great way to make sure that your goals ar achievable, which increases your chances of actually doing them!
For each goal, write down:
The steps that you need to take to achieve it
How you will measure your progress
Resources that you will need to complete it
A timeframe in which you want to complete it
Step 5: Create your action plan
Now that you have discovered what you want to improve and how you are going to improve it, it’s time to put everything together into a plan.
Open up a Google doc, your journal, or any other format that you would like to use. Then, create a timeframe for your plan. I personally like to use a 6 month timeframe for my self improvement plan because I find that this helps me to see results quickly and stay motivated.
Divide the 6-month timeframe into shorter periods based on how long it will take you to achieve each goal. Be realistic here. In some cases, one goal might take an entire 6 months to achieve! In other cases, you might be bale to achieve 3-4 goals in the timeframe.
Under each goal, write down the steps that you will take to achieve it. Be specific and give each step a timeframe.
Make sure to be clear about how you will track progress and measure success.
Put all of this together to create your own self imrpovement plan!
The importance of consistency
Creating a self-improvement plan is just the start. Real success comes from acting on it regularly. After setting your goals and plans, the key is to stick to it.
Make improving yourself part of your daily life. Do small, consistent actions. This will lead to big and lasting changes over time.
Work on getting 1 per cent better every day. This small daily effort really adds up. After a year, you could be 37 times better just from these little steps.
Success is all about consistency. Stick to your plan, even on days when you feel unmotivated!
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