A Practical Guide To Writing An Action Plan.

An action plan is a detailed document where all the steps to be taken to achieve a specific goal is spelt out.

The first thing to do when writing an action plan is checking your goal whether it meets the SMART goal requirement.  Let me highlight them below using losing weight as an example.

SPECIFIC: Your goal should be clear and detailed. Instead of saying you want to lose weight, say lose 5KG. You're specific.

MEASURABLE: Your goal should be quantifiable in a way that you can measure your progress. Walking 30 minutes a day helps you to know you're making progress.

ATTAINABLE: Your goal should match your skill level and timeframe. Can you walk for thirty minutes every day? If not reduce it to 5 days a week.

RELEVANT: Your goal should be useful and relatable to your values and long term goals. Does this goal of losing 5KG align with your health goals?

TIME-BOUND: Your goal should have a timeframe attached. For how long do you project to achieve this goal? In this case 30 days.

Let's put it together.

I'm going to lose 5KG within the next 30 days by walking for 30 minutes 5 days a week.

We can see that part of the action plan is embedded in the goals we have set. Now, we can move to the step by step process of making this goal work.

Do you want to walk for 30 minutes at once or you want to walk for 10 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes in the afternoon and 10 minutes in the evening?

How many kilometres will you cover that will equal 30 minutes walk? Where will you trek to?

Who should be involved in this plan? Do you need a coach?  Do you need an accountability partner? 

What are the resources needed to make these daily tasks work? Should a special diet be included? If yes, write a timetable for this special diet.

Answer the questions above and put them into steps. Then get into action. 

Establish a milestone for success: This will help you to track and measure your progress. For example, setting a target of losing 1KG  a week is a great way to reinforce your action plan.

Set out days for assessing your action plan. 

Do you have any questions regarding action planning?

John Ukpanukpong