To get your act together for a new chapter, choose a timeline that means something to you, write a goal manifesto across the five pillars of life, then test the plan for a month and adjust. The method in this video sets goals for the next seven years, broken into yearly, quarterly and monthly steps, so that when you look back you can see how much you ticked off. Seven is the example number, but any timeline works if it sticks in your head.
The 15 steps run from picking the timeline and the map to celebrating milestones, surviving the research hole, and making adjustments after a trial month.
Watch the full video here, or skip to the breakdown below.
The 15 steps at a glance
- Choose a time with significance (0:36)
- Choose the compass that will guide you (1:15)
- Throw yourself into a motivating philosophy (2:48)
- Decide where you’ll write everything (4:14)
- Create your goal manifesto (4:56)
- Add your timeline of events (5:51)
- Space out your milestone celebrations (7:27)
- Pull yourself out of the research hole (8:21)
- Start your trial month (9:25)
- Make your adjustments (10:22)
- Set up the logistics and tie yourself to phase one (11:12)
- Slot your steps into your routine (11:43)
- Expand your goal horizons (12:25)
- Change things up when you get bored (13:19)
- It’s been seven years: how did you do? (13:48)
1. Choose a time with significance
Pick a timeline of five, eight or ten years if you like, but it has to be a number that sticks in your head for some reason. The video chooses seven, a number that keeps appearing in history, culture, religion and art.
Seven years also gives you time to grow while working toward your goals, without feeling like a completely different person by the time you reach them. You will still have short, medium and long-term goals, but this seven-year frame is the one that brings big changes.
2. Choose the compass that will guide you
Every trip needs a map, and you are the only one who knows where you are going. The script says it searched the academic research for personalisable map tools and found only two that fit two criteria: the map covers every area of life (relationships, mental and physical health, career, finance), and it is adjustable so you can fill in where you are now and where you want to be.
The first is the Wheel of Life, a popular coaching tool that is basic and effective for that reason. The second is the Alux app, which starts with a survey on different areas of your life, uses an algorithm to show where you are strong and where to focus, and builds a personalised three-month learning path of lessons, courses and action steps. You can also add your goals and follow your progress.
3. Throw yourself into a motivating philosophy
You have probably had that moment where a quote or message makes everything click. Those moments are huge motivators, so find the philosophy that gets you the most and stick it on your bathroom mirror, fridge or computer.
The script’s favourites include Tony Robbins on where focus goes energy flows, Nietzsche on having a why to bear almost any how, and Will Durant’s line that we are what we repeatedly do, so excellence is a habit. One impactful quote reminds you to focus, take chances and keep going.
4. Decide where you’ll write everything
You do not know where you will be in seven years. A new home, city or country can mean things get lost. So write your goal manifesto and summaries in more than one place.
Write it in a document and print it. Put summaries on sticky notes or big cardboard where you will see them every day, or set calendar reminders. A journaling feature is built into the Alux app. It seems like a pointless step, but the script calls it a big one.
5. Create your goal manifesto
These are big goals across a seven-year frame and the five main pillars of your life. One big goal per pillar is not enough. You need to spend a few hours on a manifesto, which is really more like a manual.
Your own words, shaped by your emotions, opinions, excitement and even fear, have a strong pull on motivation. Start by writing about yourself, why you are doing this, and where you stand now in each of the five pillars. Add humour, kindness and plenty of encouragement.
6. Add your timeline of events
The script cites studies showing that people who add action steps and a timeline to their goals are significantly more likely to reach them than people who only write them down.
Each pillar (finance including career, intellect, emotional health, physical health and relationships) gets one big seven-year goal. Break it into yearly goals, then quarterly, then monthly, and say what you will do at each level.
The worked example is a finance goal of $100,000 in investments. Year 1: save $5,000 and learn about the stock market. Q1: set up an emergency fund and learn budgeting tools. Month 1: take a money basics course and save about $400 a month. Year 2: save $10,000 and begin investing in low-risk stocks or index funds. By year 6: $75,000. It is an idealised version, since planning for every obstacle would take all year.
7. Space out your milestone celebrations
Add something to look forward to by planning how you will celebrate. Quarterly or yearly works. Monthly for seven years is too much.
Choose celebrations that are out of the box, do not cost a fortune and are not things you do often: a solo trip, a concert of someone you love, or a milestone day ritual. Even if it resembles a normal weekend for you, setting it aside as a celebration makes it more meaningful.
8. Pull yourself out of the research hole
When you are unpacking goals, building a timeline and comparing courses, it is easy to get bogged down. Suddenly you have a spreadsheet of courses with costs, timeframes and reviews, and that is only Q1 of year 1.
Some A-type personalities can do this for hours without tiring. For most people, spending that long on every goal is exhausting. Once you have your goals, timeline and celebration details, pack it up. Find the course, team or brokerage account, sign up, pay and get in.
9. Start your trial month
With a clear outline, it feels natural to start every goal at once. Even with small first steps, doing everything at the same time will lead to a crash somewhere, and that is okay.
So give yourself a trial month in which you try to do it all. Because it is a trial, you do not restart if you miss a deadline. You just pick up where you are. Make no changes this month, even if your plan turns out to be kind of crazy. It shows your mental and physical bandwidth, and you can probably do more than you realise.
10. Make your adjustments
Only after the trial month, once you have tried, fallen, got up and fallen again, do you adjust. That shows which goals were too ambitious.
A common example is a gym beginner aiming for six days a week. That is crazy for a beginner and can be dangerous, and missing one day feels like missing the whole goal. Keep the initial goal for a month, see how close you can get, then adjust.
11. Set up the logistics and tie yourself to phase one
Now sign the contracts: the gym, the tennis membership, the textbooks, the personal branding workshop. It will probably be a poor month financially.
You will be too busy with your goals to miss spending $100 on Friday drinks in exchange for a Saturday hangover.
12. Slot your steps into your routine
You cannot cut yourself off from the people in your life because you have a seven-year vision. You will feel lonely quickly.
Fit your action steps into the routine you already have, building on your current life instead of rebuilding it around goals. The script points to Atomic Habits: the best way to build a habit is to stack it on an existing one.
13. Expand your goal horizons
After being diligent with plans and steps, it is easy to forget how helpful and fun other resources can be. Podcasts and books that relate to your goals in a roundabout way get you out of your head while keeping the plan in the background.
For a $100,000 investment goal, do not only read investment books. The Psychology of Money offers short stories from different people on how they see money. Broaden your education around the goal and make the learning fun.
14. Change things up when you get bored
You will inevitably get bored, and there may come a time when you throw out your planning and want to change everything. That is the nature of the game.
As long as you do not lose track of where you are or lose motivation, change the plan to keep things interesting.
15. It’s been seven years: how did you do?
After seven years of building habits and celebrating each year, you have done it. It was a big undertaking, but not as big as you thought, and you started seven years ago.
Now take a break, a week, a month or a year. Then start again and ask where you will go in the next seven years.
Bonus: write a letter to your future self on a site that emails it on a date you choose. Reading it later is like hearing from a younger sibling.
A plan you can keep
The method works because it is flexible by design. It gives you a long horizon, five pillars, a written manifesto and a trial month to find your real limits before locking anything in.
Start with the timeline and the compass, write the manifesto in more than one place, and let the first month teach you what to change.
FAQ
How do you plan the next chapter of your life?
Choose a timeline that means something to you, pick a map that covers every area of life, write a goal manifesto, add a timeline of yearly, quarterly and monthly steps, and test the plan with a trial month.
What is a goal manifesto?
It is a written manual for your goals. It covers who you are, why you are doing this, where you stand in each of the five life pillars, and a timeline of action steps.
What are the five pillars of life in this method?
Finance (including career), intellect, emotional health, physical health and relationships.
Why start with a trial month?
Starting every goal at once tends to cause a crash somewhere. A trial month lets you try everything without restarting after a miss, shows your real bandwidth, and tells you which goals to adjust.
How do you keep new habits from taking over your life?
Fit your action steps into your existing routine instead of building your life around your goals. The video suggests stacking new habits on existing ones.
Keep reading
- 15 Ways To Start A New, Better Life
- Complete list of ways to get Rich (62 Examples)
- 15 Secrets RICH People Use to Get Everything in Life
