Does this question sound familiar? It is a commonly asked question during job interviews. For employers, this question helps them determine how self-driven and determined the applicant is. But have you tried asking this same question to yourself?
Try looking into where you were five years ago and compare it to how you are doing now. How much of your goals have you achieved?
A lot of things can happen in a span of a few years. But creating a five-year plan helps you to decide on a targeted and clear goal, and shift your focus and efforts into realising that goal.
A five-year plan is a list of goals that you wish to achieve in the next five years. These goals can either be professional or personal, and they usually include a set of concrete short-term goals that will bring you towards your long-term goal.
For instance, if you are planning to build your own financial agency one day, your goals would be to become well-versed in the areas of finance, become a Financial Planner, build connections, create meaningful client relationships, find your community, and many more. A five-year plan acts as a benchmark that you can refer to when chasing your goal.
Here are some benefits of having a five-year plan:
Now that you know your long-term goal, you can list down the smaller goals that you need to achieve before you can reach the end goal.
Having a five-year plan frees you from feeling overwhelmed and confused. Because with a long-term plan, you can strategise and plan what to do from the very beginning. You can even avoid unnecessary tasks and put all your focus in the right direction.
A five-year plan acts as a constant reminder to yourself on what you are trying to achieve. It shows you how much has been done and how much more needs to be done.
1) Decide what you want to focus on
First of all, decide which areas in your life that you want to focus on. For instance, if you wish to climb the corporate ladder and buy a bigger house, then the areas that you need to focus on will be ‘Career’ and ‘Home’. You can have a look at multiple areas in your life and create a separate five-year plan for each area. Start by grabbing a piece of paper for each area and write down the category as the heading.
2) Consider potential goals
Next, create two columns on every piece of paper, the left column is for your goals and the right column is for the actions you need to take to achieve those goals. The best way to decide on a goal is to use the SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-bound) goals.
For instance, if the area is Career, and your goal is to climb the corporate ladder, you can set your goals and actions like this:
Goals:
Actions:
3) Identify annual goals and create monthly goals
Within the list of goals that you have, you must determine your short and long term goals. You can do this by breaking down your goals into annual and monthly goals. Here is an example:
Goal in five years: To become a department leader
The first month: Research the qualifications required to become a department leader
The second month: Find relevant seminars that can help you upskill yourself
The third until fifth months: Attend online classes and seminars
Make sure you have a goal for every month. This is to ensure that you are moving in the right direction.
4) Research how to achieve those goals
What does it take for you to reach your goals? As mentioned in the point above, if you want to climb the corporate ladder, you should first find out what it takes to get there. Researching helps you figure out the fastest way to achieve your goals.
5) Adjust and revisit goals when needed
You may face slight hiccups along the way. And when this happens, do not feel discouraged. You must be able to adjust and revisit your goals accordingly because things might not always go as planned. In fact, if you manage and follow your five-year plan well, you might even accomplish your end goal sooner than you thought.
As a Financial Planner, you must always look for personal and professional growth. That is the only way you can grow in this competitive field. But you don’t have to do it alone. When you join our team at KWO, you will find like-minded individuals who are more than happy to assist you in achieving your goals. Want to challenge yourself and embark on a career that offers unlimited income and a work-life balance? Join us today!