61. The Pre-Load Your Year Strategy for Success
How I schedule my entire year ahead of time to guarantee my time investment aligns to my goals and values.
Hello, and welcome back.
By the way, I’m Kevin Kruse, founder and CEO of LEADx and NY Times bestselling author of 15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management and 11 Secrets Successful People Know About Goal Setting. Welcome to Success & Significance - my take on health, wealth, and relationships (my “3 to Thrive”, read more here). Hit the Subscribe button below to join over 20,000 members who get weekly practical advice and wisdom from the world’s most successful people.
Been awhile since the last issue since, quite frankly, the day job running LEADx had become completely overwhelming. Happy to say we finished the year strong and I got to take the whole family to Sedona between Christmas and New Year’s.
Since this is the time of year people set out to make new resolutions, goals, and plans, I thought I’d share how I “preload my year” to guarantee I succeed in the areas of health, wealth, and relationships.
In the hustle and bustle of daily life, it's all too easy to lose sight of our long-term goals and the values that give our lives meaning. This year, instead of letting the days slip away in a blur of busyness, let's take a proactive approach to time management.
Although I’ve written an entire book on the 15 ways people achieve extreme productivity, I always say time management really comes down to this:
Identify what you want, and schedule time to work on it. In the form of a question, “are you spending time on the things that matter most to you?”
It's about pre-loading your year with important events and milestones that align with your personal and professional aspirations. By doing so, we set a clear path forward, ensuring that our actions are in harmony with what truly matters to us.
Start by reflecting on your core values and the goals that resonate with those values. What do you want to achieve this year? What are the key milestones that will signal progress towards these goals? The idea is to identify these significant events early on, so they become non-negotiable fixtures in your calendar, around which everything else revolves.
Do you value your health? Schedule your annual doctor appointments and recurring times to work out at the gym
Value friendships? Schedule everyone’s birthdays.
Value your partner? Schedule vacations and date nights for the entire year.
Here is a partial personal list of all the things I have already scheduled for this year:
Doctor annual checkup
Dermatologist annual checkup
Eye Doctor annual checkup
Dentist cleaning (2x a year)
Financial advisor meeting (2x a year)
Bucket-list vacation (14 days)
Other vacations
Winter escape to work warm climate (4 weeks)
Annual 4th of July party
Friends and family birthdays
Business conferences (ATD, LTEN, Transform)
Gym workout times (3x mornings a week)
Major holidays
Time at the end of each quarter for quarterly review (reflection time)
Time at end of year for annual review
By pre-loading your year with these events, you're not just planning; you're prioritizing. You're making a deliberate choice to focus on what's truly important, rather than letting external demands dictate your time. This approach ensures that as the year unfolds, you're not just reacting to life's demands, but actively shaping your journey in a way that aligns with your deepest values and aspirations.
This method is more than just a scheduling exercise; it's a commitment to living intentionally.
Until the next issue, remember…
Impact > Income,
Kevin 🙏
If you liked this post, you’d love my books. Consider grabbing 15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management or 11 Secrets Successful People Know About Goal Setting or Great Leaders Have No Rules.
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Kevin’s Recommendation Zone
Some of my favorite HEALTH related things: Nutribullet Blender (use it 2x a day!), Vega Sport Protein Powder, No Cow Protein Bars, Neuriva Brain Health, G Hughes sauces, and a chiller bowl to put fruit and vegetables on the counter all day to snack.