Plan Next Year with My 2-Step Yearly Review and Planning Process

The time right now is among my personal most enjoyable times of the year. Between Christmas and New Year’s Day is the perfect time to really reflect back on the last 12 month and then go ahead and plan next year.
Of course, you can do this review/planning process any time of the year.
And in fact, if you haven’t done a yearly plan so far, I would highly recommend that you start doing this review & planning process now for this and the coming year. You will be amazed at what this reviewing & planning can do to your overall sense of direction and practical achievement. It will take under 1 hour and it will be way worth it.
For me, this process is one of the biggest sources for what I would call my personal successes. It is a 2 step process of I. Reviewing and II. Planning.

Phase I. Review

What I first do is writing a review of the whole past year. This is a summary of what happened and what was important to me. I start this as a free writing exercise and then try to focus on my life areas: especially on the Big 7 life areas:

1. Relationship
2. Business
3. Body
4. Mind
5. Spirit
6. Social (Friends & Family)
7. Finances and Possessions

Since I usually have done this process the year before as well, I will then review my goals and achievements of the past year. I will see the personal developments that I’m proud of and I will also notice the changes that I didn’t like.
This process of self-reflection helps to notice the changes in your life and it also creates clarity of what needs to change in the coming year (but more on that in Phase II).
If you want to have some more inspiration and guidance for the Review part, start with asking and answering some questions like:

What have you learned this year?
What were your biggest successes?
Have you hit your goals for the year?
What was the biggest surprise?
What do you want to follow along with in the coming year?
What do you want to end?

Follow up with questions that lead you to summarize and lead you to understanding on a broader level:

Are you happy today?
Are your loved ones happy?
About what are you happy?
For what are you grateful today?

After your review it’s time to keep this momentum of the insights from the last year. Now you can channel these ideas and emotions into your plan for the next year.

Phase II. Plan Ahead

This is the exciting phase of planning the next year. Right after your review of the last year you will have a lot of things you want to improve.
Most of it will come naturally now. Write this down. Then again, I would suggest to focus on your life-areas (see the Big 7 above) to make sure that you create true balance in your life.
So I personally start with my relationships. Then I go to my business, then to my health and so on.
These questions may help you:

What are the areas you want to expand on in your life?
What specifically do you want to achieve next year?
What dream to you want to fulfill next year?
With whom do you want to (re-)connect?
How can you make your life more simple?
Where do you want to travel?
How can you achieve these?

Some final tips:
When you write your yearly plan, try to find some solutions to where you identified problems in the last year. Then try to focus on things that fulfill you emotionally. This will make sure you’re looking forward to what you plan. Also find some things that really get you outside of your comfort zone, one new thing.
Finally, I would use this plan to write some short and precise goals for the year. Personally I also create a mind-map with my 7 big life-areas and the goals I have in those.
So get going now!
Good luck and have fun!

Entertainment career choice for young Nigerians

LAGOS (AFP) – Drenched in sweat from an energy-sapping rehearsal at a Lagos dance studio, Rita Adoh hopes to make a fortune from dancing and catapult herself into the growing ranks of Nigeria’s millionaires.

“From dancing, I get money to pay my school fees and other bills. I have property and I have helped my parents financially to put up their residential building in Lagos,” the 26-year-old told AFP.

“I plan to open a dance school in the future. It is a dream and I know it will not die.”

Dancers perform during a rehearsal at a dance school in Lagos AFP PHOTO

Adoh’s choice of career may seem unusual given that she is also studying for a degree in international relations.

But it is a reflection of an increased interest in the performance arts in Nigeria and a sign that the country is getting serious about its entertainment industry.

Nigeria is investing heavily in developing the sector, recognising that a more professional approach could make it more internationally successful, providing jobs and — hopefully — prosperity for those that work in it.

The World Bank is backing a government drive to boost the sector, which has seen $200 million (147 million euros) pledged to help boost the country’s popular film industry, Nollywood.

It is thought that properly run, Nollywood alone could support an estimated one million new jobs.

Change in attitudes

Rita, who trains with Nigeria’s best-known dancer and choreographer, Kafayat Oluwatoyin Ameh or “Kaffy”, is part of the process, eyeing a career in entertainment as a viable and potentially money-spinning choice.

She admitted, though, that her Roman Catholic parents were strongly against her dancing when she first started, reflecting traditional feelings that study and hard work are the path to secure a steady, well-paying job.

“At the beginning, my parents were opposed to it. But today, their attitude has changed towards it when good things started happening to me and they have benefited from the spin-off,” she said.

Nigerians’ new-found interest in entertainment can also be seen in the huge success of a number of television talent shows, which follow the format made popular in places such as Britain and the United States.

“I would like to make a lot of money, in fact millions, from dancing,” said Victor Okunbor, 19, who has recently left college and started dance lessons.

Nigerian dancer and choreographer Kafayat Oluwatoyin Ameh, otherwise known as “Kaffy”, looks at students dancing

“I would like to be famous like Kaffy,” he added at Ameh’s Lagos dance school.

“I expect dancing to fetch me money and fame,” chipped in Chimelie Okeke, a 20-year-old university undergraduate.

“I currently generate some little money from dancing and I see my current training under Kaffy as a good platform to realise my dream.”

Okunbor and Okeke’s attitude is a common one, reflecting a desire to show off hidden talents and try to get their name in lights.

But in places such as Nigeria, where poverty is widespread, the stakes are a lot higher, with success in such shows a potential escape from the rigours of daily life.

Last year, an eight-year-old girl became an instant celebrity after dancing her way to the 10-million-naira ($63,000, 46,500-euro) top prize on the first “Nigeria’s Got Talent” show, beating a host of older dancers, singers, magicians, comedians and gymnasts.

Seven members of the same family meanwhile won six million naira on “Maltina Dance All”, while singer Olawale Ayodele Ojo landed five million naira, a car and a recording contract on “MTN Project Fame”.

The 25-year-old agronomy student was at the time kicking his heels because of a nationwide pay dispute between university lecturers and the government.

His three nearest rivals also went home with new cars and cash rewards running into millions of naira.

‘Better than armed robbery’

At dance schools like Kaffy’s, more young people are seeking tuition, either to help supplement their existing income or win richer glories.

But Anna Okorejior, an 18-year-old ICT engineering student, said dancing also has another purpose — keeping young people on the straight and narrow.

“More and more youths are going into dancing and other forms of entertainment now because they keep them busy in doing positive things,” she said.

“For the youths, dancing is better than going into vices such as robbery, drugs, prostitution, fraud and vices.”

Bosun Adekogbe, a music teacher at the Obafemi Awolowo University in southwest city of Ile-Ife, agreed.

He dated the rise in dancing as a career choice back to the 1970s, when musician King Sunny Ade began using dancers in his live shows.

“Through this, many people came to see the future prospect of professional dancer. Many youths are making their fortunes through professional dance and dancing competitions,” he said.

“It is better than armed robbery or joining the ‘yahoo boys’ (scammers).”