INSPIRATION A to Z (P - Planning)

This post is the sixteenth in a blog series where I’m exploring various aspects of INSPIRATION. When I chose INSPIRATION as my word for this year, my first thoughts were about finding, acting on and (in some cases) limiting INSPIRATION. I also knew I wanted this word to motivate me not only in my scrapbooking and crafting but also in my physical, spiritual and intellectual goals. During my FUN year last year, I published a two-week series entitled Where Does My Inspiration Come From?, which looked at the many different sources of INSPIRATION specifically for scrapbook layouts. However, in this series, I’ll be sharing a word for each letter of the alphabet (from A to Z) that relates to INSPIRATION along with my random and in-depth thoughts on that word and the various ways it relates to INSPIRATION in our lives.

P is for Planning

Planning is defined as "the process of thinking about and organizing the activities required to achieve a desired goal." Planning involves setting goals, defining objectives, developing strategies, creating lists, and outlining schedules to complete the goals and objectives.

This time of year I spend a lot of time thinking about plans and goals for the upcoming year, which is often the first step in the Planning process. The list of goals and things I want to do then become the INSPIRATION for making plans and choosing my daily/weekly/ monthly tasks.

As I mentioned in my blog post on Goals, I have always been a goal-setter and enjoy the Planning process. Currently I'm thinking a lot about what I want to do and accomplish in 2016. I definitely want to check some more items off my 50 Things To Do Before I'm 50 list and create and teach more Bible Journaling Workshops. 

Each year I choose a calendar to use for Planning my yearly, monthly, weekly, and daily activities. Despite the options available digitally, I still prefer a paper calendar. Typically I purchase this new calendar in November and begin filling in birthdays and anniversaries, highlighting important dates, and getting excited about a new year. Setting up my calendar and looking at all that empty spaces provides INSPIRATION for considering and choosing goals and things to do and places to go in the coming year. 

However, this year seems to have flown by much more quickly and I haven't even chosen a calendar yet! That's definitely something I'm planning to take care of this week! There are so many options available now that the "planner craze" has hit the scrapbooking industry. I've always color-coded my calendar and occasionally added in some washi tape or a simple drawing or highlighting, however my calendar has always been more of a Planning tool than a creative outlet. (That doesn't mean I won't be tempted to add in some FUN embellishments in 2016!)

Of course, calendars are just one tool we can use for Planning. Sometimes all we need for Planning is an idea and we formulate the plan right in our minds and move forward. Other times we need to make lists or excel spreadsheets or mind maps to help us with our Planning. I created the mind map below earlier this year as I was Planning one of my Bible Journaling workshops. I then used this as an INSPIRATION and Planning tool to prepare my class examples and outline.

In summary, however we choose to plan, setting goals and defining objectives is often the INSPIRATION that begins the Planning process, and Planning is an important step in acting on the INSPIRATION to complete goals.

What are you Planning for 2016? Please share your thoughts on  Planning and INSPIRATION in the comments. 
Click HERE to see all my INSPIRATION A-Z posts, or click a letter below to see individual posts.

A(Art)   B(Baking)   C(Creativity)   D(Drawing)

E(Experiences)   F(Finishing)   G(Goals)   H(Hiking)

I(Immersion)   J(Journaling)   K(Knowledge)

L(Learning)   M(Movement)   N(Nurturing) 

O(Organization)   P(Planning)   Q(Quiet)   R(Reading)

S(Style)   T(Teaching)   U(Upcycle)   V(Vacation)

W(Work)   X(Xciting)   Y(Yuletide)   Z(Zzzzzs)