People often have a goal in mind, they want to reach. But it often does not go the way they wish for during the implementation and achievement of these goals. For example, if you haven’t done sport so far and you make up your mind, to (re) begin with sports, then the question arises, how to take the first steps to achieving this goal. Or if you often rushed and out of stressed gobble your food instead of enjoying it in peace but if you decide to eat in peace and with enjoyment in the future, then the question arises how to tackle this intention best.

Action Plans are a good tool to effectively implement the things you want to achieve in practice. As the name suggests, an action plan is a concrete plan with which you can get closer to the goals you want to reach most in the nearest time or better still in the following week.

Plan specifically on what you want to do

The more accurately you plan and describe what you are going to do concretely in the next week (your action), the more likely it is that you are actually going to reach the goal. If you (again) want to start with sport, for example, for a good first step perhaps you should look in the phone book or on the Internet for gyms or sports clubs available in your local area and call three of these facilities in order to learn about their offer and cost. The action is therefore not being "re-athletic", but it is "looking up in the phone book", "researching on the Internet" and "making a call". If you prefer to eat in peace and with enjoyment, it might be a good first plan to decide to remain seated at the table twice in the coming week for at least 20 minutes during lunch or dinner.

Develop realistic Plans

Be realistic in your planning. Do not take on than what you can actually achieve from looking at your previous experience and your current situation as well. If you have not exercise so far, it is highly unrealistic that you will drift into 2 hours sports in the next week. Then maybe even 10 or 15 minutes is the first success. If you previously always rushed and took your dinner in 5 minutes out stressed, then it is an initial success, if you manage to take it once or twice in 10 minutes.

The four elements of an action plan

A good action plan usually answers four questions:

What exactly will I do next week?
What activity or action will I carry out? Will I go a certain distance on foot? Will I eat more vegetables? Will I make an appointment with someone specific?

How much will I do?
The answer to this question often includes a particular time (5 minutes, 30 minutes), a certain distance something (for example: to walk 2 km), a certain portions of servings (food, drink) or a certain number of repetitions (for example, gymnastic exercises).

When am I going to do that?
Here, try to be concrete and specific as possible. Will I do something after breakfast? Before going to bed? On Wednesday, in the early afternoon? Try to plan concrete as possible specific days, specific timeframe or a specific time.

How often will I perform my planned action?
Set a precise goal for this. Even if you would prefer to do many things perhaps every day, this would be unrealistic, because you still need to consider and do many other things. Probably, it is often best not to undertake things more than three or four times a week, so that you may also have room for other things and not unnecessarily put yourself under pressure. If something is new for you, it is useful to repeat it once or twice sensibly.

When you click "read more", you will find few examples of action plans in various fields.