Ep. 004: I planned out the next five years of my life (and why you should too)
At time of writing, in five years time, I will be twenty-five. To those over this quarter-centennial age, you might mock my shock and horror at this revelation. To those under, I’d be surprised if you didn’t share it.
Up until about a year ago, I had no idea what I want to do in life. I knew I wanted to travel a lot, and write, and be creative. La Vie En Rose. That was pretty much my guideline.
The scariest thing to me is looking back aged 50 at my life and regretting my career choice. So much so that it’s just easier to ignore those big scary job questions, and bury my head in the sand. Even though I have that niggling anxiety at time slipping through my fingers.
It was all well and good me having this blurry image of success and monietal freedom, but in order to truly create my dream life, I had to bite the bullet and ask myself what I was actually going to be doing at age twenty-five, and if I liked that version of myself. If I didn’t, what was I going to do to change it?
Equally, I wanted to have a plan, but I didn’t want my life planned out to the t. One of the key words that came to mind when I thought of my dream life was freedom; something that was not going to happen if I was following what twenty-year old me had in mind. With this rule, I came up with my 5 year plan.
Very very simply, I wrote out the years and the months of the next five years and started with the very basic and confirmed events (the date I finish my degree, for example) allowing me to anchor my timeline in legitimacy. I also knew I wanted to get a car before 2025, so I pinned that in; it doesn’t have to have a completely accurate date, just a ball park.
I made it a habit to scan over mine at the start of each month so make any potential edits. As I filled in the gaps, it made me realise how soon this seemingly distant future really was. This actually helped me decide what I wanted to start pursuing, and so I added in the dates for a teaching course I want to do in the next five years.
Before I knew it, there it was, the next five years. It wasn’t a life plan, just a guideline for the next couple of years, to get me where I needed to be. Every time I look at it, I ask myself: Is this my dream life? If not, what is it missing?
It leaves the mystery of the day to day, whilst making me excited for the future!
Just start by envisioning your life in five years. It doesn’t seem as scary as a life plan, but if you think about it, five years can be a hefty chunk of time, especially in the ever moving twenties.
Let me know how it turns out! And if you’d like to see my 5 year plan as a template, comment below.
Happy planning!
xoxo,
She Wrote Her Twenties
