I try to live with intention, so was intrigued when my mentor, Holly, challenged me to create a personal life plan. I’d heard the concept before, but had never done it so I was looking forward to giving it a try and seeing what it was all about. And it sounded like a good way to start my year.

The one she used for herself and shared with me is by Michael Hyatt, the Chairman of Thomas Nelson Publishers, the largest Christian publishing company in the world and the seventh largest trade book publishing company in the U.S. You can also get his e-book on the subject for free by subscribing to his blog. You can always unsubscribe later if you want. Creating Your Personal Life Plan takes less than an hour to read, and has a lot of good information as well as a Word doc template for your own plan.

He suggests to take a day to figure out your own details. I took a couple of hours one afternoon, but will admit that it needs some refining. There are a few sections that are more general than I’d like, but I don’t yet know the answers. I’m still trying to answer the question of what I want to be when I grow up. Nonetheless, it was a great exercise is intentionality and forward-thinking for my life. It helped me clarify priorities both for the present and future, and I think it will do me good to review it periodically as Hyatt suggests.

Anyway, just wanted to throw it out there in case it sounds like something you’d be interested in doing as well. Never hurts to set goals and live with a little more purpose!