Get Everything Done

What kind of practice do you follow for planning and goal-setting? Do you schedule regular weekly/quarterly/annual planning sessions? Obviously we know about daily planning; I am asking planning that happens at larger intervals.

I usually sit down on a Sunday evening and block out routine activities etc for the week ahead, plus any reminders for certain days. At the same time I review the 4 or 5 Commitments (or Roles or Areas of Focus) I have currently to regain Focus.

I don't tend to set long range goals anymore unless there is something out there that I definitely want to commit to, e.g 'Running the 2009 London Marathon' (Not that I have set this goal!). I used to approach goal setting in a 'top-down' way when I was using a Franklin Covey Planner but to be honest this did not work too well for me because I struggle to conceive of lofty goals and/or feel overwhelmed by them. Additionally, I believe that opportunities often come up fairly unannounced so I find it easier to respond to these if my house is generally in order. As John Lennon sung, 'Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans'.

Nowadys I tend to work 'bottom-up' in my goal (or project) setting. This has been influenced originally by the GTD approach with 'Projects'. Although I have all but abandoned GTD now in favour of DIT, I still find this approach practical and realistic. This is because I can work from *where I am at* currently and make gradual improvements in the various areas of my life.

In conclusion, I tend to view my active projects daily and write in related actions or timed bursts into my 'will do list' for the day.