We’ve heard the same mantra from our parents, our teachers, and even our friends for years: “Where do you see yourself in a few years?”, “What’s your plan?”, “Do you even know what you’re doing?” These questions can be daunting, and for many of us, our initial reaction is to either ignore the question or to divert the attention away from ourselves. But how important is having a detailed plan really to the college experience?
It seems that a lot of us are just winging it- switching in and out of majors, taking whatever classes sound interesting, applying for whatever internships and study abroad programs sound like fun. But how much value can having a solid plan give to your life as you’re moving through your college years?
According to Karen Kelsky, a former tenured professor and the creator of The Professor Is In, quite a lot. The Professor Is In is a guide to help navigate graduate students and junior faculty through grad school, the job search, and the tenure experience. A five year plan doesn’t have to be a perfectly laid out pie chart with strict deadlines. Every month does not have to be laid out to a "T", and it can change as you continue on throughout your college years.
However, you should have some idea of what goals you want to achieve within the coming years and why you want to achieve them. Some people feel better with starting with yearly short term goals first and then branching off into a five year plan. Do whatever makes you comfortable, but make sure you start somewhere!
My favorite visual five year plan spreadsheets are the ones that allow you to look at different aspects of your life instead of just organizing your plan into one long checklist. The “Five Year Goal Plan” is wonderful just for that reason! By splitting up your goals into different, easy to read categories, your mind is allowed to prioritize ahead of time so that you can make the most out of your efforts. Check it out here!
Another great setup for a five year plan is to write out a detailed analysis in paragraph form listing not only the whats but also the whys and hows of your plan. As Nora Conrad, a frequent blogger who specializes in organization and planning, states in her article “The 5 Year Plan”, “a five year plan is meant to help you {1} figure out your goals {2} set a timeline for your goals and {3} make a plan to meet those goals... [This plan should] help you understand your goals and take steps to achieve them.” If this sort of system sounds a little more your speed than a chart does, check out her method here!
So if you haven’t already, take a few hours one day soon to sit down and come up with a detailed plan on how you would like to move forward throughout college. It’s so easy for these years to get away from us with all of out surface level stressors staring us in the face day after day. A five year plan can help keep you on track and give you the peace of mind that you are going in the right direction!
References:
- Angela Marie Jimenez, What You Need to Put in Your 5-Year Plan
- Kathleen, What's Your Five Year Plan?
- Nora Conrad, The 5 Year Plan
- Karen Kelsky, Why You Need a 5-Yer Plan