{"id":120364,"date":"2024-01-03T16:02:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-03T20:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=120364"},"modified":"2024-01-08T15:01:50","modified_gmt":"2024-01-08T19:01:50","slug":"how-to-plan-for-the-future-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-plan-for-the-future-2\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Plan for the Future: 5 Important Areas to Map Out"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What does the future hold for you? Do you know how to plan for the future<\/a>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The future is uncertain for all of us, but that doesn\u2019t mean we can\u2019t pave the path to it. From general life planning to business succession planning, there are several ways to prepare for what\u2019s to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Discover how to plan for the future in many areas of life and work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

1. Life Planning<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It can be hard figuring out what you want to do in life. You might be stuck between a career or a family, trying to do both, or deciding to move to a new city. That\u2019s why you need to plan three different lives and see which one fits you best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Designing Your Life<\/em><\/a> by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, you should develop three separate five-year \u201cAdventure Plans,\u201d each one detailing a different life that you could live. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Focus your first plan on something you\u2019ve already got in mind, either the life you\u2019re actually living (imagined forward by five years) or a good idea that you\u2019ve been developing. <\/li>
  2. For your second plan, describe what you\u2019d do if the area you currently work in or have been planning to work in disappeared. <\/li>
  3. For your third plan, describe what you\u2019d do if money and reputation didn\u2019t matter.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    For each plan, come up with a short title to capture its essence and a dashboard gauge that shows your available resources (time, money, skill, and so on), your \u201clike level\u201d (how much you like the plan), your confidence level in the plan, and how coherent the plan is with your life compass<\/a>. Also, note two or three questions that each plan raises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The final step is to share your Adventure Plans with a group of supportive people. You can\u2019t always see yourself accurately. You need other people\u2019s input. So pick some people you trust to provide honest and constructive reactions that will help guide your decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The essence of planning for the future is to build a potential solution to your problem so that you can test it. You can do this through prototyping your Adventure Plans. Prototyping your plans for life enables you to ask the right questions<\/a>, gain experience through experimenting with alternatives, and test your assumptions. It also enables you to \u201cfail fast\u201d (because you quickly learn what doesn\u2019t work before you overinvest in a life path with no real future) and \u201cfail forward\u201d by using your failures to make progress. Moreover, it builds empathetic relationships with other people who are interested in your journey. Two ways to plan for the future are to conduct life interviews and to pursue exploratory experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Life Interviews and Exploratory Experiences<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    In a life interview<\/strong>, you learn from someone who actually knows what it\u2019s like to live the life you\u2019re contemplating<\/strong>, and you let this tell you whether that life is for you. Find someone who\u2019s currently doing the work<\/a> and\/or living the life you\u2019re considering. Ask them how they came to be doing this work and what it\u2019s really like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    An exploratory experience would be an internship, a job shadowing experience, or volunteer work.<\/strong> No matter what form it takes, think of it as a kind of \u201ctest drive\u201d to give you real, hands-on experience and firsthand knowledge of the work and life you\u2019re considering. Life interviews first can provide good ideas for exploratory experiences. If you feel stuck<\/a> for ideas, use your Adventure Plans to intelligently plot exploratory experiences. Pick a plan where the dashboard readings are high, and use the questions you wrote for that plan to guide you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    2. Career Planning<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    While figuring out how to plan for the future, you may want to start searching for jobs right away, but first learn an important truth: Contrary to popular belief, the best route to fulfilling work<\/a> isn\u2019t through the want ads. For various reasons, Designing Your Life<\/em><\/a> says the traditional job advertisement and job application processes are fundamentally broken. Most jobs are filled internally without ever being publicly shown. Fewer than half the applications submitted through the traditional route get a response. Many advertised jobs are really \u201cphantom\u201d jobs that were only published to meet a company’s requirements. Advertised job descriptions<\/a> themselves are almost hopelessly defective, combining generic skills with impossible-to-meet requirements. This all means you need to revise your approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    To improve your chances if you want to use the conventional job hunting approach of scouring the Internet and then sending in a cover letter and resume, write your resume to be amenable to keyword searches, using language from the actual job posting. Focus not on why you want the job but what you can do for the employer. If you get an interview, bring a fresh printed resume. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Solution: Plugging Into the Hidden Job Market<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    A far better approach than simply applying to Internet-posted jobs is to combine effective networking practices with your prototyping technique of life interviews, which will enable you to tap into the hidden, unadvertised job market. Realize that you can design your own dream job<\/a> through a combination of active seeking and co-creation. Also realize that networking is a good thing, not something that just annoys other people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    To network effectively, first reach out to your first-tier contacts, the people you actually know and have in your address files, and ask them for leads. Use this information to reach out to second-tier contacts (the contacts of your contacts). Also, research people and organizations. Then request life interviews with interesting people in interesting positions. When you access a combined personal and professional network by conducting life interviews, you increase your likelihood of gaining access to the hidden job market<\/a>. <\/strong>Often when one of your life interviewees sees your genuine interest, they\u2019ll let you know of available positions, whether published or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Cap your exploration of the hidden job market by making a critical distinction in your job-searching activities: Since the defectiveness of job descriptions means you can\u2019t really know what most jobs are about from reading about them, adopt the mindset that you\u2019re not looking for a job but <\/strong>looking for job offers<\/em><\/strong>. <\/strong>This will expand your horizons and make you more curious, leading you to investigate and evaluate opportunities with genuine interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    3. Family Planning<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    The authors of Eight Dates<\/em><\/a> argue that different visions and definitions of family can be a dealbreaker in a relationship<\/strong>. A helpful piece of advice on how to plan for the future is to have a date where you discuss what family looks like for you and your partner. Every person defines family differently, so it\u2019s important to make sure you and your partner are on the same page before entering into a long-term commitment. Specifically, if you don’t have children, talk about whether you want to be parents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This date focuses on couples who haven’t yet decided to have kids. If you already have children, you can use this date to talk about how you co-parent<\/a>\u2014what\u2019s working and what isn\u2019t. Consider discussing your different parenting styles<\/a> or any house rules and routines that need to be changed or updated, or just take time to discuss how your family is doing and any challenges you’re facing right now as a parent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Use the following prompt to guide your conversation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n