A Goal and a Plan

In the last post, I wrote about what seems to be a good way to break down the elements of a successful new years resolution. It's not enough to just make a vague resolution. You need to start with a well-defined goal, and then set up a plan to get to that goal.

The Goal
My goal for this year is to get my Minnsota residential remodeler's license. Since I've been living here in Corcoran for the last five years, I've done quite a bit of remodeling. I've finished (mostly) the basement, redone two bathrooms and (almost) built an addition. (Should be done soon...) Also, I've helped my Dad finish his basement in his townhome. So over the past five years, I've learned quite a bit about framing, electrical, plumbing, drywall, etc.

The goal has been stated. I think it's clear enough that it doesn't need any additional description. To follow the advice of my first blog post, the next step is to formulate a plan.

Planning to Plan
At this stage, I'll begin to identify incremental steps to get me to the goal. Right now, it seems kind of lame to write all of this down. But since I want to have something I can look back on in retrospect, whether or not I actually accomplish the goal, I'll continue.

Just like you need a well-defined goal, you also need a well-defined plan to get to that goal. Ok, so if your goal is to get out of bed and have a bowl of cereal, you can probably handle that without writing down all of the individual steps (1. set the alarm, 2. don't hit snooze, 3. get out of bed, 4. go into the kitchen, 5. get a bowl out of the cupboard, 6. get a spoon out of the drawer, etc.) It's something you do every day, so it comes naturally. One of the first steps in planning is to understand what the prerequisites for the goal are. If I'm going to have a bowl of cereal, I'm going to need milk, cereal, bowl and spoon, and I'm going to need to get out of bed and gather all of these things together.

I think a good way of understanding the prerequisites is to start at the end result and work backwards. I'm not going to put my plan together tonight, but I'll just review the goal and identify the most notable immediate prerequisite to my goal.

Goal: Obtain MN residential remodelers license
Website: http://www.doli.state.mn.us/rbc_remlic.html