Ask HN: Is it possible to make turn around your life by proper planning?

It helps me to have my plans/goals written down. When life gets complex and overwhelming I refer to them to remind myself what's important to me and therefore what I should prioritize. When I get off course, they guide me back.

I kept them simple and achievable. For example "lift weights 3 times a week".

Next step was to pick one at a time and schedule them. For example "MWF right after work". This helps make them a habit instead of a constant battle with your willpower.

Don't punish yourself for getting off track. Just get back to it. Eventually it will become part of who you are and you'll rarely get off track.

Create the habit. Results will follow.

I guess the answer is somewhere in the middle? It's very hard to see how you can improve your life without any goal or plan. After all, what guides your actions? OTOH, it is probably as easy to get lost in planning / use excessive planning as a means of procrastination. In addition, a goal too ambitious might as well lead to burnout (e.g. your goal is to get a job at FAANG).

Also, I think it's sometimes hard to recognize whether a goal you have is indeed your own goal; or rather a goal "forced" onto you by your social circle or family.

I've wasted too much time on planning everything and not actually getting started. It's unrealistic to expect everything to change at once. I'd suggest start with one thing you want to improve (diet, physical exercise, writing practice, etc.) and work on that for a while--ideally 30 days. Unless we get really lucky (or unlucky) things don't turn around completely. You make small changes while trying to find good in the life you already have. That's how I'm trying to work on it.

I highly recommend checking out Oliver Burkeman's posts to help you with this:

https://www.oliverburkeman.com/posts

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/series/thiscolumnwi...

1 big goal and do EVERYTHING to get there. Works for some people. Just like coding a web app may take 1 day.

But others need self created structure, and reminders.

Sometimes planning is not useful beyond just remembering what you planned.

Writing down is perfect if you need to focus on something else and dont want your brain power used for remembering.

Change boils down to two things really:

1. knowing the right thing to do

2. doing it

Does planning help with either? Surprisingly it helps with the second more than the first. For the first, things like reading and finding a mentor helps more.

Often it's iterative too. Doing a thing often helps you figure out what you shouldn't be doing.

Say you wanted to find the perfect spouse. You don't do this by listing characteristics of that person. Nor do you do the research and hire a marriage expert to figure out the perfect spouse. You do it by dating. You reasssess whether you could be dating better people.

"In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable."

-- Dwight D. Eisenhower

Search this topic on healthygamergg on youtube, from the name it seems like a meme channel for youngsters, but it goes deep into the stuff you are asking about and it works at all ages

Yes if you're lucky, no if you're unlucky

But if you have plans and execute them, you invite the luck in

At least this is my copium

Most people have not developed the habits and discipline necessary to benefit from a plan.

First find out where you’re at. Then you will know better how to go where you want.

plans == ideas

discipline == execution

ideas are worthless, its all about the execution