“I used to say, ‘I sure hope things will change, ' then I learned that the only way things are going to change for me is when I change."

That’s a quote from the wonderful Jim Rohn. A strong proponent of developing a plan for your life, and a part of that is creating a strong plan for the new year. 

In this special episode, I’ll walk you through the steps for the Annual Planning Season, which began on October 1st. 

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Script | 388

Hello, and welcome to episode 388 of the Your Time, Your Way Podcast. A podcast to answer all your questions about productivity, time management, self-development, and goal planning. My name is Carl Pullein, and I am your host of this show. 

A mistake I used to make was to come up with some ideas about what I would like to change in the new year in that gap between Christmas and the New Year. 

The only reason I ever did that was because my friends were asking, “What are your New Year’s resolutions?” I never really had any, so I used to quickly think up some cool-sounding ideas and say that was what I was going to do. 

And yet, it wasn’t always like that. 

When I was a competitive athlete in my teens, each year in December, I would sit down with my coach and plan what we would achieve the following year. 

What times we were going for and which races were to be the “big ones”. 

I still remember the year I broke 2 minutes for the 800 metres and 4 minutes for the 1,500 metres. We knew I was close, having ended the previous year at 2 minutes 3 seconds for the 800 and 4 minutes 6 seconds for the 1,500. 

All that was needed was a good, strong winter and pre-season training. I remember going into 1986 in one of the most positive frames of mind ever. 

Then, when I stopped running competitively—one of my biggest regrets—I stopped planning the year. And that coincided with my not achieving very much. 

I drifted from one job to another. Had no idea what I wanted to do, and I remember feeling unfulfilled and lost. 

Fortunately, I rediscovered annual planning. The sitting down and thinking about what I wanted to accomplish. It was that restart that resulted in me coming to Korea, and discovering my passion—teaching. 

Everything I have achieved over the last 23 years can be traced back to following my annual planning method. 

From finding a career I loved, to getting married and moving to the East Coast of Korea—one of the most beautiful places in the world—and starting the company I run today, now employing four people. 

All of these ideas began with the annual planning method.

So, what is the annual planning method? Well, it’s five simple questions you ask yourself and give some thought to over two months—October and November. 

Those five questions are:

• What would you like to change about yourself?


• What would you like to change about your lifestyle?


• What would you like to change about the way you work?


• What could you do to challenge yourself?


• What goals would you like to achieve? 

Let me explain the kind of things you can think about.

What would you like to change about yourself? This is about you. Your current habits and routines. Are these delivering the results you want? 

When I sat down to write Your Time, Your Way, I knew I had to sacrifice some exercise time in order to write. I was okay with that, and I also knew a consequence of reducing my exercise time would be a gain in weight.

Two years later, I had gained eight kilograms (about 17 ½ pounds)!

Not good. If my weight exceeds 83 kilograms, I feel sluggish and quickly become tired. 

So, in my planning last year, I made it a non-negotiable to get my weight back to my regular weight of 80 kilograms (about 176 pounds or 12 ½ stone) 

Today, as I write this, my weight is 80.5 kgs. Well within my weight window. 

That all started with asking myself, “What do I want to change about myself?” The answer was to get back into my regular exercise routine. 

So, what would you like to change about yourself? Are you doing things that are not contributing to the results you want? Are you not consistently planning your days or weeks? 

Are you not moving enough? Are you spending too much time sitting down in front of a screen and not enough time in nature? 

Another one is how you dress. The pandemic saw a collapse in the way people dressed. This may not interest you, but perhaps you’d like to dress better when you go out. What could you do to improve your dress sense? 

Maybe you’d like to begin journaling or meditation. Write anything you consider down. You’re not committing to anything yet; you’re brainstorming ideas. The commitments you make come in December. October and November are all about developing ideas and going deep. 

The next question, “What do I want to change about my lifestyle?” Is about how you live your life every day. Is your house a mess? Do you leave your bed unmade when you get up in the morning? What about your car? Is it a garbage can on wheels? 

Perhaps you’d like to come home to a clean home at the end of the day? If so, what could you do to change things?

One idea that my wife and I had at the end of 2019 was to move to the East Coast of Korea. To do that, we knew we’d have to finally get a car. Living in Seoul, the capital city, with its superb public transport system, meant that having a car was not a high priority for us. 

Yet, for us to get out of Seoul and live in a cleaner, quieter city, we needed to explore Korea. So, that became the plan: to buy a car and begin exploring possible places to live. 

By the end of 2020, we had a car and moved to the East Coast. 

That change brought some tremendously positive changes in our lives. 

Yet, I know that had we not sat down to talk about our future plans, we’d still be living in a crowded, noisy, polluted city. Seoul is a great city, don’t get me wrong, but with 11 million people sharing it, you can imagine how noisy and crowded it can be. 

Is there anything you’ve always wanted to do relating to your lifestyle that you’ve never considered what you need to do to make happen? Write that down. 

What would you like to change about the way you work? A great question if you’ve found yourself stuck in a job or career that leaves you feeling dead inside. 

Some people I know have decided to completely change their careers when answering this question, while others have started their own businesses. 

It doesn’t have to be as dramatic as that, though. Perhaps you don’t like the structure you have in place to do your work. It could be a tools thing, too. Do you need to upgrade the way you manage your tasks and projects?

What about your workspace? Does it need an overhaul? I’ve done that a few times. Does your current workspace feel sterile and cold? Could you change your desk or your chair? 

If you work from home, can you do anything to make your workspace more stimulating? Perhaps move your desk nearer a window or change the lighting? 

All these ideas can lead to some fantastic changes. However, you do need time to think things through, and that’s what October and November are for. 

The fourth question is What can you do to challenge yourself?

This question is there because often we get stuck in our comfort zones. We become afraid to change anything because we fear what those changes may bring. Yet, if you’re not challenging yourself, you soon find yourself trapped in stagnation.

Physical challenges are a great place to start. If you feel you’ve become a little too sedentary, perhaps you could challenge yourself to do a park run in March. 

Or for those of you who are more ambitious, perhaps you could challenge yourself to do a triathlon or a full marathon in 2026. 

What about going back to school and getting a degree? One such challenge that comes up each year on my list is to do a master’s