5 Simple Tips For Creating A Mindful Action Plan For Your Goals

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Creating a mindful action plan is the best thing you can do for your future self if you want to achieve your big goals without burning out.

I’m a big believer in incorporating mindfulness in all actions and planning, especially for perfectionists, because we tend to get caught up in dwelling on the past or panicking about the future.

Taking the time to be present and grounded during the action plan stage of goal-setting means you can create more realistic but challenging goals.

In this post, I cover everything from explaining what a mindful action plan is, 5 steps for creating one and some frequently asked questions.

open notebook with a persons hand holding a pen on top of it. Text overlay that says 5 steps for creating a mindful action plan for your goals

Table of Contents

What is mindful action?

Mindful action is all about being present in your actions and behaviours. It’s the practice of consciously bringing your full non-judgmental awareness to WHAT you are doing, WHY you are doing it and HOW you are doing it.

Choosing to take mindful action means you stop multitasking or allowing yourself to be distracted and focus on the action itself.

It’s a great way to be intentional and step out of auto-pilot mode.

3 reasons why you need to be mindful of your actions

Improved focus and productivity: You’ll be able to concentrate fully on one task at a time which means you’ll make fewer mistakes and increase your efficiency overall. You’ll produce higher-quality work because you won’t fall into the habit of multitasking

Reduces stress: Mindfulness has been shown to reduce stress levels in people because it gives you the tools to identify your triggers and respond appropriately rather than react. You’ll be able to take more thoughtful and balanced actions that solve your problems rather than escalate them demonstrating psychological flexibility

Greater self-awareness and self-development: Using mindful action encourages you to be more introspective and self-reflective so that you can understand your motivation, desires and behaviours more deeply

What is a mindful action plan?

A mindful action plan is a structured approach to achieving your goals. It integrates mindfulness practices and goal-setting processes to make sure that your goals are in alignment with your values and can be realistically achieved.

I strongly recommend my clients and specifically perfectionists take on a mindful approach when creating their own action plan because it prioritises quality and intentionality over having a large number of tasks on your to-do list.

We like to keep it simple here.

When creating action plans I used to make these complicated colour-coded documents and spreadsheets that took hours to create. Then I feel overwhelmed by the complexity of my goals which would lead me to avoid them and procrastinate and then enter a shame spiral.

Not great.

Luckily as I entered my career as a project manager I learnt how to create clear structured action plans and project plans that were easily understood by everyone on a team. This eventually flowed into my personal life action plans and helped me become a more organised person in general.

Key components to include in the plan

Here are some key components you must include in your mindful action plan to make sure it covers all of the essential goal-setting principles and gives you the best chance of becoming your ideal self:

Core values: clearly defined core values that provide the foundation for your goals
Goals and intentions: SMARTER goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound, Empowering, Reflective) and clear intentions
Task list: detailed list of tasks broken down into manageable steps with deadlines
Resource list: list of internal and external resources needed to complete your goal
Productivity systems and routines: tailored time management techniques, morning and evening routines and scheduled mindful breaks
Reflection and review: regular reflection practices, progress tracking, quarterly reviews and celebration of successes

5 steps to Creating a Mindful Action Plan

1. Identify your core values

It goes without saying that the first step in creating a mindful action plan is to identify your core values as they are the foundation of the plan. Your values are the guiding principles and foundational beliefs that matter the most to you and help you make decisions that are in alignment with your true self.

If you’re a perfectionist, it’s super important for you to identify your core values because it helps reduce the pressure of trying to meet external standards and instead allows you to focus on the things that truly resonate with you.

To identify your values you need to be super honest with yourself and ask yourself some really deep questions that you might not have considered before. You’ll need to let go of your family’s expectations and society’s idea of success and focus on the type of life you want to live that will bring you the most fulfilment.

You can do this in a variety of different ways by always recommend you start by using these journal prompts:

What activities bring you the most joy in life?
What qualities do you admire most in others?
What issues or causes are you most passionate about?
What do you spend most of your time thinking about or doing?
If you had to teach a class on one thing, what would it be and why?
What would you regret not doing, being, or having in your life?
When do I feel most like myself and why?

Once you’ve answered these questions try to summarise the key themes in your answers into one word. Those words are your values.

Here are some common core values that might help you:

Integrity
Respect
Family
Growth
Creativity
Courage
Community
Faith
Balance
Adventure

You can download the FREE Values Over Perfection Workbook to help you identify your core values.

2. Set SMARTER goals

SMARTER goals are the secret to setting goals that are purposeful and aligned with your actions.

This step is really important because it’s highly focused on meaningfulness and progress towards your ideal life rather than getting lost in chasing goals that don’t bring you much fulfilment.

It’s something I preach to all my clients.

SMARTER goals are:

Specific: Clearly define what you want to achieve e.g. “What exactly do I want to accomplish?”
Measurable: Set criteria for measuring progress such as specific numbers or milestones
Achievable: Ensure your goal is realistic and achievable with your current resources and constraints
Relevant: Make sure your goal aligns with your broader life objectives and values
Time-bound: Set a clear deadline for when you want to achieve your goal to create focus and urgency
Empowering: Connect your goal to your ideal self by visualising the positive changes and benefits that achieving this goal will bring
Reflective: Regularly review your progress and make adjustments as needed to stay aligned with your values and objectives

You can use journal prompts to help you set your goals by asking yourself questions such as ‘What do I hope to achieve in the next month?’ or ’How do my goals align with my core values?’.

I also recommend you consider setting goals in the 8 areas of life for a more balanced approach since we all tend to focus on career and financial goals and neglect everything else:

Personal and spiritual growth
Health and fitness
Friends and family
Romantic relationships
Career and business
Financial health
Fun and Recreation
Physical environment

3. Hold a mindful planning session

This is by far my favourite part of creating a mindful action plan because I am such a big nerd for productivity which shouldn’t be a surprise considering I’m a project manager and a productivity coach.

This is my bread and butter.

There’s something really special about organising your tasks and priorities and brainstorming ideas. I just love it!

But this isn’t your ordinary planning session this is a mindful planning session with emphasis on the word mindful. This means you need to go into it with the mindset of being present in the moment and grounded in your values.

To do that I recommend you do a mindful meditation or body scan (online or via an app). It’s important to feel relaxed, and focused and have a clear mind when planning how all your goals fit together.

This step is CRUCIAL for perfectionists because we tend to overprepare or procrastinate due to feeling overwhelmed by our never-ending to-do list.

1. Ground yourself:

Find a nice comfortable space where you won’t be disturbed and that is ideally clutter-free.
Take a few moments to centre yourself by breathing deeply in through your nose and out through your mouth.
Only focus on your breath and let go of any tensions or distractions. When you feel calm and grounded open your eyes and start your planning session

2. Prioritise your goals:

Look at your core values list and reflect on how they relate to your goals. You can use a mindmap or brain dump to help you offload your thoughts around your goals.
Pick out your top three goals making sure to consider if you’re short-term and long-term objectives
Then take a moment to prioritise each of your goals based on their importance and alignment with your values

3. Break down tasks:

Once you have prioritised your goals you need to break each goal into smaller manageable tasks which makes the process less overwhelming and more achievable
Try to be as detailed as possible when writing down your tasks to avoid ambiguity or confusion later on
I also recommend you give each task a rough estimate of how long it will REALISTICALLY take to complete

4. Sequence and categorise your tasks:

Look at all your tasks and decide on the most logical order so which ones need to be completed first to move on to the next stage and also identify what task can be completed simultaneously.
You can then categorize your tasks and group similar tasks together and set deadlines for each of them

5. Create a resource list:

Think about all of the different resources you will need to complete each task so this can include materials such as tools information or support from others.
You can also list internal resources like resilience, motivation or getting over your fear of failure
It’s a great way to provide context to your goal and be realistic about your strengths and weaknesses when achieving your goal

6. Put it all into a useful format:

Decide what tool you’re going to use to put your plan all together you can use things like notion Google Sheets or your bullet journal
I personally like to use a combination of different planning tools in my personal life, for example, I use Google Sheets for planning out long-term goals, Google Calendar for noting deadlines and milestones, and my bullet journal for planning my shorter-term goals
I’ve tried 100 times to use Notion and for some reason, it’s not clicking in my brain but one day it will I know in my heart I am destined to be a notion girlie
You can also use a Gantt chart if you know how to use it. It’s something that I’ve used often as a project manager and find it a really helpful visual tool.

4. Create simple systems and routines

Now we get into the more daily activities. You know, moving from more abstract concepts to how you’re actually going to achieve your goal in real life.

Creating a simple mindful productivity system and developing routines will help you streamline your daily activities so that you can be focused and productive consistently.

This is incredibly useful if you are prone to anxiety and procrastination because it provides you with structure.

Systems:

Develop systems that support your workflow such as time-blocking, task batching or the Pomodoro technique. These are meant to help you get into the habit of practising deep work.

Remember to focus on the systems that work well for YOU.

For example, I really struggle with sticking to a strict time-blocking schedule and instead design my productivity system using day theming instead.

Morning and evening routines:

Think about creating consistent routines at the start and end of your day that incorporate mindfulness and make sure you are at your most productive.

For example, having phone-free mornings and evenings, practising meditation, and doing a small task related to your chosen goal. This makes sure that tasks associated with helping you achieve your goals are embedded into your daily life and help you stay in alignment with your values.

Energy management:

You need to work WITH yourself instead of against yourself when setting and implementing your goals. For example, if you know you are a morning person DON’T set heavy brain-taxing work in the evening because you’re setting yourself up to fail.

If you’re not sure take the time to track your energy-draining and energy-giving activities so that you can learn what things to avoid or do more of.

5. Reflect and review

You probably already noticed that reflections and reviews are already built into nearly every step of creating a mindful action plan but I still felt like it was important for it to have its own step.

You can’t be mindful without reflection.

Reflecting and reviewing your progress regularly helps you stay aligned with your values and your goals. It’s highly important for perfectionists because it allows you to assess your achievements without self-criticism and also celebrates your wins consistently.

There are a few ways you can implement this step:

You can incorporate it into your bullet journaling routine by tracking your progress and noting any lessons you’ve learnt
Set aside time every quarter (three months) to review your goals and make necessary adjustments based on new information

Frequently asked questions

How am I meant to create a mindful action plan when I don’t even know what I want to do in life?

This is something that I am asked quite often by people who feel confused in life and want to change but don’t know how.

Honestly, it’s normal to feel confused and uncertain about the direction you want to take your life in especially if you’re a perfectionist who is absolutely terrified of making the wrong decision. It’s definitely much easier to follow a set career path or live by a vision that your parents set out for you rather than focusing on your own values.

This is why when creating a mindful action plan we always start with identifying your values and letting go of your role self.

Creating a mindful action plan can actually help you figure out your true goals and vision because it focuses on increasing self-awareness throughout the goal-setting process.

Take some time to practice mindfulness such as meditation, body scan, mindful walking or journaling to explore your thoughts and feelings about judgment. This process will gradually highlight the things that truly matter to you and will help you start your process of setting more meaningful goals.

Remember to start small and start scrappy and adjust your plans as you learn more about your preferred energy and time management strategies.

I’m just too busy to sit down and create a detailed action plan right now

It’s SO easy for perfectionists to feel overwhelmed with the idea of creating a detailed action plan especially when you already have a busy schedule.

However, I truly encourage you to set some time aside to invest in your future happiness and well-being by creating a mindful action plan.

It is better to do this activity now than wait and accidentally chase goals that drive you further away from your values and deepen your unhappiness.

You don’t have to make this a long complicated activity and in fact, I encourage you to keep this process as simple as possible because it makes it much more inviting and will motivate you to continue to update it as you go along.

You can even make it an incremental process for example start by spending one week identifying your values and then the next week creating your goals and intentions etc… you can break it down by setting a small activity to do daily that will build up into your overall mindful action plan.

You just need to find a way that works for you so that you can be consistent and achieve your values-driven goals.

I thought being mindful meant having no goals for the future

This is a really common misconception about mindfulness. A lot of people think being mindful means having no goals or living life with no plan. Just floating by in the present moment without a care in the world.

I wish that was the case!

You don’t have to be a monk hidden away in a temple to incorporate mindfulness into your daily life. In fact, mindfulness is simply about being fully present and aware in the moment while making intentional choices that align with your values.

Creating a mindful action plan is really helpful for perfectionists because it bridges the gap between present-moment awareness and future aspirations. It encourages you to set goals that are meaningful and aligned with your values while also emphasising the importance of staying grounded and flexible.

So you can have goals, in fact, I implore you to have big goals. Dream big because you only have one life and I want you to get the most out of it as possible.

However, take the time to create mindful systems to make sure you stay grounded and calm in the process of achieving your goals. I don’t want you to burn out in the process!

What are you going to put in your mindful action plan?

I hope you feel empowered to go out and take action towards your big dreamy goals. Just take the time to be mindful and intentional during the goal-setting process so that you don’t burn out and torpedo the whole thing.

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