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How to Create a 5-Year Plan for Achieving Your Goals

By Rich Schaus

Executive Director of Gospel Rescue Mission

Published June 1, 2023 | 6 min read

This simple guide on making a 5-year plan will help you move towards your goals and dreams and ensure that you get there.

Envision where your life will be in five years.

Then dedicate yourself to making that vision come true, and you will stand right amid your dream.

Here’s how to create a 5-year plan for yourself:

But what type of plan will this vision take?

How will you get there?

Who will travel with you on this journey?

Having a 5-year plan is crucial for you to reach your future goals.

Without a careful and detailed plan, you’ll struggle to make your dreams a reality.

Work carefully and purposely through the plan’s development to see where it takes you.

You’ll see that the planning can be almost as much fun as the actual journey.

Also, check out these planning quotes for inspiration.

1. Consider the ultimate dream for your life.

Whatever you are planning for the next five years will impact your ability to fulfill your ultimate plan for your life.

Will you be progressing toward any or all of your life goals over the next five years?

2. Create a story of your life five years from now.

When thinking about making a 5-year plan for yourself, I encourage people to create a storyline of their life five years from now.

Make the vision as real as possible.

Create smells and sounds in the story, making it more realistic.

Make sure to include a holistic look at your life.

What do you want to accomplish physically, mentally, spiritually, socially, financially, and professionally?

What do you want your home to look like?

A glimpse at my vision:

In my vision, I am sitting on my porch.

The pole barn is standing in good repair.

My father-in-law is doing some wood carving inside.

The wind blows across my face as I look at the house we built for my in-laws to live in (this is not currently being built, but it is in the plan).

It is a cool autumn morning, and I sit on our porch swing.

My thoughts are reflecting on the year that is ending.

I am remembering the 25th-anniversary trip to Hawaii I took with my wife.

I smile as I remember the expansion of the Gospel Rescue Mission where I work and the new facilities’ impact on many lives.

Over the past several years, I have learned and taught many different Bible studies.

I’m known in my community as a man of prayer.

I look down at my coffee and wonder how my youngest is doing during his first semester in college.

That day, I talked to his older brother, who works hard and does well in school.

The oldest daughter has been traveling a lot this year but is expected home for Christmas.

I breathe in the cool morning air and remember the joy I felt from finishing the local ultra marathon just a month prior.

Soon, Veteran’s Day will be here.

But I am not concerned about fitting into my blue dress uniform this year.

As I sit there, my wife comes and sits by me.

We just sit silently, remembering everything we have experienced together over the past 25 years.

The song playing in the background for this scenario is a Mozart Concerto.

Take your time and walk through that vision often.

Vision is the key to creating a 5-year plan and making it work.

3. Consider who will be with you and their life visions

I have learned that sharing these visions with those I want to be a part of my life is important.

You see, they have a vote.

This is a critical piece if you hope to have support and encouragement.

Often, these people know you best and can redirect you if you think a little over-optimistically.

They might also be able to offer you input on how you might make those dreams come true.

Having many eyes looking around for opportunities is of great help.

Knowing my hopes and dreams for the homeless, my mother often sends me articles and news stories about poverty issues.

This is of great help.

It also keeps me motivated.

4. Build road signs from here to there

Last year, my family and I moved from the state of Washington to Oklahoma.

Along the way, the various departments of transportation put up helpful signs to point out exits and mileage to the next several cities.

As I read the signs each step of the way, I was encouraged to know I was going the correct way.

But if one of those signs had given me mileage to some city in Southern California, I would have known that I was off-track.

Being lost, I could decide to either change my destination or get back on track.

Your 5-year plan should be similar.

Create that same sort of vision for six months or one year from now.

These will be indicators if you are on track or not.

For example, if your plan is to be a doctor five years from now, but when you look at your life a year from now, you still have not begun working on your bachelor’s degree.

You might need to redirect.

These road signs, too, should include all areas of your life.

Consider a song for each stage.

My season on many of my road signs here is Crazy Train by Ozzie Osborne, as I ride a crazy pace to get things done the way I have always dreamed of them.

5. Be detailed on the next three months

With all of the above in mind, what do you need to be doing over the next three months of your life to make it all come true?

Here you need to be very detailed in all areas of your life.

For example, by the end of these three months, I will fix that light switch, cut down that tree that is in the way of the future building project, etc.

These should be SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound).

Again, be balanced and include all areas of your life.

You don’t want to push so hard to fulfill your dream and then discover at the end that you are all alone without any of your loved ones.