Plans for 2012

Review of Past Plans

Looked back at plans from ‘07, ‘09, and ‘10. Not much was accomplished. Some plans were forgotten almost immediately.

If plans are so unreliable, what’s their purpose? Plan or wishlist? Making plans now feels like making wishes—casual, with no need to follow through and no accountability. But, of course, the Bible teaches us not to make vows lightly.

The original purpose of making plans:

• Without plans, life is chaotic. That’s clearly not how God works. When God created the heavens and the earth, it was with much planning and order.
• Plans give direction to life. (Daily life is like sailing on the sea—full of tempting fogs, easy to lose direction, and sway.)
• Plans make life more efficient and secure, allowing for better enjoyment. (Without a financial plan, family finances spiral out of control; we could set aside funds for overseas travel, but without a plan, the opportunity slips away.)

Why do plans fail?

• Motivation issues, unrealistic goals
• Making plans casually, without thoughtful consideration
• Lack of execution and persistence
• Honestly, not all plans will succeed

A complete and effective plan includes:

• Goals and Motivation (First have goals, then make a plan; motivations that please God) (‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’)
• Action Steps (What will I do?)
• Specific Schemes (What will I do?)

For what areas should I make plans?

• Spiritual life
• Finances
• Work
• Education
• Entertainment

For men with families, also include:

• Family
• Children’s education
• Parent support

For Christians, also include:

• Church service
• Evangelism

What are your values? What are your goals? What are the most important things to you? Are all the things you’re doing now really related to these? Are they indispensable? Can’t someone else do them? Can you use some tools to simplify them (like setting up email filters)? Consider these questions for everything you plan to do. You might find you don’t need to be that busy.

My 2012 Plans

Spiritual Life–

• Read the Bible once through: Systematically understand the Bible, 4 chapters a day (1189 chapters total) {6:00 - 6:20, 20M / D}
• Study Genesis: {Wednesday nights 8:00 - 9:30, 1.5H / W}

Finances–

• Tithing (0.8k/m)
• Prepare tuition for Eather’s kindergarten (1k/m)
• Family trip to Shenzhen (0.2k/m)
• Monthly living expenses for parents (0.5k/m)
• Quarterly clothing purchase (0.2k/m)
• Rent+utilities (2.7k/m)
• Daily expenses + my living expenses (2.5k/m)
• Savings (0.1k/m)
• Debt (XH:5K)
• Loans out (PY:2K, DX:28K)
• Generate income (20K, illustration/interface/graphics)

Education–

• Practice basics & creation: Graphics, color, layout, typography {20M / D}
• Reading: Design methods (2 books), early childhood education (2 books), interpersonal communication (1 book), psychology (1 book), sociology (1 book), economics (1 book) {30M / D}
• English writing, spoken exchange: One chapter of English Bible daily, memorize new words {30M / D}; one English blog post weekly {30Min / W}

Book List–

Design

• The Design of Everyday Things http://book.douban.com/subject/1288844/
• Principles of Layout Design http://book.douban.com/subject/2238320/
• Geometry of Design http://book.douban.com/subject/1276767/
• Guidelines for Type Design http://book.douban.com/subject/1488867/
• The Power of Design by Sato Kashiwa http://book.douban.com/subject/3682204/
• Winning by Knowing Yourself http://book.douban.com/subject/2157554/

Product/Psychology

• The Tipping Point http://book.douban.com/subject/1014964/
• Predictably Irrational http://book.douban.com/subject/4929844/
• Consumer Behavior http://book.douban.com/subject/2015536/
• Social Psychology http://book.douban.com/subject/1476651/
• The Long Tail http://book.douban.com/subject/1919072/
• Blue Ocean Strategy http://book.douban.com/subject/1318427/
• An Invitation to Anthropology http://book.douban.com/subject/2979316/

Personal Growth

• The Introvert Advantage http://book.douban.com/subject/2980795/
• Only the Paranoid Survive http://book.douban.com/subject/1940579/
• Boundaries: How to Set Them http://book.douban.com/subject/1006005/
• Influence http://book.douban.com/subject/1786387/

Faith Related

• Brothers Share a Love that Can Move Mountains http://book.douban.com/subject/1959344/
• The Fountainhead http://book.douban.com/subject/1431870/
• Confessions http://book.douban.com/subject/1060531/
• The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism http://book.douban.com/subject/1207903/

Curiosity

• Small Logic http://book.douban.com/subject/1034259/
• Introduction to Psychology http://book.douban.com/subject/1150779/
• A Brief History of Time http://book.douban.com/subject/1034282/

Children’s Growth

• Boundaries for Kids http://book.douban.com/subject/1197433/
• Fathers Behind the Daughters http://book.douban.com/subject/1144509/

Marriage Growth

• Boundaries in Marriage http://book.douban.com/subject/1683963/
• Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus http://book.douban.com/subject/1223845/

Exercise–

• Run and play ball at Zhejiang University track on Mon-Wed-Sat; {40M / w}
• Learn backstroke (July)
• 30 push-ups every night, add 10 every month after six months {20M / D}

Family–

• Household habits: Return items to their place; tidy up regularly; Sat and Wed, family cleaning (15Min)
• Work habits: Check Weibo once a day (30Min / noon), email check once (5:30pm), tomorrow’s work plan and today’s summary (6pm)

Work–

• Persist in entrepreneurship for 6 months (until June 30, 2012)

Church Service–

• Drum practice: (learn from Qizuo)
• Guitar practice: Master 12 chords, 12 strumming rhythms, 12 broken chords (Em7, C7, Bb2, C7sus4, Gm7sus, F2, Csus, Asus4, Fmaj7, … ask Qizuo) (30Min / D)
• Evangelism once at Zijingang Campus of Zhejiang University

Interpersonal Relationships–

• Attend an industry event
• Read a book on interpersonal communication (see “Reading”)

Daily Schedule:

6:00 - 6:20 Read 4 chapters of the Bible
6:20 - 7:00 Exercise on Mon-Wed-Sat; English practice on Tue-Thu-Fri
7:00 - 8:00 Family praise
8:00 - 8:30 Family cleaning on Wed-Sat; Guitar practice on Mon-Tue-Thu-Fri

9:00 - 11:00 Work
11:30 - 12:00 Weibo
13:00 - 17:30 Work
17:30 - 18:15 Today’s summary/tomorrow’s plan

20:00 - 21:00 Accompany Eather + push-ups
21:00 - 22:00 Drawing
22:00 - 22:30 Reading
23:00 - 6:00 Sleep