Mastering Yearly Planning with Tana

The title, Planning with Tana, is more than just a phrase; it’s a transformative approach to managing my life.

The tools we choose can significantly influence our success. Tana, with its dynamic graph structure, distinguishes itself among the tools I’ve utilized in 2023, and when it comes to planning, employing Tana is an obvious choice.

With Tana, my annual planning transforms into an engaging journey instead of a daunting task. Today, I aim to delve into how I accomplish this with precision and efficiency.

Calendar Nodes for planning with Tana

The first step in my Tana planning journey is taking advantage of my year default supertag. If you haven’t, I suggest that you read my article on Calendar Nodes. Think of this as the command center for the upcoming year. Within this supertag’s configuration, I’ll create a simple structure with a node called “The Plan”.

I am organazing my search queries under my “The Plan” node. This simple structure serves as the backbone for organizing the entire year, allowing me to isolate different aspects of my life and track my progress systematically.

By using the ‘grandparent’ search operator, I can locate relevant nodes within my year node. This powerful feature saves me time in building the structure, and keeps my focus on execution rather than on searching for what I need. I have the Plan Hub pinned to my sidebar, ensuring it’s readily accessible.

Setting and Tracking Personal Goals with Tana

A key component of my planning is the timeframe date field. This field links resolutions, goals, milestones and habits to specific time periods, be it the year, a month, or even a quarter.

Although Tana doesn’t natively support quarters (yet), I can manually select start and end dates to track my progress over any period. This flexibility allows me to tailor my tracking to my personal timelines.

My resolutions in Tana are streamlined yet robust. A simple super tag encompasses actions (options field with search query looking for goals and habits), status, and area, providing a clear overview of what I aim to achieve.

Each resolution is tied to an area of life and consists of actionable steps, which may include habits or goals. For example, a resolution to enhance my personal health and well-being might include goals like running a marathon (I wish) and habits such as daily meditation.

Leveraging Tana for Habit Formation and Tracking

Habits are the building blocks of long-term success. In Tana, I list all my habits for each quarter along with their frequency. This not only helps me keep track but also facilitates the use of AI commands for reminders and progress checks. For each habit, I create a habitLog node, which is connected to the main habit node. This allows for detailed tracking and the ability to generate insightful reports utilizing search queries and AI Commands.

The “Goal” field value is essential for calculating my traction. Suppose I aim to track 12 savings instances within a quarter, equating to once per week. In that case, my AI command will assess the number of habit logs generated during the quarter (found in the Habit Logs search query) and compare this figure to my predetermined goal. The result is then expressed as a straightforward percentage and entered into the “Traction” field, which I additionally incorporate into the title for reference.

Goals give my year direction, and in Tana, I maintain a list of all my goals along with their corresponding milestones. Milestones break down my larger goals into manageable steps, ensuring I am making consistent progress. For instance, if the goal is to publish 36 short videos on TanaNodes in 2024, a milestone might be to release three videos in January. Each milestone can then be tied to specific projects, creating a clear path to success.

Beyond goals and habits, I also include a bucket list in my Planning Hub. This list captures the experiences and achievements I desire, spanning various areas of life. Currently, my focus is on home-related activities, but the list will grow to include health and wellness, skill development, life experiences, and relationships goals.

Re-usable Dashboard

One of the most powerful features of using calendar nodes for my planning dashboards, is the ability to duplicate my yearly plan to a month node. This creates an instant monthly planning dashboard (no edits needed), providing immediate access to my short-term objectives. By leveraging the calendar nodes, I can seamlessly transition from yearly to monthly planning, maintaining a consistent and organized approach to my time management.

Conclusion

My resolutions, habits, and goals are not merely established but also meticulously tracked and ultimately accomplished and that’s because with Tana, my yearly planning becomes an engaging journey rather than a daunting task.

It is not just about setting goals; it’s about creating a living, breathing system that adapts to my needs and helps me think, act and ultimately achieve more than I thought possible.

By following the method outlined in this guide, you can create a comprehensive plan that will guide you through 2024 and beyond. And by the way, if you’re interested in building this together, join me for a free live session on December 29th. During the upcoming Tana Nodes Live event we will build this system from scratch to end the year with a BANG!

Happy holidays! 🎄🫶