Hi Everyone! I really hope you all had a wonderful year. Alhamdolillah, I’m sure you achieved alot. Mine was awesome too. (It wasn’t exactly as I had planned, I’d like to say, it was even better!) So, how was yours?

 Especially, I want to wish you this season’s greetings. So, before we get busy with all the fun of ending this year, and beginning the new one, let us do an important exercise.

 Let us plan out next year now.  

Why make the Annual plan now?

 This exercise won’t take more than fifteen  minutes.  If not, then even five minutes are enough for you to brain storm now and decide what you want to achieve next year.  Sit down and write the stuff you wanted to do, but couldn’t achieve this year. In fact, it can be the first point! 

So, when the year begins you are clear where you are going!

A quick round up of 2018:

First the 2018 Successes:  

Well, I’ve made a list of all the things that made me feel very happy this year. How many points did you make? (Be smart, write the sad ones in such a way that they may look like successes too!) For instance, my mother fell in February, and that really shook me. So, I just noted that when she fell, how wonderfully she recovered, in spite of it. See? So, it is more of a success in dealing with a crisis, than a setback.

Be kind to yourself during this process.

Of course, be your own trumpeter and wallow in all the successes this year, which were planned or unplanned. Yipppeeee! Keep it short and sweet. 5 to 10 points are enough. (- As you can imagine, mine went up to a hundred! (Do I exaggerate sometimes?) Well, if it makes you happy do it. But remember, we are preparing our next years’ plan! Stay focussssed!

• The super best part was when my Waliya got engaged, and my third son-in-law to be got welcomed into our family. Alhamdolillah!
• Then, the time Nadiya spent three weeks with us, before leaving for Canada. (I went to Lahore to see her off too.) Alhamdolillah, Haaris and Nadiya are well settled in Halifax now.
•  The best parts were the gifts that my friends Sabahat, Shabnam, Shagufta, Ayesha and Fatima helped me in giving the CSS school.  ( it is a school for under privileged children) We did it for Eid-ul-Fitr. I even had an online donor Dr. Maira who paid for the teachers’ clothes. I realized how generous you all are. Also, there was Sana, from Australia who paid up for education of a student in Mashal. Nataliya and Bilal decided to pay for tuition of my domestic help and manager, Hasnain. I was also now able to pay for education of two students, one in Mashal and one in CSS school. It is a great way to give sadqa or charity. 
• Then the tree plantation of 200 trees that we did with Shabnam Riaz of Arts and Literature group. It was awesome.
• Yes, my friend Shagufta reminded me of the Rain water conservation project that I did too. The blog post on it is here.
• The Screenwriter 101’ course, and now the Directors 101 course which I’m doing. (Learning is very important)
• Workshops, art classes and meet-ups of writers at my Shireen’s Studio. (Teaching and sharing knowledge is very important too!)
• The wonderful stay of my tenants, and the leaving of one, who is also in Halifax, and joined Canadian Airlines. The arrival of some wonderful personalities now. Finally, getting rid of one horrid tenant. MayAllah give them hidayat! Yes, I should have written one blog post on them! Grrrrrrr! Some people can be obnoxious, but why should I bother my pretty little head writing on them! (See?  How smartly I put it in successes?) 😉

Year 2018 Failures:

• I wasn’t able to publish my second book, Allama Iqbals’ Message from the East,  this year.  Even though the work has begun, I’ve done more than half the work. I was unable to achieve the goal, due to several factors including my immediate family, and lack of finances. So, I had to postpone my goal. 🙁
• Should have done more paintings this year, though I made quite a few. that was because I was unable to attend the art classes at Hajra Mansoor and Mansoor Rahi’s gallery. 

 Forgiving others and oneself is important.

I don’t know why we expect perfection from ourselves? It is okay to not be able to do everything! Kutch nahi hota, jo hota hai, achay kay liye hota hai. (Whatever happens, happens for a good reason.) I really believe that one.

Best thing is we are alive and kicking right now.

Your turn:

1. Just roundup year 2018 with its’ successes and failures’ round up, along with lessons learnt. (Keeping it short, sweet and to the point!) Remember to forgive yourself for all the shortcomings. 

Special thank you to my readers:

You know? I can feel that you all pray for me. My family and I wouldn’t be very far but for your prayers for us. In the same way, I also pray for you all’s well being too. I wouldn’t be here now, if it wasn’t for that! So we are here for each other. Thank you so much!

We are ready now to prepare for the coming year:

2019 Annual plan:

Why can’t we make an Annual Plan for ourselves, just like every institution? If you are a working person, you know how detailed it is. That is why they get so much done.

How many of us do it for our personal lives too?

As the quote from Quran says: Allah will  help those who are ready to change themselves to get something done!

I love this quotation:

Work as if you were to live a hundred years, pray as if you were to die tomorrow.

 You can’t work unless you have a work plan!  If your plan is ready, the majority of the work will get done. Especially, plan the financial aspects of it. As you know,we did the weekly plan here, and the monthly plan here. Now, our annual plan can be in the same pattern.

Goals of the 2019:

As you did for the monthly plan, just make a random list of what you want to achieve in 2019 :

Sr. no.	Goal/ project	Time required
1.	Physical: Financial: Social/emotional: Intellectual: Spiritual:
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Like semester system in institutions, let’s keep it in four batches of three months each:

Annual plan of 2019

Sr. No.	Months:	Remarks.
	Jan:
	Feb:
	Mar:
	Apr:
	May:
	Jun:
	July:
	Aug:
	Sept:
	Oct:
	Nov:
	Dec:

Ever thought of making a five or ten year plan?

The other day, I heard Bill Gates saying that people do not realize the value of the ten year plan;  People do not realize how powerful it can be. So, we are going to go for it too.

As usual, we are doing everything in reverse order. Chronologically, one would sit and plan out one’s lifetime goals. Then put them into the ten year plan, then the five year, then the annual one, and then the monthly and weekly ones. – If you know what I mean! Those of you with small children, would be able to do it noting the ages of your kids at that time too!) It is fun.

I’ve done five year plans. It is even more fun, when you look back on it later on.

Stay blessed my Readers. I’ve grown very attached to you all. You rock! 🙂