Planning Retreat Series - No. 1
Backstep Forward Newsletter
by Kyle Mast
A short, to-the-point, weekly newsletter.
One challenge to take a step back.
One idea to propel you forward.
Each quarter, for well over a decade now, I’ve gone on short, two-night planning retreats where I spend time looking back at the past quarter and looking ahead to plan for what’s most important in life.
I can’t stress enough the impact these retreats have had on my life and my family. My wonderful wife has graciously supported me in doing this through the years, even though we had twin boys and three boys under the age of 4 at home, as she has seen the clarity these times away provide me and their wonderful impact on our family (it also helps that I once brought her home a new car as a surprise from one of the retreats).
Life often gets away from us, and we all have far too many options to fill our time. These retreats have offered me a regular opportunity to step back from the noise, eliminate the non-essential, and refocus on what is most important.
I’ve been asked by many people over the years what I do on these retreats and how I structure them. Year after year, I’ve slowly created and refined a checklist that I follow, and I’d like to share much of that here in the coming weeks.
Backstep
With the fourth quarter almost upon us, now is a great time to plan a retreat. You don’t have to be as crazy as me, doing one every quarter. I have found that so much can change within a year, so I do a quarterly retreat. However, doing just one annual retreat each year consistently will change the trajectory of your life and is a great start.
Take a step back and look at your calendar. Right now, or at least within the next couple of days, book two nights for sometime in the month of December at a hotel or vacation rental. I like the place to be about a 2-3 hours’ drive away so I can listen to a good audiobook along the way to set the stage for the retreat (Essentialism and The One Thing are incredible options that I’ve now reread dozens of times). I also prefer booking in an area with good walking and easy food options (a beach town is my preference) as you will want to take lots of breaks to walk and think during your retreat. This is when you will generate some of your most insightful ideas.
Forward
Now that you have the retreat on your calendar or plan to very soon, begin a “Next Planning Retreat” note on your phone or somewhere easily accessible. I stick it straight into my task manager (Nozbe is the one I’ve used for years). Over the next couple of months, you will want to be able to easily capture any thoughts, goals, concerns, ideas, etc., that you may want to review on your retreat. There is no limit to the ideas you capture here. They will be distilled during your retreat.
Making planning retreats a regular part of your year will have an incredible impact on the trajectory of your life and ensure you are focusing on what is truly important. (Share this on Twitter)
Kyle Mast
Blessed husband, growing father, business founder/owner/seller, real estate investor.
P.S. Here are two recent podcasts I was a guest on. In the first one, I talk a bit about my planning retreats. The second one has some phenomenal ideas from all of us on the panel regarding investing at different levels.