There’s a curious binder with a rainbow-colored diamond pattern sitting on my desk.

I picked it up at the drugstore for a couple bucks last year, but that little binder has been responsible for thousands of dollars of profit in my business and dozens of amazingly ambitious clients.

One of my clients sent me a note last week that said, “I need structures and systems so I know what my next steps should be and what to focus on when. I need a map!”

Bing! A light bulb went off above my head, and I knew it was the perfect time for me to share my own MAP.

A Master Action Plan!

I first heard about Master Action Plans in a video by Natalie MacNeil from She Takes on the World. Basically, a Master Action Plan contains all the goals you’re working towards, your steps for getting there, plus your successes and challenges along the way.

By tracking your progress over time, you’ll be able to easily spot where you need to make changes and the obstacles to avoid in the future. Also, this written record of your growth will boost your energy so you can move forward on next steps.

A MAP is an excellent tool for tracking business stats, health and fitness goals, income and savings, school grades, habits, and anything else with measurable results.

Today I’ve got a free printable worksheet for you to download so you can design your own Master Action Plan!

Enter your name and email below to download the free worksheet. Part of the Editor’s Toolkit.

How to Design Your MAP

• First, determine whether you want a MAP for your career, family, personal life, finances, or even an all-encompassing plan that includes many areas of your life.
• Next, write the items you’ll be tracking in the first column.
• If you have a record of your results from previous months, write them in the “Actual” columns for those months.
• Then, choose your goals for the current month and write them in the “Goals” column.
• On the first of every month, review your MAP to see which goals you reached and where you came up short. I like to review my MAP once a week so I stay on track.
• Write the real results in the “Actual” column, and then choose new goals for the next month. If you’re not reaching your goals, either increase your effort or lower your target. If you’re always reaching your goals, choose “stretch goals” that are slightly outside what you think is possible. You might surprise yourself!
• Use your MAP as your guide and adjust your behavior and habits to reach your goals.

What’s on your MAP?

This post focuses on Step 4 of the Life Editing Process, Rearrange Everything Into a Perfect Flow. For more about life editing and what it can do for you, click here.