How to write an effective action plan

How to write an effective action plan
SEEK content teamupdated on 08 January, 2025
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When you want to conquer the job market or make solving problems at work easier, try writing an action plan. These well-structured guides can make a difference when you're aiming for a goal. Action plans aren't exclusive to the workplace – they can also help to make light work of everyday tasks in your personal life.

This guide can show you everything you need to know about action plans, including some guidance on how to create one of your own.

What is an action plan?

An action plan is a list of steps that describe what you need to do to reach a professional or personal goal. It differs from a to-do list or a more general strategy, as it goes into much more detail. Think of it as a deep dive into a specific work task or career goal. You can use an action plan for a variety of purposes, including:

  • developing a new business product

  • creating a marketing strategy

  • learning a new skill

  • finding a rewarding career

  • improving your processes in the workplace.

Many companies may initiate many high-level action plans. For instance, the Australian government creates national action plans to promote transparency and accountability.

An action plan has several key components, such as:

  • Goals: What is it you want to achieve by the end of the plan?

  • Tasks: What do you need to do to make this happen?

  • Timelines: How long will it take you to achieve your ambition?

  • Resources: What professional tools, books, online resources, or education do you require?

9 benefits of creating an action plan

Let's talk through the benefits of creating an action plan that can help you achieve your personal and professional goals. 

1. Improved focus and clarity on goals

An action plan lays out exactly what needs to be done and how to tackle it, helping you stay focused and follow a clear pathway. 

2. Better time management and prioritisation

With a clear timeline and a task list in hand, you can confidently manage your time and tackle your priorities in the correct order. 

3. Increased accountability

Your plan can help you see where and why you may have missed a target or deadline. This clarity helps you take responsibility for your actions.

4. Enhanced progress tracking

You'll be able to see the positive steps you're taking and the improvements you've made. Your action plan can help keep you on track at various points or milestones. 

5. Higher likelihood of achieving objectives

An action plan can keep you motivated and able to see the tasks ahead of you. In turn, you're more likely to achieve your objectives. 

6. Clear directional guidance

An action plan gives you a clear pathway to stick to. The tasks you complete give you a vision of your end goal. 

7. Enhanced team co-ordination and motivation

An action plan can help develop better team co-ordination. It can motivate you to work together to achieve the team's objectives in the workplace.

8. Efficient resource management

Your action plan should contain clear goals and how to achieve them. An effective plan can help you manage your team's time and resources more effectively. 

9. Reduced risk

Following a well-defined pathway means fewer chances of making mistakes and less risk of failure in achieving your long-term goals.

Key elements of an effective action plan

When creating an action plan template, focus on the key elements to make them as effective as possible.

  • Specific goals: Ensure you define clear, measurable, achievable objectives that you can carry through.

  • Action steps: Break down the steps to achieving every goal. That way, you know what you need to do and when.

  • Timeline: Set realistic deadlines and milestones and be clear about what you can undertake. You can always adjust your action plan, but it's best to be honest with yourself from the outset.

  • Resources: Identify the tools, skills, or support you need to execute the plan, whether that's online resources, education, or an accountability buddy to work with.

  • Accountability: Assign responsibilities and monitor your progress regularly, whether daily or weekly. Track where you're up to and what you can reasonably expect to achieve within the time frame.

  • Potential barriers: Plan for risks or challenges that might arise. For instance, you might not meet deadlines or objectives that take longer than expected.

Steps to create an effective action plan

Let's take some time to look at the steps you can take to create an effective action plan. 

1. Define your goal

First, let's look at your goal – what's your endpoint? Once you know what this is (for example, a new career, a promotion, or planning out training and upskilling), you'll need to set clear, specific, and measurable goals as the foundation of an action plan. This stage is when the SMART framework comes into its own. SMART stands for:

  • Specific: This is a clearly defined goal that you understand.

  • Measurable: Progress towards your goal must be measurable to determine if you're on track to achieve it.

  • Achievable: The goal must be realistic and achievable.

  • Relevant: It should align with your career or personal objectives.

  • Time-bound: The action plan should have a time frame for achievement.

Here's an example of a SMART action plan for becoming a better leader at work:

  • Specific: Team members must feel able to trust me and enjoy working alongside me. I want them to see me as an effective leader.

  • Measurable: I'll hold one-on-one meetings with everyone once a month and have honest discussions about how they feel. I'll allow them to offer real feedback.

  • Attainable: I've been in this position for almost two years and have lots of other management experience.

  • Relevant: I must support my team in working smarter and better. As a leader, it's my job to make work processes efficient.

  • Time-bound: I want to improve my leadership scores by five points by the time we get to the annual Christmas break.

The key here is the importance of writing goals and making them visible. There's a good reason for this. 

2. Break down your goal into actionable steps

The next part of the task is to break down your end goal into smaller, more manageable tasks. Be specific and detailed in your initial task description. The best way to do this is to think about it as an action plan within an action plan. 

  • define your goal

  • break this down into smaller steps

  • set a time frame for achieving each milestone

  • review and adjust your time frame regularly.

Here’s an example. Your ultimate end goal might be to achieve a promotion at work. Within that, you might have other specific, actionable goals. These should be precise, and you should specify what they are. 

A general goal like “achieve my promotion to become head of Digital Marketing” should become more targeted. What do you need to do to achieve it? One step could be to “finish an up-to-date digital marketing course in 12 weeks.” 

From here, you can measure your progress. For example, “By Friday afternoon, read the first chapter of the course material.”

Creating actions and scheduling dedicated time for goal-related activities matters. It can help you see what you're achieving and what (if anything) you need to improve.

3. Prioritise and sequence tasks

You'll need a logical sequence for defining and managing your tasks. You can use the following planning tools to help with this: 

Eisenhower Matrix

This tool can help you organise and prioritise tasks based on urgency and importance. It breaks tasks down into four sections or quadrants: 

Quadrant 1 – do: What tasks are urgent and important?

Quadrant 2 – schedule: What tasks aren't urgent but are still important?

Quadrant 3 – delegate: What tasks are urgent but not important?

Quadrant 4 – delete: What tasks aren't urgent or important?

This method can help you focus on the most important and effective tasks. It doesn't class everything as urgent and can help you delegate tasks that you don't need to do immediately.

MoSCoW method

Project managers and businesses use this prioritisation technique to reach a common understanding of how important the delivery of each element is.

M – must have: What items are critical to the delivery of the project?

S – should have: What items are important but not 100% necessary for the delivery of the project?

C – could have: What items are desirable but not necessary to the project?

W – won't have: What is the least critical or least effective element of the project?

Determining task dependencies and creating a timeline to work within is also essential. Helpful ways of measuring this include:

RICE scoring method

This framework is a tool to help managers prioritise ideas, features, and products by assessing them on four factors:

Reach: How many people does the project affect?

Impact: What is the effect of the project?

Confidence: How certain are you of the project's success?

Effort: What resources do you require to make it a winner?

ICE scoring model

This prioritisation tool helps teams assess projects, ideas, and features by assigning numerical values to three factors: 

Impact: How will the project affect your key goal?

Confidence: How sure are you that it'll have the desired effect?

Ease: How much effort will it take to complete?

4. Assign resources and responsibilities

Identifying and allocating all the resources you'll need for your action plan will depend on who you're writing it for and the outcome you want. It may be for you or your team, for example. Consider the time, money, people, and tools you require for each element of the process and take it from there. 

For a team action plan, use clear, concise language to explain everything so everyone understands their roles and expectations. The RACI matrix is a useful tool for this – RACI stands for:

Responsible: Who will complete the task?

Accountable: Who has ultimate authority for the task?

Consulted: Who will provide all the requisite information?

Informed: Who do you need to keep updated on progress?

5. Set deadlines and milestones

Set realistic deadlines for each task and milestone and create a timeline that balances ambition with practicality. Check the action plan regularly to ensure it continues to meet deadlines and stays within the time frame. If the plan falls behind its milestones, it's important to consider how to adjust your deadlines. For instance, do you need to look for more online resources? If you're working as part of a team, can other people take more on without losing sight of their own goals?

The key when setting deadlines is to understand the project's scope, assess your resources, and manage the risks.

6. Identify potential obstacles and solutions

You'll also need to anticipate potential challenges or roadblocks. Conducting a risk assessment and developing contingency plans for your action plan might be necessary. This might sound stressful, but you can break it down. It's a proactive activity, potentially saving you time and money in the long run. 

An example of an obstacle could be insufficient resources to complete the plan. In a situation like this, one remedy might be to reach out to stakeholders to seek additional funding. The situation may never occur, but having a plan in place can help mitigate it.

7. Create a tracking and review system

Regularly monitor your progress and review the action plan. Various progress-tracking methods can help you, such as project management software, checklists, and progress reports. 

Within this comes the need to be flexible and account for the need to change your plan at short notice. Review your action plan daily for task-level review, weekly for short-term goal progress, monthly for medium-term goal assessment, quarterly for long-term goal evaluation, and annually for comprehensive goal reflection.

Action plan example template

We're getting to the heart of your understanding. Let's look at an adaptable example of a template for an action plan. 

GOAL: 

Enter task name/plan

Action

Team Member

Start Date

End Date

Resource

Milestone

Final Outcome


This template is a working example that you can modify to suit your needs. Different industries will have unique challenges. A business action plan may look quite different from an action plan you might compose for the health care and service industries.

Tools and templates for action planning

There are many tools and templates available to help you with action plans. The global objectives and key results (OKR) software market is huge. Here are a few examples of tools you can use for action plans:

  • Project management software: Tools such as monday.com, ClickUp, Asana, Zoho Projects, and Smartsheet can assist with everyday task management.

  • Spreadsheet templates: Using tools such as Google Sheets can help create easy-to-manage templates for action plans.

  • Mind mapping tools: Coggle, Canva, and Miro are examples of tools that can help you visualise and create workable maps to base an action plan on.

  • Physical planners and notebooks: There's nothing wrong with relying on pen and paper. Jotting everything down in a professional notebook or using an office wall planner can be as effective as online tools.

Common mistakes to avoid in action planning

Errors are common when you first create and implement an action plan. Some mistakes include: 

  • setting unrealistic goals or timelines

  • failing to prioritise tasks

  • allocating too few resources

  • neglecting to track progress

  • failing to adjust the plan when necessary

  • overlooking potential obstacles

  • lacking clarity in objectives

  • overestimating time and resources

  • failing to plan for contingencies

  • communicating poorly

  • failing to establish baseline measurements.

Regularly checking in on your progress, evaluating your goals, and planning your next steps will keep you on track and help you avoid simple mistakes along the way. 

Turning plans into action: Your path to success

You can define your path to success by the elements you put into your action plan template. Ensuring that you set clear goals, well-defined timelines, achievable tasks, and ways to monitor your progress can make the difference between professional success and treading water. 

A well-thought-out action plan can help you stay motivated, maintain momentum, look after yourself, progress rather than seek perfection, and celebrate the small achievements you make.

Remember, the best action plan is the one you'll follow. Start small, stay consistent, and watch as your goals transform into reality.

FAQs

What is an action plan?

It's a timeline to help you meet professional or personal goals. Action plans set out your milestones in a clear, succinct, and manageable way.

What are the key elements of an action plan?

The key elements of an action plan should include clear objectives, a breakdown of tasks, assigned responsibilities, deadlines, and measures for tracking progress. It acts as a roadmap, ensuring everyone knows what needs to be done, by whom, and by when to achieve the desired outcome effectively.

How do you write an action plan?

To write an action plan, start by clearly defining your goal using the SMART criteria. Assign responsibilities for each task, set realistic deadlines, and outline resources needed. Finally, establish a system to monitor progress and adjust the plan as needed to stay on track.

How does the SMART goal framework improve action planning?

SMART goals help you “see the wood for the trees” by breaking down important tasks into manageable goals with measurable outcomes.

What effective methods are there for breaking down large goals into actionable steps?

It can help to prioritise each stage of a large goal to see the most urgent and important parts of the task. This can provide real benefits when completing the work and evaluating each task stage.

What are the most popular task prioritisation techniques in action planning?

Techniques such as the Eisenhower Matrix and the MoSCoW technique are fantastic ways to break down large goals into smaller, more manageable chunks.

What are the best practices for setting realistic deadlines and milestones in action plans?

Be honest and realistic about what you can (and can't) achieve in the time frame. Consistently return to your action plan to see what's going well and what you could change.

What are the most common mistakes in action planning, and how can I avoid them?

One of the most common issues is over-selling yourself or trying to take on too much. Putting an action plan in place can help you be more realistic about your goals. Reviewing your goals every so often can help you plan more effectively.

More from this category: Workplace skills

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