Life Planning for 2025
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Disclaimer:
Everything below is a mix of what I observed and heard during the event. The goal isn’t to pinpoint "who exactly said what," but to share (usually) an outsider's view and overall perspective on these industries. I’m not here to act as a definitive firsthand source—readers should do their own research. I hope this inspires you to attend events, explore new industries, and hear what leaders are presenting. These notes combine my observations with thoughts on how things could run smoother and how ideas connect (IMO). I’m not an expert, you know? Just hanging out in the room with them. Enjoy!Topics Covered: Goal Setting, Time Management, Life Planning, Intentional Living, Family Balance, Work-Life Integration, Personal Growth, Habits, Legacy Planning, Time Management, Kevin’s Rule, Yearly Themes
Life is what you make it, so what will you make of your life? Learn to be more intentional and exciting every day, balancing work with life. I recently attended the BIG A** Calendar Class and I’m obsessed. Here’s what stood out and how I’m already using their planning tools for 2025. Hope this post helps you learn how to prioritize ‘making each year better than the next’ by making each day better than before. Design a great life and prioritizing your goals, with actionable steps (and emotional stories).
Initial Conference Thoughts - Why Attend? I’m a huge fan of making plans and scheduling. It’s really fun for me to plan things and check things out. It also leaves so much room that is free to work - you value your time. Even scheduling time to take it easy, mentally. This event also let you take home calendar. Also, they offer breakfast (donuts) and lunch, all within 2 hours - so that’s great too! haha. I just think there is so little to say “no” to about this event (besides the travel time) but it seemed well worth it, IMO 😁
Conference Overall Ratings: Venue (4.5/5) - Food (5/5) - Speaker Content (5/5) - Networking Opportunity (3.5/5) - Likeliness to Return (4.5/5) —- more details below
Photo Collage & Commentary
Notes from Conference—
From the start, there was a fun mood to the event. The room was fully ready to go with lots of supplies and great organization at every table. I heard people telling a joke: “In banana years, you’re bread” . Funny.
The incredible setup of supplies + presentation at each person’s seat included a “Master Planning Checklist, “Four Principles”, the “Big Ass Calendar”, “Wheel of Life” packet. The calendar was something I as recommended to checkout in another event.
Donuts and Coffee - I like how they cut the donuts into pieces. The cups were not the best size for this pitcher, cause if you fill up these big cups, you’ll run out fast. I saw this happen at the evaluators’ conference… they ran out of drinks so fast cause they used big cups (so like, instead, get 8oz cups to give everyone more drinks… 16oz cups your run out twice as fast)
Starting the event with a group pic, photographer after the first shot: “oh that looks fantastic!” Attendee: “don’t be so surprised” everyone cracks up.
“Pro Tip: When getting a picture taken, think about something that makes you happen. It will put a twinkle in your eye.”
PURPOSE OF EVENT
The purpose of this class is because it works. This calendar has created a better year for the people who use it. This mindset..
In our business we focus everything on work. “For the first 2 years that’s all I did”… I was still having fun, but most attention was gong to work. Because we plan to work.
So, it was a good shift this year to have your life planned out, then do work around it.
Why have this job if you can’t have a life?
You tell your kids every single night to brush their teeth every day until they turn 18, when they head off to college and hopefully do…
Now my son has a girlfriend so he’s brushing his teeth more. When he starts with deodorant, “you smell nice… what’s happening?”
When you hear a story, hopefully it triggers something. Even rehearing a story. We’re always in a different season in life, so what may not hit you back then would hit you differently today.
Workaholic: love what I do for work so much. Don’t want to let people down, would sleep at work, if I could. 😁 There are more things to do than hours in the day, the nanny can be extremely helpful.
Nanny asked her one day, “do you think you could spend 15 minutes to watch you kids swim in the swimming pool? That’s all they want from you” - time stopped.
I had 200 people to take care of here, all these people who needed my help… but who is going to be there at the end of the day when I die?
I tell you this story cause we all do it, we all do stuff like this in our life.
I better get my act together, I have 3 kids, I love my husband, been together for decades.
But I had to transform from a ‘workaholic’ to a ‘lifeaholic’ - “you will not find me working more than 40 hours a week”. My kids come first, my husband comes first, my friends and family come first.
“We give the best of ourselves to our clients - then the rest of ourselves to the people closest to us… “Give the best of yourself to those you love, give the rest of yourself to everyone else. You will still show up for your clients.”
No matter the amount of money you make, let’s make it so you walk away with 2025 being the best year of your life. Then 26 tops 25, 27 tops 26. Ever since I learned this, every year has beat my year since now that I think of life this way.
ROOTED IN VALUES + ROUTINE
Co-hosts theme of 2024: “intentional” - I have to be intentional with what I’m going to and doing.
Be intentional, live it
The first thing of anything else, pick a theme for the year. A word, a quote, a song. Mine is easy. 2025: Time to Thrive!!
“My home Screen on my phone is a screenshot of notes about my 2024 theme, focus, goals“ — my reminder every day of what I’m looking at. It tells me what I say yes to and what I say no to. These focuses allow you to say “yes” and “no”.
Think of what happened in 2024 that you don’t want to happen anymore.
Every morning I read the quote:
Somewhere he is out there training and I am not. And one day we will meet and he will win. - Tim Tebow
When you’re doing your year, picture it like a highlight reel. Go through and have a timeline of your life. The day you were born to the day you died. Different huge events related to family, education, awards and winnings/successes, starting new events, married, kids, career… they’re all in there… 20-25 highlights over a average life expectancy of 70 years.
Why am I only allowed to have 20? Why not 20 in a year? So at the end of the day when you look back, you have hundreds of highlights. My highlight reel is like “omg, this happened and this and this”
The premise is to have this theme for the year, then the defining moment of the year. (“I graduated college in the year 2000”.)
Weekly date: if mom and dad aren’t good, the house isn’t good.
3pm on Friday, off to the weekly date. Nonnegotiable pillar of life.
Going into the weekend with great endorphins. So enjoyable for our kids.
Then we thought we’d have one more baby, adopt… but she ended up getting pregnant (“the date nights helped with that one” an audience member jokes) 😂
Kevin’s Rule:
The guy who invented the big-ass calendar had a friend name Kevin who had a rule: Pick something every single month outside of your norm.
(camping, going to another city, something outside of the norm…
Stop living in Groundhog Day: wake up the same time, drink our drink, do a workout, go to work, check your email, etc etc etc, and then its 5pm, then you make dinner, then you go to bed)
Just think if you picked one weekend, one day in 30 days - pick something outside the norm. Just do something different.
Family and Loved Ones Prioritized, Quality Time
In workaholic phase, family can often get neglected.
Think about time, think about the people you’d love to be with in your final days of life… it’s not your clients, not coworkers - it’s your friends and family
If you have kids - how many more summers do you have with your kids? Kids want to be with their friends, maybe be with you if you’re showing them something epic.
My grandpa died when he was 78. My dad is 76. How many times do I see him a year? Three. So now we will see each other six times if he follows his father’s genetics. What will we talk about over these six visits?
“The Post Hotel” is the best hotel on earth - it was the best place to go, a spa - wanted to bring parents and share this with them - you go all over in your robe and swimsuit. My mom comes wearing her turtleneck, sweatsuit the entire time. At the pool, nothing was right for her. The food, the outfit… this was not what was supposed to happen.”
For me, I have to do my morning routine. I have to wake up, workout, coffee, podcasting -
I was about to head out running but I saw my dad. I went over to talk to him real quick and check in, he said “This is the best view I’ve ever seen in my life”. He’s the kinda guy who doesn’t hug back. Never said he loved me. It’s his generation. I sat down and talked for 2.5 hours with my dad, he loved the view and then he told me all of his hopes and dreams for hours and hours. Then my husband comes up, my mom comes up. “My Kevin’s Rule” happened.
“Did you know you were going to come here and cry today?” 😂
The 12 hour walk challenge: no technology - just walk for 12 hours with no technology. Challenge your heart and your body.
The Wheel of Life: Rate how things are going… what are you doing all of this for?
Boost lacking areas with Kevin’s rule
HABITS, LONGEVITY, AND GOALS
What habits would you like to be a part of your life? Game-changing habits that feel so good?
Morning routine? Budget? No emails by Friday?
What are your daily vitamins? The things you do every day? Water before coffee?
What daily habits get you to live your best life?
To plan your year: start with the 4 habits you want to add every quarter
Every 3 months add in a new habit
ORDER TO PRIORITIZE: Out of Control Scheduled, Family/Kids, Work Obligations, Wheel of Life “Where Will I Be”, Habits, Kevin’s Rule, Misogi
Set simple goals you can control… there’s a difference between “I’ll lose 15 lbs” and “I’ll attend 100 pilates classes”
Set goals and then have a party when things are achieved to celebrate them. 5yo wants to learn how to swim, when he finally does it, have a pool party!
This style of life helps you really live. Forces you to be present. Because at the end of the day, who is there when you die?
It’s always good for your kids to see you working on yourself and trying to better yourself.
Learn to make 10 free throws in a row. Did you practice today? Don’t forget about your goal
Tell people your goal and they’ll help you keep up with it.
I couldn’t help but notice how bold and bright my outfit was compared to everyone else at the event. I had dressed for warmth AND a second “creatives” event I was attending later that day, but it made me realize how unique and intentional the unspoken dress code is for real estate professionals.
This event, while open to the public, seemed to attract mostly real estate agents. It struck me that their attire is likely intentional—your job is to be approachable while presenting homes, which is all about visual appeal. A bold outfit might inadvertently draw attention away from the property you’re showcasing. Instead, blending into the surroundings or keeping things understated probably helps keep the focus on the home itself.
This approach likely applies to many sales roles, but it feels especially true in real estate, where agents aim to complement the environment they’re helping clients imagine as their own. It’s fascinating to see how every detail, even attire, ties back to creating the right atmosphere for clients.
TOP 5 Takeaways:
Conference “Overall Rating” Further Elaboration:
venue (5/5) - food (5/5) - speaker content (5/5) - networking (3.5/5) - likeliness to return (4.5/5) -
venue (5/5) - food (5/5) - speaker content (5/5) - networking (3.5/5) - likeliness to return (4.5/5) -
VENUE - 5/5
Allow Me to Elaborate: : This place was a great size for the event. From the moment I arrived it was a great vibe, friendly and organized. It was well lit, a little chilly but fine, and gave everyone plenty of room. It was also very close to transit - though very far from my home. But well worth it.
FOOD - 5/5
Allow me to Elaborate: The food was super good. I’m not the biggest fan of donuts (cause they just do no good except tasting great) so I loved the salad and high-quality sandwich to balance it out.
SPEAKER CONTENT - 5/5
Room for Improvement: I felt like they did exceptionally great. I loved the stories and advice on having grace while sticking true to yourself. There was a lot of value, engagement, and efficiency from attending this event. Stories of resilience, family balance, and intentional living were really useful to hear.
NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES - 3.5/5
Room for Improvement: The event was extremely engaging and professionally casual. It was very easy to talk to people during lunch or ask questions during the speech. Though it was also easy to be anonymous, which I did for the most part (and lately I’m really enjoying being an introvert hahah). The only thing that we all bonded over is that lots of us, also, have dads who don’t really hug back 😂
LIKELINESS TO RETURN - 4.5/5
Room for Improvement: Well, this event was offered to the public but it seemed really mostly geared for real estate agents. I thought it was super helpful, and I love learning about the industry, finances… so if they have more events that seem useful, I’d be happy to support and attend them.
Kelly’s Remaining Questions:
What are some of the statistically most rewarding ways to spend your time?
Where are there overlaps in my life, so that I can spend my time super efficiently and accomplishing the most good at once?
What types of goals am I aiming to achieve this year? What would be amazing to accomplish, being specific?
What matters the most and is worth time - and what am I doing instinctually now?
Would it be helpful to map out futures where you prioritized different things, and what those outcomes might look like? If so, what most resembles today’s reality?
Social Media Campaign
Until next time, I wish you the motivation and success to search for opportunities around your area. Search and explore: Who is out there giving talks? There are new things happening all of the time.
Find relatable or interesting topics you like and check them out! Maybe even something hosted at a cool venue, if there’s no other reason to go. Let’s see what you can learn and discover not too far from home. 😊
