Why You Don’t Need a 5-Year Plan to Make a Change
This may or may not be an unpopular opinion, but you don’t need a 5-year plan to make a change or move forward.
The 25-year-old me wouldn’t believe that.
At that age, I met with the director of my grad school program shortly after I was accepted. As we talked through the required and recommended courses to be successful in the program, I told him that I had a 5-year plan leading up to 30. In my mind, by 30, I had to have my life “figured out”.
At the time, I treated that 5-year plan like it was set in stone. I said no to opportunities that didn’t ‘fit the plan’ — even though they might’ve helped me grow or be more aligned.
And, at the time I also thought formal education was the only way to learn new skills. Eventually, I learned that a lot of necessary skills can come from volunteer work, new challenges, new opportunities.
“Running out” of time
Where did the idea that we need to have our lives figured out by 30 come from? I’m asking as if I don’t already know that it was societal conditioning – the idea that 30 is make or break. Especially for women.
I can remember times when I said yes to things out of panic more than alignment. I thought every decision needed to serve some future version of me that was always five steps ahead. I rarely asked what I wanted right now.
Up until maybe 27 or 28, I truly thought that I had “limited time” to get this life thing “right”. Sometimes I felt behind because some of my peers were making 6 figures and I wasn’t yet. Some of my friends had established careers and I was job hopping by choice.
In fact, one of the reasons why I even went to grad school was because all of my friends either had advanced degrees or were graduate candidates, and I felt like I couldn’t be the only one without a masters degree or working towards one.
When I started grad school at 25, it wasn’t in my 5-year plan to leave my hometown within that time. I loved my neighborhood in Chicago. Most of my family is there, my friends are there. I was comfortable.
Outgrowing my plan
But I was bored. I would have told that version of me to be more grateful for some of those boring moments because life would become a roller coaster shortly after. It gave me a bit of perspective.
Looking back, the person I was during my meeting with my program director was not the same person when I graduated.
By the time I turned 30, I no longer felt the need to have multiyear life and career plans. I allowed life to be my teacher and explore more of it. Five years prior, I thought I had to have everything “figured out” by then.
Not having a long-term plan doesn’t mean you don’t have a vision, hopes, or dreams. It means trusting yourself to pivot, to pause, or to choose a new direction — even without a roadmap.
If you’re approaching 30 and wondering if you’ll have it all figured out by 30, here’s a spoiler alert: There’s nothing to “figure out”. No one really knows what they’re doing.
Here’s why you don’t need a 5-year plan to make a change:
1) Comparison Will Have You Chasing the Wrong Goals
More often than not, the goals we set come from expectations – of others, of society, or even ourselves. We create ideas that we "should" have certain things or meet specific milestones by a certain time or age.
We might feel the pressure to conform or “keep up”. We don’t want to be seen as the “weakest link” in our friend groups or other social settings. But do you even want to keep up with people who might not even know where they’re going?
I know of exactly two people who are living the lives they planned. And I’m genuinely happy for them! And I don’t compare myself to them.
They are social media friends, and I don’t know what they may have had to sacrifice to get to where they are now.
I don’t know if their lives are aligned to their values (because I don’t know their core values).
I don’t know if they followed their plans to meet others’ expectations or if it’s truly the life they want to live.
What if instead of trying to keep up with others, we reconnect with our values and expand our networks with those who are aligned with them? Or what if we set goals aligned with what we value – even if it’s untraditional or not what others expect?
2) Sometimes the plan is the problem
Let’s set the record straight: plans aren't all bad. Plans can actually be helpful at times:
A financial plan to pay off debt, increase savings, contribute more to investments
A meal plan to simplify decisions in the grocery store and during meal times
A home evacuation plan in the event of emergency
A trading plan before you enter a trade to know when to take profit or set a stop loss
These types of plans are useful. But sometimes long-term plans for our lives and careers don’t factor in evolution. And that’s when the plan becomes the problem.
Before I relocated from Chicago to Brooklyn, I had a plan – I would work my 9-5 (really, 9-6, not including the 45 min commute each way), and work on my side hustle/passion project when I was off. Within a few years, I would have grown my side hustle network enough to move to Los Angeles for the next phase.
Or so I thought.
The job I moved for wasn’t what I thought it would be and I started a new job five months later. I managed corporate events with some ending as late as 10 PM – only to be back in the office by 9 AM the next morning. That ended up being the last job where I worked in an office five days a week
And there were also three deaths in our family in an 18 month period, including my father. That wasn’t in the plan.
And the passion project? I’m still open to it, but I’m not actively pursuing it. There are other paths in that direction – if it’s aligned.
The original plan was the problem because I started to feel “behind”. I didn’t appreciate the authentic life experiences – the lessons – that I was going through. I just wanted things to be “normal”.
Trying to stick to a plan took away the human experience for me. And it wasn’t until I experienced a lot of loss in a short period of time that I understood life is meant to live, not plan.
3) Planning is Overthinking in Disguise
There’s a difference between planning and being prepared. And there’s a difference between being thoughtful and being stuck.
Sometimes what we call “planning” is really just overthinking – and it keeps us stuck. We run through every possible scenario, try to future-proof every outcome, and tell ourselves we’re being strategic — but really, we’re avoiding the discomfort of uncertainty.
Some of the most successful people reached their level because they learned to shorten the gap between idea and execution. And I’ve worked in environments where the lengthy idea-to-execution and launch timeline was the weakness.
Speed is an advantage. Not to be confused with urgency.
Clarity doesn’t always come from having it all figured out on paper. Sometimes, it only comes after you take the next aligned step.
Trusting yourself — your values, your inner voice, your ability to pivot — is a strategy.
By the way, I actually recorded a short video about this called “Planning Is Not a Strategy” — you can watch it below.
4) Being “On Track” Is Overrated
I hear people often say “I feel so behind”. I used to say it myself. And I used to respond, “you’re not behind. This is your life to live”.
But now, I ask, “behind who or what? What does it even mean to be ‘on track’ even when everyone’s journey and definition of success is different?”
It stops people in their tracks. It keeps me grounded too.
Because what timeline are we using to measure progress? Is it the 30 under 30 or 40 under 40 lists? Are we comparing what our parents achieved by our age to where we are now?
Before my father passed away, I took a leave of absence from work to help care for him. During those three months, I felt like my life was on pause – because it was.
And that’s when I learned first hand that being “on track” is overrated. Because the “track” doesn’t consider real life. It doesn’t consider when you need to pause to tend to things that truly matter. It doesn’t factor in illness, accidents, or unfortunate circumstances.
It doesn’t factor in living a human experience.
I’m grateful to have been able to take that time off (and would do it again). I’m also grateful that I was able to take additional time off to grieve months later and not rush to have to “figure out” what was next.
From the outside, it looked like I was “falling behind”. Why would I leave a job where I was in a position to be promoted within the next year? Why would I pivot and use my skills in a different industry?
If the path you’re on only makes sense to others but doesn’t feel right to you — is it really your path? If someone else wrote the timeline, who are you living it for?”
How I move through life without a plan
Over the past decade, I’ve been through several life and career transitions. I went through five major ones in 2020 alone. And during each of those transitions, I learned to trust myself to move through life without a plan.
I take risks – calculated, careful risks.
I detach from outcomes and trust that things happen for me and my ultimate good.
I look at situations as learning experiences – whether they go “my way” or not.
And I give myself grace.
An alternative to a fully fledged plan
Moving forward without a perfectly mapped-out plan does take courage. And building courage takes practice.
It means trying new things when you’re scared.
It means giving yourself permission to experiment.
It means making mistakes – sometimes in front of an audience – and learning from it.
There is no deadline for becoming who you're meant to be. And there is no award for sticking to a plan that no longer fits.
Give yourself permission to try
So what if, instead of a 5-year plan, you just gave yourself permission to be honest about what’s no longer working — and trusted that’s enough to start? Maybe it’s about having the courage to pivot.
What if you trusted the voice – your voice – telling you it’s time to shift? What if you just gave yourself permission to be honest about what’s no longer working?
Give yourself permission to change your mind as much as you want or need. You’re allowed to evolve.
I invite you to download my free Transition Guide with 5 key questions to ask before making a shift. It’s available here.
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