#teachingisfun

Quizás sepas que soy unA gran admiradorA de la planificación. Hoy me gustaría compartir un método más que encuentro útil. Se llama planificación hacia atrás, establecimiento de objetivos hacia atrás o diseño hacia atrás (filmé un video (en Inglés) al respecto).

La planificación regresiva es establecer metas, es una estrategia fantástica en la que se comienza con la meta final y luego se establecen metas para alcanzar la meta final.

Te permite prepararte mentalmente para el éxito y visualizarlo. Por ejemplo, vas a lanzar o cambiar el nombre de tu sitio web. Indicas tu objetivo, escribes lo que quiere lograr y estableces una fecha límite. A finales del 15 de diciembre de 2021, habré lanzado mi sitio web.

How to use backward planning: step by step

Step 1. Define your final goal

Be as specific as possible about what you want to achieve.

Instead of writing “I want to create a website”, try something like:

By the end of X, I will have launched my website.

Notice the difference? The second statement gives you a clear result and a deadline.

Step 2. Identify your final milestone

Imagine that you’ve already achieved your goal.

What would you need to finish immediately before that?

If you’re launching a website, you might need to test its mobile version, check that all the links work and proofread your pages.

Write these tasks down.

Step 3. Work backwards

Now think about what needs to happen before those final checks.

You’ll need to write your website content, decide on the design, organise the navigation and prepare your images.

Continue working backwards until you’ve identified the main stages of your project.

Step 4. Give your milestones deadlines

Once you know what needs to happen, assign a realistic deadline to each milestone.

Don’t forget to leave some extra time for unexpected problems. Things don’t always go according to plan, especially when you’re doing everything yourself.

Step 5. Decide what to do today

This is probably my favourite part.

A big goal can feel overwhelming. But once you’ve broken it down into smaller steps, you can stop worrying about the entire project and focus on the next task.

You don’t have to build your whole website today. Perhaps today’s task is simply to decide which pages you need.

And that’s already progress.

An example of backward planning for language teachers

An example of backward planning

Let’s imagine that you’re an independent language teacher and you’ve decided to launch your own website.

You’ve set yourself a deadline: 30 November.

Now, instead of opening your laptop and wondering where to start, imagine that it’s already 30 November and your website is live.

What had to happen to make that possible?

Let’s work backwards.

Deadline	What needs to be done?
30 November	Your website goes live. Students can read about your lessons, check your prices and contact you.
23 November	Everything is ready for launch. You’ve tested the contact form, checked the mobile version and fixed broken links.
16 November	All your pages are built. Your homepage, About, Services and Contact pages are in place.
2 November	Your texts and photographs are ready. You’ve written your introduction, lesson descriptions, prices and FAQs.
26 October	You’ve decided on the website structure, chosen your platform and planned the design.
19 October	You’ve identified your target students, decided what services to offer and written down what your website needs to achieve.

Now you know exactly what needs to happen before 30 November.

And here’s the interesting part: you’ve also discovered what you need to do first.

Instead of spending your first evening choosing fonts or experimenting with colours, you can start by defining your services and deciding who your website is for.

Of course, this is a simplified example. Building a website can take longer, and some tasks will overlap. But that’s not the point.

The point is that you’re no longer looking at one enormous task called build a website. You’re looking at a series of smaller, more manageable steps.

Can you use backward planning with your students?

Absolutely!

Backward planning is a great exercise to use with your English learners, especially when you’re teaching the Future Perfect tense.

Ask your learners to complete sentences using the following structure:

By the end of + time expression, I will have + past participle.

For example:

• By the end of this month, I will have read three books in English.
• By the end of the year, I will have completed my language course.
• By next summer, I will have saved enough money for my holiday.

Personally, I love doing this exercise with my learners. It encourages them to think in a foreign language, but not just about grammar. They also start thinking about what they want to achieve, how to set goals and what they need to do to reach them.

Once they’ve written their sentences, ask them to work backwards and identify the steps they need to take.

It’s a simple exercise, but it can give learners an entirely new perspective on their goals.

Lo que dice la investigación sobre la planificación regresiva

Además, permítanme citar un estudio de investigación en el que se investigó este método:

“En comparación con la planificación anticipada, la planificación retrospectiva generó una mayor motivación, una mayor expectativa de objetivos y menos presión de tiempo y resultó en un mejor desempeño relevante para los objetivos. Además, demostramos que este efecto motivacional se produjo porque la planificación regresiva permitió a las personas pensar con mayor claridad en las tareas necesarias para alcanzar sus objetivos, especialmente cuando los objetivos eran complejos de planificar. Estos hallazgos sugieren que la forma en que las personas planifican importa tanto como si lo hacen o no”.

Park J., Lu F.C., Hedgcock W.NM.

I find this particularly interesting because we often focus on making plans without thinking much about how we make them.

Of course, this doesn’t mean backward planning is the best approach for every goal. But it’s certainly worth trying, especially when you’re working on something that involves several stages.

A few things to keep in mind

Backward planning is useful, but it isn’t magic.

You still need realistic deadlines, a clear understanding of your resources and some flexibility.

If you’re planning a large project, remember that unexpected tasks will probably appear along the way. You may need to adjust your milestones or even move your deadline.

And that’s fine. A plan is supposed to help you, not make your life more stressful.

Another thing worth remembering is that you don’t have to plan every tiny detail. Sometimes identifying the main milestones is enough to get started.

You can always make adjustments as you go.

Ready to give backward planning a try?

Choose one goal you’ve been putting off. It doesn’t have to be anything enormous.

Write down what you want to achieve, set a deadline and start working backwards.

You might be surprised by how much easier a goal feels when you can see the individual steps.

Have you ever tried backward planning? Did it work for you? I’d love to hear about your experience in the comments.

And if you’re an independent language teacher struggling to organise your workload, I also offer time management consultations to help you find an approach that works for you.

¿Has probado alguna vez este método? Déjame saber abajo en los comentarios.

Fuentes utilizadas:

Park J, Lu FC, Hedgcock WM. Relative Effects of Forward and Backward Planning on Goal Pursuit. Psychol Sci. 2017 Nov;28(11):1620-1630. doi: 10.1177/0956797617715510. Epub 2017 Sep 14. Erratum in: Psychol Sci. 2018 Feb;29(2):312-313. PMID: 28910234.