Regardless of the reasons behind your determination, you just want things to go well and while you have imagined how the event should go, you know it always pays to translate these ideas into words before transferring it onto paper, the paper being an Activity Plan, to give you a more tangible feel of things. That and because you still have to run it through with the rest of the team before it’s given the green light. 

Planning is arguably the most crucial part of any event or a project with the actual execution coming to a close second. Well, with 50+ of these Activity Plan samples, you can have your own equivalent of Santa’s little helper and slowly develop until you come up with a firm plan to realize the perfect event you have in mind!

69+ Sample Activity Plan 

What is an Activity Plan?

Simply put, an activity plan is more or less a timeline that breaks down what your project will look like in terms of its actualization. It defines what you want to mount, what goals you hope to reach and how these can be achieved through a set of activities so it’s almost crucial that you make one so your goals can be accomplished and you can stay motivated in keeping track of them. To really over simplify its definition, you can liken it to a to-do list or a checklist except it’s more broad in coverage and detailed in its information. 

When to Use an Activity Plan

Activity plan can be used for any type of event that requires a set of activities that follow a time schedule. Some events it can be used for are the following:

Tourist and Activity Plan. For those in the tourism industry, an activity plan should be extensive in its scope so that it records the travel’s budget plan for the whole event, maybe even the vehicles that are used and the corresponding liability and property damage insurance policies that cover it. It should also include your travel itinerary not only so those who should authorize it are aware of what will go on during the trip and amend it if need be to ensure a safer event, but also so that the event follows a proper structure that those in charge can move from one itinerary item to another with ease. It also guarantees that the goal of showcasing the tourist spots are covered.Corporate Retreat Activity Plan. Corporate retreats are the one time of the year where you can potentially build stronger connections within the workplace and develop a culture of learning especially when an atmosphere where everyone knows how not to take constructive criticisms personally exists. It’s an event that reminds everyone of the company’s goals and how these smart goals can only be achieved through an environment that fosters team collaborations. And how else can you best succeed in accomplishing these goals but to come up with a set of activities that specifically target them? While this should not be confused with the actual event planner contract, although it’s understandable to see it as such, an activity plan primarily sets out the team-building activities and the work-related seminars and talks. It shall indicate the accomodation where the items are to be held, its speakers and a brief bio note of them as well as the more technical details like the date, time and its duration.  With that being said, planning for the annual corporate retreat actually takes so much pressure but not when you have a solid activity plan that can ensure that fun and work can go hand-in-hand. Club Activity Plan. Most club activities are made in hopes for the current members to maintain their membership with the club but more so to attract potential students to join your club. It is only right that the activities you wish to mount should be engaging, that they find the club interesting but most importantly, attract the students first and foremost. To realize this, an activity plan could put things into perspective so that you and existing club members can properly target what the students could be in need of and that at first glance at your club booth or when they first hear the activities that will transpire is enough to get their attention. Although, it should be important that the activities set must be in relation to the club. Some examples could be a Book Blind Date for those with clubs leaning into Literature, a screening for an Indie film that made its rounds within the film community that not even illegal distributions were made and your film club just so happens to have the privilege of accessing it. While most activities can be repetitive, it just has to have its own niche, either in the way it’s marketed or the accompanying incentives one could get upon participation. Like most activity plans, the activities have to be briefly defined with the proposed time for it to begin and how long it lasts indicated as well. This can be incorporated into your club proposals and should come quite handy, too.

Importance of Planning

You’ve probably heard a lot of the same old talks on planning like why it’s important and why children, as soon as they have a more solid grasp of the world, should start developing healthy planning habits and the like. Yes, it will get tiring to hear and it will get repetitive but it shouldn’t have to be if you, yourself, can appreciate the need to continuously preach about it. 

Planning is no easy task. It’s a skill by itself but also a skill that you need to develop other individual skills and have certain qualities for. When you plan, it is almost required of you to know the accurate estimate of how and when an activity can be completed, almost like you can look into the future to do so. It requires you to be self-motivated and have keen-researching skills and is always up to analyse the current situation and make decisions with an understanding that it will be perceived and have an impact to whoever the decisions are for. It even wants you to be sensible so that you can interact with people from all sorts of diverse backgrounds. It’s a life-long learning skill that needs to be consistently and comprehensively taught as more than just knowing how to manage your time.

In planning, you do not just merely make a daily to-do list  but you make a close projection of the future and build a timeline around it. Planning is for those that have goals and goals can only be achieved if one puts the effort to make a plan. They could be steps that don’t necessarily have to be huge ones as planning still is a process and most processes take time especially if it’s towards your future. There’s a reason why there are jobs made out of it and only those who have developed the best planning skills can earn a whopping 73,456 as a strategic planner.

So to those of you who are reading this, we list down a few reasons why planning is important to give you a quick reminder and to those of you who stumbled upon this article and want to understand the deal surrounding planning, we hope this can start encouraging you to develop healthy planning habits. 

1. To give you a sense of direction.  

When you plan for something, you ensure that the steps towards your goals are properly defined and one that you can measure to be achievable assuming that your steps towards it are doable, either by just you or your organization as a whole. Knowing this, it allows you to be on track and stay within the path that you have planned to trek so that even when you stray, you can always come back to the same path because your plan would always lead you back to it. 

2. It allows you to focus. 

Because plans are goals-oriented, you and your team are then obligated to increase your focus on the established objectives and an increased focus guarantees a sense of coordination amongst your organization without compromising time, effort and resources. It’s more than just telling you which of your plans you need to focus on but how best to spend your focus that it ensures success.

3. It allows you to gauge uncertainties.

Change is constant and that permanence is something you cannot avoid but it’s also the same thing that you take into consideration when planning. As part of its definition, planning wants you to look further into the future and create your plans thinking that far ahead and that includes how to handle change and manage unforeseen events. With panning, you can also anticipate problems come up with a corresponding risk management plan. While planning does not necessarily terminate uncertainties, especially grave and damaging ones, it certainly reduces its impact and allows you to still rise back up and try again. 

4. It evaluates you.

For the most part of planning, it is creating the foundation to achieve your desired results and these foundations can be a direct reflection of your capacity and tenacity to accomplish them and gradually be a step closer to your goal. As human beings, we are always given the opportunity to learn and improve our performance and skills. In our yearning to reach goals, we must also enhance our skills and this change within ourselves can affect our plans for the better. It can be improved and steps can be taken altogether which can hasten the process and before you know it, you’ve reached your goal. 

5. It puts things in perspective.

It’s undeniable that when you plan, you do so to succeed. While that’s a shallow understanding of planning it’s still a valid way to sum up the process. Although, it’s the act of planning and committing to the plans and the steps you have made that broadens what planning should really be: From merely a skill that can help you from wanting to accomplish your goals and in this case, manage an event, to a repurpose definition of planning that is more holistic in nature. While planning for yourself is never selfish, the process of planning can help clear up the fog and encourage a more communal outlook to the purpose of your planning.

What is Included in an Activity Plan

An activity plan is a process so it does not necessarily need to be outright perfect immediately. Take your time, continuously and diligently draft one until you have it right. But of course, it has to include the basic components such as: 

1. Define your goals

Most times, we only know what we want and that is enough but sometimes knowing is different from understanding it. An activity plan requires you to articulate your goals and see if it’s something that makes sense with the current situation you are in or the time you have available. Understanding your goal makes you develop a more grounded approach to achieving them.

2. Identify your Resources 

Or the lack thereof. For personal plans, most times you just need yourself and the necessary characteristics like determination and having a good sense of management. For groups and organizations, your activity plan needs to factor in the corresponding resources for the event’s goals to be achieved. Does your club need posters? Does your seminar need snacks for the participants and tokens for the speakers? Do you need someone to create a rental contract for you? Will your event need transportation? And how much should that cost you? Identify the resources and explain how they are necessary for your goals to succeed and finally allocate them properly. 

3. Formulate activities

From here on, you can start formulating the activities and building a tentative timeline chart around it that are potentially to occur until you finalize what you think would best encapsulate the meaning of the event and would achieve its vision. You can best determine if they do target the event’s objectives with the brief descriptions you are to provide. They must align with what the event stands for and if not, then that’s what an activity plan is for. You plan until you can finally decide on an activity plan that works best. 

FAQs

What is an Activity Plan?

An activity plan is an essential tool that helps you achieve the goals for an event you are to spearhead. It clarifies your goals and allows you to create the necessary strategies to succeed in your endeavors. This can also be a sure way to lessen the stress you go through as it could simultaneously work to manage your event because it follows a linear flow that you can jump from one activity to another.

How do I Make an Activity Plan?

Activity plans do not follow a strict format unless you work for a company that mandates a specific template to follow or if it already has in their disposal the template. While these templates can vary, an activity plan essentially is composed of 3 important elements: The event’s vision and the objectives to be achieved The resources it needs to succeed and; The activities that are the heart of your event’s completion.

What are the Four Types of Planning? 

What are the Fourt Types of Planning?

According to Alvernia University, the 4 types of planning in Business Management are namely:

1. Operational Planning.

This is often described as either single use or ongoing plans.

2. Strategic Planning

This observes the entire business from an omniscient overview. This means it assesses where your current situation is and outlines overall long term goals that the situation can carry out.

3. Tactical Planning 

This type of planning provides support to your strategic planning as it provides short term actions needed before you can gradually achieve the whole of what is outlined in the strategic plan.

3. Contingency Planning  

This plan is for special cases outside your anticipations. It proves to be essential when changes and unforeseen events occur.

As Benjamin Franklin, dubbed as ‘Father of Time Management’, once said, “Failing to plan, is planning to fail.” Have the best of fun planning with our Activity Plan templates!