RPM Planning

The planning and goal-setting method developed by Tony Robbins

What is RPM?

• It’s a framework for planning that’s more focused on outcomes than activities
• Stands for “Rapid Planning Method”
• Made up of 3 primary pillars, also with the “RPM” acronym
  • Results-Oriented
  • Purpose-Driven
  • Massive Action Plan

Results: What you want

• Specific, measurable outcomes that you’re committed to achieving
• These are written in the past tense, specifically to focus the mind on thinking as if you’ve already accomplished the goal
  • E.g., Instead of “Lose weight” —> “I’ve achieved my ideal weight of 180lbs with a 15% body fat”
• Written to be clear, concise, and lacking ambiguity to help your mind create a compelling vision of the future
• The Result is the destination, not the journey. E.g.,
  • “Organize the garage” is a process
  • vs.
  • “Garage completed organized with labeled bins and a clear parking space” is a Result
• Key questions to ask:
  • “What do I really want to accomplish?”
  • “If this were done perfectly, what would it look like?”

Purpose: Why you want it

• Provides the emotional fuel required to get through the slog of pursuing challenging growth
  • Often the most crucial (and often-overlooked) part of planning and goal-achievement
• For each result, identify multiple compelling reasons why achieving the result REALLY matters
• These could include how the result affects your family, your sense of contribution, your spirituality, or your personal growth
• The stronger your purpose, the more likely you will follow through with the hard work required to achieve the result.
  • If your “why” isn’t compelling enough, you’ll often procrastinate and find excuses when you encounter obstacles
• Make sure to dig deep: Your first “why” is often superficial. Keep asking. E.g.,
  • Result: “Lost 15lbs”
  • Why? “To be healthier”
  • Why be healthier? “So I have more energy”
  • Why do you want more energy? “To be able to play with my kids without getting tired, and to be a role model for them, ensuring I’m around and active in their lives for a long time.” <— That’s the purpose
• Connect your purpose to your core values
  • Ideally your purpose should give you a jolt of energy when you read it, it should connect deeply with you
• Key questions to ask:
  • “Why is this important to me?”
  • “What will achieving this result give me?”
  • “What pain will this help me avoid?”

Massive Action Plan (MAP): How you’ll get it

• Brainstormed list of all possible actions that could help to achieve the result
  • You then prioritize and schedule these actions
• The word “Massive” is intentional, you should think expansively and list EVERYTHING that could be done to achieve the result
  • Don’t filter or judge at this initial stage
• The MAP is organized by “outcome categories” rather than disparate, random tasks
• After the MAP is produced, identify and prioritize the 20% of the actions that will drive 80% of the results
• Consolidated steps:
  • Brainstorm first: Get all possible actions (big and small) down onto the page
    • E.g., “research”, “make phone calls”, “send emails”, etc…
  • Prioritize Ruthlessly (80/20 Rule): AFTER the massive list is made, go back and ID the 20% of actions that will deliver 80% of the result
    • These are your “lever-movers”
    • Highlight these as your highest priority
  • Chunk it down: Break the larger actions into smaller, manageable steps
    • E.g., “Develop marketing plan” could be too big. Change to something like
      1. Research competitor ads
      2. Draft ad copy for three platforms
      3. Design visual assets
• Remember to be flexible - the MAP is a living document, and you’ll learn more as you go
  • This will result in changes, additions, and removals to the MAP
• Key questions to ask:
  • “What are all the things I could possibly do to achieve this result?”
  • “Which of these actions are the most critical, and will create the most momentum?”

RPM Categories & Chunking

• Organize your life into “Categories of Improvement” or life areas. Common areas might include:
  • Spiritual Growth and Contribution
  • Family & Relationships
  • Personal Development & Growth
  • Career & Business
  • Finances & Investments
  • Health & Vitality
  • Fun & Recreation
• “Chunking”: Within in category, you create specific RPM blocks—combinations of related results that can be achieved through overlapping actions
  • Designed to help reduce the overwhelming feeling of these various actions
  • Ideally drives efficiency through grouping similar outcomes together

RPM Blocks

• The “RPM Block” is a core piece of RPM planning. Usually it looks like this, on a physical or digital page:

Result:

Purpose:

MAP:

• These can be used at a macro or micro level: For yearly goals and for weekly actions
  • Potentially this is RPM according to John, but it makes sense in my brain

Core Planning Processes

The following are the core planning processes (according to my research) making up RPM. That said, this is expanded upon in the section below on integrating this into existing goal-setting methods.

Weekly Planning Session

• Every week (ideally Sunday or Monday) conduct a comprehensive planning session:
  • Capture Everything: Brain dump all commitments, ideas, and must-dos
  • Create RPM Blocks: Group the related items into outcome-focused blocks
  • Define Results: For each block, clarify the specific result you’re after
  • Establish Purpose: Identify the 3-5 compelling reasons for each result
  • Develop MAP: Brainstorm all possible actions, then ID the vital few
  • Schedule: Put most important MAP items into your calendar(s)
  • Anticipate Challenges: ID potential obstacles and plan contingencies

Daily Planning

• Each morning:
  • Review the RPM blocks for the day
  • Reconnect with your purpose
  • Visualize successful completion

Integrating RPM with Traditional Yearly Goals

This section is meant to address the question, “How do I start using RPM if I have a list of yearly goals, already broken out by life category?”

Important Note: These recommendations are based on conversations I had with AI, and my own thoughts based on my current system, and NOT based on taking any sort of Tony Robbins-approved course. Likely there are better (or more approved) recommendations for this in paid courses that I didn’t review.

Introduce the Weekly RPM Planning Meeting

• Plan your weekly RPM review, and make this time “sacred” on your calendar
  • E.g., Block off weekly repeated time Monday mornings
• During the initial weekly reviews, take the following inputs:
  • List of yearly goals
  • Calendar for the upcoming week
  • Todo list for family items
  • Priorities / important projects or initiatives from work
• In this planning meeting, follow this process:
  1. Review yearly goals and ask, “What is the single most important area I can make progress this week?”
  2. Choose 1-3 (max 3) key outcomes for the week that directly serve those annual goals.
     • These become your RPM blocks to create
  3. For each outcome / block, create the RPM block following the methods described above
  4. Plan your schedule for the week accordingly
• Results:
  • You should exit this planning meeting with absolute clarity on what a “successful week” looks like.
  • Your calendar should be updated for the week with planned time for actions or meetings
  • This meeting will likely yield adjustments & enhancements to your yearly goals.

Introduce the Daily Planning Meetings

• Plan your daily RPM reviews, and make this time “sacred” on your calendar
• During these meetings, your RPM blocks and calendar for the day are your inputs
• Daily meeting process:
  1. Quickly read your weekly RPM blocks and remind yourself of the mission / purpose
  2. Look at the MAP for each block.
  3. Ask, “Given my schedule today, which 2-3 of these actions are the most crucial, or can realistically be accomplished?”
  4. Commit to the 2-3 actions and make them the core of your daily plan. Everything else is secondary
• Results:
  • Start each day with purpose-driven priorities

Transforming Yearly Goals

Again, this is a section based on my thoughts about my current system, not any sort of definitive recommendation from the folks behind RPM

• Over time, organically this year, I assume that my goals will eventually evolve into their own RPM-style form
  • Maybe not tho…?
• For the time, though, my plan is to continue with my current goals, and introduce RPM to more regularly review them, and let them evolve

Initial Recommendations & Things to Consider

• RPM can easily become complex and over-engineered
  • Start simply at first, especially when it comes to the “RPM blocks” per category
  • Keep yourself to only 3-5 blocks per category if possible
• When planning, don’t skip the “Purpose” step, even when the results seem obviously important
• Remember to adjust the categories and blocks as your life evolves

Other Related Topics

• Goals
• Planning

References

• Daily Learnings: Mon, Sep 01, 2025