My own sailing calendar is the most important thing in my preparation for the season. Without it I can't imagine how I would manage (especially in terms of organisation) and do well in any regatta.

In order to keep getting better and to continue achieving your aims you must go through certain steps in your career. It takes-some time to get to the top and how long it will take you to get there will depend only on you and the plans that you make.

I am going to tell you how I plan my sailing season. I'm sure it is still not a perfect plan, but at least you can have something to start with or can use it to make your existing plans even better. You will see a lot of dates taken from the system that have around been for ages. I reckon it works very well, but every sailor is different and that's why I've changed it for my own use a little bit after a couple of years. Right now I'm preparing my own especially designed diagram to make my schedule more clear and exact.

The first time I stepped onto the Finn was when I became the member of Polish Olympic Preparation Team. I was still far away from even thinking about going to the Olympics, but the first thing I noticed was a very well prepared schedule of the sailing calendar for the following season made by specially designated people in the Polish Yachting Association. Everyone in the Polish team has his own sailing calendar. It is made especially for him/her and is personally adjusted to the current level of his/her skills.

I remember that myself, my coach and those people I told you above, would spend whole days on deciding which and how many regattas and what training camps I should go to in order to succeed in the coming sailing season.

We used some custom designed computer software to make it easier to write down (draw) and read our plans. Apart from this I made my own big paper calendar which I put on the wall in my room. I still do it every year to be able to see easily what is going to happen in the future. I suggest you should do the same. Especially in the beginning when you want to make many changes to the plan and add a lot of information to it - that helps a lot.

It is very important to learn in advance all the information and dates and finally make your personal schedule before the beginning of the season. I always start to plan my schedule in November - two months before the next sailing season actually begins.

Nowadays it is very easy when we are able to get all of regatta dates from the internet and ISAF annual books. Also our great FinnFare contains information on all major regattas for at least one year in advance.

But regattas are not everything you need to know before you start to plan your season. You have to think also about your pure sailing techniques and some training camps. I'm sure you agree with me that every Finn sailor is open minded and very keen to train with other Finn sailors.

At the very beginning of designing my sailing calendar we wrote down my goals for the season. In 1992 I was a very young and fresh sailor who just jumped from the OK-Dinghy class into the Olympic Sailing Heroes Dynasty. I was very small and so my goals were also very small. I had to keep in mind the fact that my National Association wanted me to satisfy certain requirements, but more important for me was to see whether I was getting ahead, and if so, whether I could do it any faster.

As you're getting closer to the Olympics you have to change your plans and the contents of your calendar.

Therefore we divided my sailing calendar into four smaller periods. The first one usually starts at the beginning of the year and ends in late April just after the big regatta in Hyeres.

After two weeks of rest we start the second period in the middle of May and finish it at the Kieler Woche regatta in June. Then, most of us are having holidays and everything slows down. But we are still sailing so the third period: July, August and September we spend training. During that time we have many small regattas in our countries and none of the World Cup series.

The last period begins in October and ends at the end of the year. It all changes a bit when you are sailing all the year and it also depends a lot on the dates of the Finn Gold Cup, Europeans or (every four years) the Olympics.

In each period I'm looking for some time for sailing, on-shore body and equipment preparations and, of course, for some rest from it all. It is very important to find time for everything otherwise your sailing development may go a completely wrong way.

I divide my calendar in vertical rows. The first one contains only the names and dates of all regattas, training camps and holidays I'm going to go to this time.

I think you should write it in different colours to mark by yourself which regattas and training camps are the most important for you, which ones are not so important i. e. when you should push a lot and when simply take it easy. You will notice later that it makes your sailing and winning easier when you know what the expectations of your performance are.

In the next row I write my own expectations about the work I'm going to do there (in the time and place indicated in the first row). For example when I'm going to such a regatta like SPA in Holland I'm usually coming with some new gear which I'm thinking to try on this regatta. It can be any new part of your equipment but it is important to write in your calendar much earlier when and where you are going to get (buy) a new mast or a sail and where and with whom is the best to test it.

The next row in my calendar contains information about my physical training and preparations. It is also important to monitor separately your cardio and strength training and try to be at the top of your athletic possibilities close to the most important regattas in your calendar. For one month you can concentrate more on the strength of your legs and arms and then the next month focus on your flexibility. It all depends on you and your feelings. You can talk about it with the specialist or your physio.

Another row should contain information on your gear shopping. Lately we have had to wait quite a long time to get any piece of equipment from the manufacturer. I reckon that you should also mark it on the calendar when you should order everything. Make sure you know (at least approximately) what your budget for the next year will be and spend your money in the right way. It was my mistake for many years that I was buying everything in the beginning of the year and at the end I was out of the game, having nothing to work and develop with.

And after all of this you should leave one row for a summary. Leave it-clear to write your opinions and thoughts. It is important to write there your feelings, what you missed in the previous periods and on what you think you should focus more. It could help to ask somebody (like your personal coach or a friend who is following your sailing), their opinion about these things and write them down too.

Never throw away your calendars from previous years. You can use them while planning your next ones. After all, we are all learning from our past mistakes. Your own and other people's too.

To sum up: your sailing calendar should help you know what you're doing and what you're going to do and avoid making too many mistakes. It should play the same role as your personal or business schedule.