To achieve any goal, one must first decide what exactly that goal is, and what strategies will help to reach it. This skill has two main dimensions: the task, and the person completing it. When planning around a task, a learner may break it up into smaller tasks, and make strategies and plans to reach them. When planning around one's self, a learner may evaluate what if any aspects of a goal they place the most value in, as well as how effective they expect themselves to be in reaching their goals.

Self regulating learners often "Report high efficacy, self-attributions, and intrinsic task interest." (Zimmerman 1985). An equally important skill for learners to posses is the ability to do hard things, also described as grit. This ability is largely defined by an individual's tendency to expect tasks to reach worthwhile ends, explicitly allowing for failure. Grit in this way is key to self planning, being largely built around a learner's self perception, how they view their own skills and abilities. Grit's acceptance of failure as a helpful aspect of life is key to the final skill; the skill of analysis. 

A learner must not only "set goals, [and] organize" but also "self monitor and self evaluate" (Ghatla, 1986) throughout their goal reaching process. To be able to record and recall information about one's performance, judge how it is measuring up to/measured up to their goals or expectations, and adjust future plans or current action using that judgement. This experience of treating shortcomings in a positive way and creating positive feelings surrounding the completion of a task is key to growing grit and it's comfortability with failure and positive self-expectations.