What comes next? That’s the big question that almost every one of us has to answer every day. It could be as simple as what’s for dinner, what’s after dinner, or what goals you want to set for the next day or week. It could be as complicated as determining the next step in your career or what to do in response to a sudden change of fortune. When it comes to your 401k planning, knowing what comes next is vitally important. That’s why we’ve picked five principles of powerful goal setting to help you determine what comes next in working with your 401(k).

Look far into the future. The whole point of 401k planning is that you’re dealing with what could potentially become—or what already is—a decent-sized sum of money. If you’re only considering short-term prospects, you’re guaranteed to burn a hole in your pocket (and all the way down your leg). Look at what you want out of life as well as what life is lining up to hand you. Determine what your 401(k) needs to do to fit in: should it sit idly by while you fill it all the way to retirement? Should you cash out now and put it somewhere else?

Look close at hand. Once you have accustomed yourself to the big picture—and only then—look at your immediate needs and situation. Can you keep contributing to your 401(k) at the same rate? Can you step up the contributions? Do you need to cash out or apply for a hardship withdrawal? With potential concerns ranging from college tuition to mortgages to credit card debt, you want to make sure your 401k is working for you and not you for it.

Break it down. After you have the big picture and know what needs to happen short-term, plan it out. After all, 401k planning isn’t planning if all you do is assess the environment. Make sure that you lay out individual steps and goals that will lead you from where you are to what you want to accomplish. Recognize, of course, that it is completely possible to over-plan, and avoid that tendency like the plague. If you have more than two goals per month for your target, no matter how far away it is, you’re probably overplanning.

Shake it around. Once you have your goals set in stone, with incremental plans laid out to accomplish them without difficulty, it may appear to you that you are perfectly on track. Now, your 401k planning isn’t going to have any hiccoughs: you have made plans. Well, life isn’t always perfect, so be willing to juggle when the time comes to juggle. Track your plans and goals and adjust as needed.

Treat yourself. If your 401k planning has been successful—and then you start accomplishing goals—allow yourself a little something extra now and again. (Don’t overspend, though!) When you are planning what to do with your 401(k) and look both long term and short term, then break it down and shake it around, you deserve to treat yourself.

Next, you need to fill out the paperwork that is given to you by your employer or online sign-up forms and then plan to attend an orientation session or read up on material given by your employer so you understand all the 401k plan facts before you make important decisions concerning your retirement and financial future.