When it comes to having a successful training program, there are a few keys that will help you direct your training
1) What is your SINGULAR training goal for the next 3 months?
Of course it would be great to be all things all the time. Would you rather have OUTSTANDING results from focusing on ONE thing or have mediocre results from spreading yourself too thin by attempting to focus on multiple goals?
2) What KPI's are you going to use to measure success?
KPI (key performance indicators) are absolutely necessary in order to have something to measure your progress against. Without any type of metric(s), you're really just "going by feel" which can be good or bad depending on how/when you decide to evaluate yourself. It's better to have objective data over the long term in order to evaluate your progress.
Here are a few KPI's I use
Bodyfat Percentage
Resting Heart Rate
1,3,5, and 10RM performances for my major lifts
Squat
Deadlift
Push Press
Chin Up
3) Changing variables.
Too many people program hop too often. By changing programs too frequently, you don't give the program a chance to work. Almost any program will work if you stick to it and work your ass off consistently. There's really two ends of the spectrum here. Those who change programs ALL the time and never see progress and those who haven't changed their program in 20 years and never see progress. So, it's important to find this happy medium of manipulating variables when necessary in order to spur new progress. When I write programs I like to include the following sub-phases within a training block
Adjustment Phase: Basically giving an individual a week or two to get use to the new exercise(s) within the training block
Loading Phase: Now that the new exercise(s) have been introduced, it's time to begin loading them heavier for the next 3-5 weeks.
Deload Phase: These are typically programmed in to allow the body to fully recover following a challenging training block. Usually a week of reduced volume or reduced intensities should do the trick.
To recap,
1) Narrow your focus
2) Have 2-3 KPI's that will help you evaluate your training
3) Don't change too much too often