Year Long Planning

I was a bitter and confused person throughout making my year long plan. I am actually grateful for the experience, now that it is done. I have written countless lesson plans, but honestly there was little direction. Teachers will say something like, "Plan a science lesson or unit and tie it to a standard". Up until this point, I have found a fun activity and then found a grade and standard to go with it. This is not how we will do it in the "real world". We will be in a class, given standards, and expected to cover every one of them. How do we do this with my old method? Planning backwards allows me to think about what I want my students to learn, not what worksheet would be a fun activity that they might get something out of. I also think that this form of planning allows for subject integration more than others. When having a big idea to base a unit off of, my lessons will flow more naturally and tie all together letting me think of a variety of ways to for my class to come to this question or conclusion. This will be hard for me to do again, but I know I will. People say it gets easier, I hope this is true.