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“A fool with a plan will beat a genius
without a plan every time.”
T. Boone Pickens’ advice from his father
Very relevant words in today’s world.
Some might argue that there’s no point in creating a plan because it could all change tomorrow.
And that could well be true.
But to me, that’s all the more reason to have annual/quarterly/monthly/weekly & daily plans.
A plan is never set in stone and it’s 100% guaranteed to change. But the benefits of having a plan are many. Here’s a few:
– It narrows your focus and reduces the chance of you being distracted
– It can help RELAX your mind, as it has a path to follow
– It helps you to use your resources more effectively
– It makes it easier to say ‘NO’ to other projects/people/distractions because you KNOW what you’re about
– It acts like a beacon to keep you on track if you get very busy and have lots coming at you.
The solution to the current climate is not to ignore planning
but ACTUALLY, plan more. Not necessarily more time, but more frequently.
All that might mean is 15 minutes a day, and an hour a WEEK.
‘Planning’ means:
Reviewing what you’ve done and what you learned from it
Visioning the outcome of what you want, as if it’s already happened
Creating ‘chunks’ of actions to move you towards your desired outcome.
NOW is the time to plan.
I meet people every week who ‘dilly dally’ around planning.
‘I’m too busy right now’. ‘I’ll do that when it calms down’. ‘I just don’t have the time.’
The funny thing is, the time to plan is when you don’t have the time.
Because it will help you focus on your priorities and if done
consistently AND effectively, will result in giving you more time.
So, what can you do DIFFERENTLY this week to improve
on your planning?
ps – If you’ve never heard of T.Boone Pickens, then follow this
link to find out more about him
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._Boone_Pickens
