A few weeks ago I wrote a post asking "Do you have a plan?" and I got a comment from Tope Rants that made me decide to do a follow up post. Here's what she said "I understand the essence of a good plan, with a plan, because that's our progress map, to check up if or not we are on track or off. But your post got me thinking about those that have wonderful plans but fail to execute them? Are they not just as bad as people without a plan?"
My response: "...Effective planning cones with great discipline. I also believe that big plans should be broken down into smaller and easily executable plans, so it doesn't get overwhelming"
So this follow up post is going to be about effectively planning, i'll try and point you in the best planning direction, but keep in mind that self discipline has a huge part to play when it comes to planning and of course, you have to want the end result bad enough, that should actually be your biggest motivation.
Have your goal in mind...
Because the reason you are planning in the first place is so you can achieve a particular goal, or set of goals. Plans may change along the way, your goal might even change, but for a start, you should have the big picture painted in your mind, have a specific direction in which you are moving.
Break it down
It can be a bit overwhelming when you think about what you want to achieve, especially if it is something big...for example you want to set up a business or you want to finish reading three university courses from start to finish in the space of 48 hours. This can be really discouraging because all you see is this large mountain in front of you and the size scares you away...yea it happens to me too. So what do you do? You break your large goal into smaller, easily achievable goals, lets call them sub goals.
Write it down
There is just something about writing down a plan that makes it more real and gives you the motivation to want to achieve your goals or is it just me? Writing down things somehow gives you time to visualize what you want to do, it helps you resolve and puts things in a clearer perspective.
Timing and scheduling
Arrange your sub goals in order of importance and give time frames for each one, you should also write this down. This is where your self discipline comes in, if you can stick to the scheduled time you've given each sub goal, you are well on your way to achieving your large goal and then some!
How do you go about planning your big goals, please share in the comment section, you just might be helping someone with a situation similar to yours. You are awesome for reading this, thank you!
Truly yours,
Labels: Life and Inspiration
