In the words of the inimitable Colonel John “Hannibal” Smith, the undisputed leader of the TV’s fictional A Team, “I just love it when a plan comes together!” Planning and time management go hand in hand. Until you have a plan and set some goals, trying to successfully manage your time is a fruitless and frustrating process.
Effective planning isn’t rocket science; most of it is just good, common sense. Here are some fail proof suggestions for planning your next project:
- Schedule regular, uninterrupted time to do your planning – Nothing ever gets done if you don’t schedule it. Planning is just as important as meeting with clients or preparing a presentation. If you don’t plan effectively, you will eventually run out of clients and have no one to whom you can present!
- After you have set your goals and made your plans, make a plan to deal with all the possible things that could go wrong. – Plans are made on a set of assumptions that you HOPE will be true, but what if they aren’t? As my old pappy used to say, “If you don’t have a Plan B and a Plan C to go with your Plan A, you don’t really have a plan!” Anticipate possible problems you could encounter in your project because of people, material, or mechanical failures. Purposely provide preventive actions and contingency plans in important high risk situations.
- Plan for tomorrow, tonight. – Really. If you will make a few mental notes regarding the activities you will be engaged in tomorrow, your subconscious will continue to strategize while you sleep. You will be more focused and prepared for the day when you wake up.
- Don’t just plan your day; always be thinking a week ahead. – You are a busy person with lots of responsibilities on the job, at home, at church, at your kid’s school, etc. How will important projects be sequenced? Learn to think about your life holistically and see the big picture when you plan. Make sure that your week is balanced so that all the important things get done without overwhelming you on any one day.
- Putting it down on paper makes it real.– As long as you are just thinking about it, you don’t have to do anything about it. Putting it down on paper represents a commitment. Also, you can only work mentally with about seven pieces of information without losing something. Write your thoughts down and you will be able to utilize everything you think of during your planning process.
- Don’t worry about putting together a complete plan all at once. -- If you are thinking, you are coming up with great ideas all the time. Write each idea on a note card as it comes to you and then set it aside. Gradually, as your plan comes together over the next few days, you will have lots of ideas on separate note cards and you can assemble them in the best order, kind of like a jigsaw puzzle, until every element is in its proper place.
- If you can’t get planning done in your office, leave the office. – Planning is too important to be interrupted by all the craziness that can happen at work. If you have to, schedule a personal “planning retreat day” and go to a park, to the library or some other peaceful spot (don’t stay home, you will only end up doing laundry or repainting the deck) where you can give full attention to your planning process.
- Don't rush your planning process. – Anything worth doing is worth doing slowly, in order to make sure you have plenty of time to carefully review and revise each idea, and make sure you didn’t skip any important steps.
Planning is the way successful people and successful organizations make consistent progress. If you are not planning, you are not growing, so take these tips and plan your future successes today!
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December Time Management Quick Tip of the Month - One Life = One Planner
In the lore of the Texas Rangers, there is the story of a riot in a small town that became so severe that a call went out to the Texas Ranger for help. A couple of days later, a solitary Ranger rode into town. The flabbergasted local constable couldn’t believe it. “Why did they only send one Ranger?” he demanded to know. The Ranger’s reply: “One riot – one Ranger.”
The goal of time management is to help people make sense of the ongoing riot that is their life. Some people assume that it helps to keep a separate planner for business activities and another planner for personal/family activities. Wrong. You only have one life; you only need one planner. The idea of time management is to balance ALL the activities of your life into one harmonious symphony, and quell the riot of competing priorities for good. If you can’t make it all fit into one planner, you are too busy. It is time to make some serious changes.
