Why Planning Matters (Even Now)

Now that the usual routines that you’ve followed day in day out are gone…

What project are you ready to look at squarely in the eye?

Be brave and sit down and realistically figure out what’s required. We often “stall” on a project because we know that there are things that we have to learn, work that we have to do, and costs that we have to assume and, rather than admit and confess to all that, we internally call the project “not yet” or “not worth it” and find ourselves unequal to starting.  

Each stage requires a plan appropriate to that stage. If you are at the very beginning of a project, your plan might be “take a long walk and think about it”.

Planning for contingencies – add in “wiggle room”. The things that are out of your control – relying on someone else, relying on the weather, even relying on when the corona virus plateaus – need to be estimated.

What if I don’t want to make a plan! Planning stinks!  

It is vital that we remember that a plan may involve things that we do not relish doing.  How obvious but we have to hold that as a fact over and over again. 

You may have a hundred things that you must do that you do not actually love doing but support what you love.  This is the shadow side of planning, that many of the actual steps of our plan feel boring, meaningless, and odious.  So be it.  We must simply “do the work in front of us,” because the ultimate goal is of real value to us!