"No one plans to fail, they just fail to plan." Many people are so deeply embroiled in a routine of crisis management that it feels impossible to take the time to plan. This type of work pattern results in never feeling finished with anything, and stress levels rise while feelings of achievement sink. How to break this cycle?
It is important to remember that forethought, any forethought, is never a wasted effort. There is a false belief
that plans involve hours of time, days of training, and complicated software. But, a plan doesn't need to have details with schedules and timelines; the most effective plans are the ones that are very simple. Begin the process of formulating a plan by answering 3 questions: "where am I now, where do I want to be, and how will I get there?" These same 3 questions apply to a plan for your day as well as a plan for your life.
Practice planning with something very simple, such as completing a short project on time. First ask, where are you now? Perhaps you haven't started on it yet, and so are already a little behind. Where would you like to be? Probably done with the project by the deadline! The last question to ask is, how will you get there? Remember, a plan is not necessarily a schedule. Your plan will be most successful if you commit to an outcome, not a schedule. For example, if you plan to work on the project from 1:00-3:00 on Tuesday and something comes up at 1:00, then your plan has failed. Instead, commit to work on the project for 2 hours on Tuesday, then fit the two hours in where it works best. By starting with simple, small plans like this and achieving them, you will get into the habit of planning and can begin planning further and further ahead, eventually breaking the cycle of crisis management.
