Slow Progress: Bad Planning
In my last Slow Progress post, we looked at how a task you don’t like can be a road block to productivity. In this post (#2 of the series), we will look at how planning effects productivity and discuss planning in relation to the EP planner.
If you don’t have any sort of plan, you will get somewhere very slowly because you are not directed and driven.
In order to effectively accomplish something, you will need to plan out each goal that you have.
What’s In Your Plan (And What Isn’t)
To plan out a goal, start by imagining the goal completed. What does it consist of? If it is a physical or digital object, what parts does it have? If it is more of an action or skill, what will doing it or having it consist of?
Brainstorm This
Work on your brainstormer material down into a list, grouping similar things if there are any. Number this list. If you can, try to make your list have less than 10 groups or items on it. This will help you to reduce the project to its core components and give you direction on where your next actions are leading.
You now may be tempted to write out due dates for each part, but refrain from doing it. Although it is helpful to answer this set of questions:
- When would I like this goal to be completed?
- About how much total work do I have on this project?
- How much would I then need to do per week to get done?
Use this number when thinking of your next actions for this goal, but don’t hold your self fast to this or you may get overwhelmed by the amount. The goal is being productive, not putting ourselves on deadlines.
So don’t set deadlines or put your goals on your calendar. (You can schedule work time, but not for a specific goal.)
Using Your Plan
So now you have a list of what your goal will ultimately consist of. You can now use this as your plan.
Start by reordering your list in a logical order for you to work towards. Then when working on that goal work only towards the first item on the list until it’s completed.
This kind of plan gives you both a destination and a road map to get there. Use these plans when determining your next action.
