Success in life depends on having a plan. A real man always has a basic, backup and emergency plan. But when drawing up a plan, it is important not to make mistakes.
Brian Moran and Michael Lennington, in their book 12 Weeks of the Year, talk about 10 mistakes you shouldn't make when making a plan.
Mistake 1: Your plan is not aligned with your long-term goals
It's important that your 12-week goals align with your long-term vision for the future. When you set goals, make sure they connect with your vision and bring you closer to your long-term goals.
Mistake 2. You are not focused on completing the plan
Concentration on achieving your goals is very important. If you set many goals at once, then there is a possibility that you will not be able to correctly prioritize and choose the necessary actions. “Everything” cannot be prioritized. You must learn to give up many things in favor of a few - but the most important.
Mistake 3. You are inconsistent in your choice of actions
Often, to achieve one goal, people choose 8, 10 or more actions (tactical steps). Do you really think this is necessary?
Mistake 4. You complicate things
If you want to successfully complete your 12-week year, don't complicate the obvious. Choose only the most important directions and a reasonably minimal set of actions that will lead to the achievement of your goals.
Mistake 5. Your plan lacks focus
Your plan must cover the most important goals and the means to achieve them, otherwise it will not be effective. People often make plans based on outside clues. Make sure you only focus on what matters most - what matters most to you.
Mistake 6. You don't make a plan every week
An energetic start to the week allows you to stay awake and work efficiently throughout the week. But they say Monday is a hard day. Often you have to do a little bit of everything, be distracted by e-mail, calls and various unforeseen things.
Mistake 7. You include absolutely everything in your plan
The weekly plan doesn't have to reflect all of your work. Only the strategically important actions from the 12-week plan should be recorded. If you want to create an additional to-do list or a list of calls, write them down on a separate sheet. In the plan, however, only the main thing is indicated - it cannot be "diluted" with distracting activities.
Mistake 8. It seems to you that all weeks go by the same
Another common misconception. Many people think that one week is like another, so they constantly copy their plans. Some weeks may be similar, but it never happens that you complete the same tasks for all 12 weeks. Even if you are an exception, still spend 5-10 minutes a week writing a plan - it will pay off, believe me!
Mistake 9. You are not using your plan on a daily basis
Having prepared a plan for the week, you need to look into it every day in order to perform all the actions that contribute to progress towards the goal. Check your plan in the morning, a couple of times during the day, and remember to check it in the evening before leaving work.
Mistake 10: Your plan did not become an integral part of your regular workflow
We have the usual daily routines and work processes that we are used to. The correct organization of the workflow leads to success. The sooner you establish the rules by which you will work every day, the better. Better yet, think about it now.
