I have to say, for most of my life, a plan has been one of my favourite things.
A plan represents to me:
- motivation,
- hope,
- optimism,
- getting unstuck,
- a way forward,
- momentum.
In last month’s blog (It Starts With A Vision) I wrote about creating a vision of what you want in your work life. The next step towards that vision is making a plan. I have friends who hate the idea of a plan. For them it means having to stick to something when another more fun option comes up, a lack of spontaneity or a rigid set of rules. I guess that could be true, but maybe it is more about making the right plan which takes into account who you are, what you want and how you operate.
Although you might not take a map on a very familiar route, if you were tackling a trek in the Himalayas you would want to know that your steps were going to lead you to your destination, and that any side routes or detours were well calculated.
Planning forms a significant part of our work with our clients, so why not apply those skills to our own work lives? To be successful and helpful a plan needs three elements. A clear goal/desired outcome, manageable steps and regular reviews. Sometimes all of the steps of the plan are not clear at the outset. Just start with what you know. Break down the first few steps to make them small enough to be manageable and to fit into the time you have allowed and then (most importantly) schedule them.
Now, the real powerful stuff about a plan comes with the review. Checking in, ticking off, revising, modifying or adding steps ensures that when real life intervenes we don’t need to throw out the plan, we can adapt it to keep working for us.
So if planning hasn’t really pushed your buttons up until now, think about using a supervision session to explore where you are going and how to get there. I have plenty of creative ideas to make the journey fun.
