Want To Have A Productive Week? Plan For It

Time is the resource capable of turning an idea into something tangible. How you use your time is way more important in helping you realize your goals than anything else. The simplest way to know if someone is on their way to the life they truly desire is to ask them how they spend their time.

Planning how you will use your time is a skill. It’s like riding a bike. Although most of us can do it, some of us are better than others at it. An experienced planner is someone capable of attaining goals more efficiently than those who do not plan.

But you should not be surprised to hear this. Every great airplane, every tall skyscraper, every great business came from a great plan. You cannot build any of these things without them.

It is never enough to have a great idea. You also need a great plan on work making that idea tangible.

Plans serve two main purposes.

The first is that they help you break down a goal into smaller more attainable milestones. No matter how large the plan.

The second is that they help you remain accountable to your goals. Because whether or not you achieve your goals is tied to whether or not you followed through on your plans.

Many of us don’t even realize that our inability to make good plans is what causes us to work with or for those who are better at making plans.

We aren’t attracted to organizations simply because there is compensation. We are attracted to organizations also because of their plans. Their visions. When organizations are able to show us their long-term plans… and how we can fit in them… then we hardly hesitate in deciding to join them.

And although this may sound painful to hear… the truth is that they probably have a better plan for our lives than we do if we were on our own, as far as success is concerned.

But that isn’t everyone. Just some. And luckily, for anyone determined to build a successful life by doing as much as they can on their own… making great plans can be mastered with practice. We tend to forget that it is this which started those organizations in the first place.

A great plan has a pursuer thinking of achieving milestones on a daily basis, rather than the entire goal.

The entire goal is too large. It can seem daunting or intimidating. But a milestone always seems achievable.

In other words, set a plan for your goal and go to work on the milestones… not the goal.

If you want to have a productive week… plan for it. Set the rules and outcomes that represent a productive week. This way, by the time the weekends (see what I did there), you will know whether or not you have a productive one.

Try to avoid having accidental productivity. This is the kind of productivity that comes out from nowhere. Unplanned.

If you feel that you have had a productive day or moment after doing something unexpected, then you have most likely helped someone else achieve their milestone. It makes sense that you might feel good about it.

But be aware that this may mean that you like someone else’s plan over your own.

Is that a bad thing?

No.

But I do encourage you to begin learning from that person how to make better plans as they do. Their number one concern is themselves after all. You should take it as an opportunity to also learn the crucial art of making good plans.

As a closing, I just want you to remember something important.

We are all human. Yet there are those among us capable of achieving more than everyone else. It should interest anyone who is determined to achieve greatness for themselves to study these people closely.

The answers behind why men or women succeed can be found in mindset and daily routine.

When you wake up every morning and realize you are not where you want to be… ask yourself what you are doing daily to change where you wake up. Otherwise, just appreciate where you are. Because unless you change… where you wake up… will remain the same as well.

Plans go a long way in helping people align their lives to what they really want. If you have never thought of having one, I suggest you consider creating a life plan. You should be intentional about how your finances, relationships, work, health should all be.

You should have a goal for each one of the areas of your life and you should work on a plan to help you achieve them.

#makeProgressNotExcuses