Pros and cons of planning
I compiled these advantages and disadvantages personally from my own experience, and I think they will agree with the opinion of the majority.
Pros of planning
+ Control over life
By making a plan for tomorrow, a week, a year or 5 years, you realize that you have power over your life.
Thanks to planning, you can structure your day the way you want. You have the right to set aside time for sports, hobbies or games. Because of this, a certain control over fate is felt.
+ Development of discipline
Life according to a schedule forces you to constantly be busy.
The power of our consciousness operates on the principle of “ do or die.”
And if you also plan your day and set goals, this power doubles.
Read also:
How to develop discipline and willpower in yourself
+ Efficiency and productivity
If you're someone who complains about not having enough time, try planning out your day.
Let's say you get up at 8 am and fall asleep by 11 pm. You have 15 hours at your disposal. Do you think this is not enough for your purposes? Not at all.
The most important and exciting thing is the distribution of those 15 hours. Remember that this will determine how quickly you achieve your goals. Now the responsibility lies only with you.
“Every hour spent planning now saves every three hours in the future.”
+ Don't forget anything
How often has it happened that because of work you forgot to devote time to other things. For example, in the evening you were going to read a book, but you didn’t notice how time had flown by and now it was time to sleep.
Now, when you start scheduling your day, you will have the right to decide how to spend your free time. You will relieve your brain of the need to remember everything, as you will transfer plans to paper and periodically look there.
+ All successful people plan their lives
You ask: “But why should I plan my life if no one around me does it?” Then I have a counter question: “Who do you look up to?”
If you want to be like successful athletes and businessmen, it is advisable to start planning. People like Donald Trump, Michael Jordan, Bill Gates and others plan their day almost minute by minute.
+ Satisfaction
Often at the end of the day I feel slightly tired, but at the same time I feel satisfied with the day. Knowing that I have accomplished so many things is simply inspiring.
Disadvantages of planning
I wouldn't call these cons. Rather, they are mistakes that people make when planning. It's OK. How to correct and not make these mistakes again is written in the following paragraphs.
– Unexpected circumstances
The most difficult thing begins when unexpected circumstances burst into life and ruin plans. Remember that you cannot know everything in advance.
No one has 100% control over life.
– Stress
If for some reason plans fall apart, many begin to feel stressed and give up. Thus, they bend to the circumstances. Now fate has control over them. But this cannot be allowed.
- New opportunities
New opportunities can come at any time. And if your plans don't fit, those opportunities quickly slip away.
– Frames
Poor planning can easily force you into a box and keep you there until you learn to adapt to circumstances.
– Routine
Making a to-do list is much more fun than following it. The same activities every day get boring, and there is a desire to postpone or give up on everything. Gradually, life according to a schedule can turn into a routine.
Straight to the happy ending
Looks like we've saved you the trouble of working on the weekend! You're welcome. You now have a complete project planning process and a simple plan template that will help guide your next project and all your projects to success. Perhaps when all this complex planning is simplified, you will find work more enjoyable. How do you think?
Now that you've mastered creating a project plan, here are some of the best tips from leaders to help your team work more efficiently.
How to plan correctly?
Surely half of the readers, after looking at the disadvantages, changed their minds about planning. I declare that you were hasty in your conclusion.
Now I will sort out all the mistakes, and you will understand why you need to live according to the plan.
Many people want to incorporate planning into their lives, but they break down as soon as something doesn’t go according to plan. How to prevent this? Here are some recommendations:
1. Firstly, goals and plans for the day come out of goals and plans for the week, which in turn come out of plans for the month, etc. That is, the conclusion is that in addition to the day, it is also advisable to plan the week, month and year.
2. There is a certain time for each task. This is the basics. I think there is no need to explain the principle of operation.
3. Living according to plan is not bad, bad is not being able to adapt to circumstances. Therefore, you must have backup options. In case something goes wrong, plan B is at hand.
4. Sometimes circumstances are not the best. You shouldn't worry about it. Step away from your plans and take a break, give yourself time to think about your next actions.
5. Don't forget about rest. The best way to relax is to change activities.
6. Set priorities. For each task, determine the degree of importance from 1 to 3. Where 1 is mandatory tasks that must be completed. 2 – less important things that will not be so destructive if not completed. And 3 are things that can be safely postponed until later.
7. Write down your plans in the evening.
How to make a plan when the goal is too big or completely unfamiliar
A year ago, I decided to hold a webinar on the topic of New Year's resolutions. The idea inspired me, the desire to move mountains was seething inside, but I did nothing. Why? Because I didn’t know how to approach this new topic for me - conducting a webinar. I, like many, listened to many webinars, but I had no idea how to organize the process from the other side.
To prevent myself from slipping, I announced the webinar, posted it on TimePad and asked my friends to repost it on social networks. Registrations have begun. There was no turning back. But things didn't move forward.
As the webinar date approached, I realized that I couldn’t put it off any longer. I sat down and wrote everything I know about webinars (that you need a presentation, good internet, etc.), all the things that I can already do, and everything that I don’t know (how to choose a platform, how to broadcast and etc.). I got 2 lists - a list of tasks and a list of questions.
Next, I sat down and answered all my questions. Yes, even if you think you don’t know anything, in fact you still have some answer. For example, to the question “how to choose a platform for holding a webinar?” I answered “ask Dasha, Lena and Anya (since they have experience with webinars).” I also added these answers to the task list. As a result, I ended up with a big list of things that I could ALREADY start doing. The task no longer seemed unrealistic. The process has begun.
If you are now facing a new or difficult task that frightens you, sit down and write these 2 lists that I wrote about above. Answer your questions and proceed to read the text below.
What to do with the list
Once we have an initial to-do list, we need to set priorities, outline milestones, and set deadlines. If you have done the exercise in the article “ Increasing Productivity: How to Crack Your Behavioral Code ” and have defined your productivity conditions, start implementing them at the planning stage (a clearly defined deadline and outcome was important for me). Also at this stage, it is important to cut off those things that are not necessary to do. When starting something new, we often want to do everything perfectly, so we add a lot of things to the list that it’s better not to try to implement at the first stage.
Look at your to-do list and apply the Pareto Rule to it. Cut off everything that can be cut off. When you finish more important things and your goal is closer than ever, then you can add “beauty,” but for now leave only the most necessary things, without which your goal will not be realized. Don't chase the perfect solution, start with a prototype.
Now choose the components of your goal. In the webinar example, I chose the following intermediate subgoals:
- preparing a presentation,
- speech writing and rehearsal,
— technical preparation for the webinar (selecting a site, testing functions, uploading presentations, etc.).
I divided all my tasks into these three categories.
After this, determine which subgoal comes first, which follows it, and which in parallel. I left writing and rehearsing the speech until the very end, so I did the things on this list last and wasn’t distracted by them at the beginning. I made some of the technical matters my top priority (selecting a site), then came the preparation of the presentation.
Break down big tasks into specific actions, write down all the resources you need...and get started! Your first plan is ready!
Experiment: I live the whole day according to a plan, and the second day without a plan
Planned day:
7:00. Since I wrote a list of things to do for the next day in the evening, I woke up in the morning with a specific goal.
10:00. One task completed, now you can have breakfast. While eating, I don’t waste time, but watch an instructional video on how to properly iron a shirt.
11:00. What's the next task? A diary to help: I opened it, I saw it, I went to do it.
14:00. An hour and a half for training and lunch.
15:30. Well, then everything went according to plan: work – dinner – work.
22:00. I go to bed tired.
Read also:
A typical working day for a webmaster | What does my work consist of and how should I organize it?
A day without a plan:
12:00. In the morning I woke up when I wanted. I felt a certain freedom, but along with it I felt dissatisfaction with myself. It was 12:00 and I hadn't done anything yet.
13:00. After breakfast, I couldn’t decide what to do now. It seems like you need to do “this,” but you shouldn’t forget about “that.” As a result, procrastination overcame me, and I spent up to 2 hours on the phone.
14:00. With grief, I pulled myself together and started the business, but that was not the case. I was constantly distracted while working. Be it a message on your phone, or loud music outside the window.
20:00. Then “everything is like a fog.” It’s 20:00, and I find myself with a phone in my hands. “Oh no, I spent the whole day watching useless YouTube videos again!”
23:00. While I was trying to come to my senses, it was time for sleep. Well, my “no plan” day has come to an end.
Draw your own conclusions.
Making the structure correctly: detailed instructions
When you first sit down to write a plan, chaos usually begins in your head, and it’s difficult to identify the main idea. As a result, points that should be short are blown out into entire paragraphs.
For reference. The main idea is the task of the article/work, and the topic is the general name of the content.
Where to start and how to finish:
- Read the text 2 – 3 times. Take notes and write down ideas as you read. If you're writing from your head and don't need to study competitive articles, then skip this step.
- Ask yourself two questions: what is its topic, what is the material written for. This way you can immediately decide on the main idea.
- Take a closer look at each paragraph and think about where the key point is, what is its meaning? Often a paragraph is an already completed thought that can be included in the structure as a subheading. Don't dwell on the details. We are only interested in the action, the plot twist.
- Leave the list for a few minutes and relax. Re-read it. Do you understand what the work is about just by looking at it? Yes - you have worked well, no - you need to improve it.
- Copy the plan into a clean copy and use it for its intended purpose.
A few tips for the journey:
- Write down unfamiliar words and concepts that you will use separately. Be sure to clarify their meaning.
- Don't repeat yourself. If the same word comes up several times, replace it with a synonym.
- Don't be afraid of modifications. If, when you return to the list after a few minutes, you want to make changes, then do so.
- The text outline for a public speech should be short. One paragraph consists of a maximum of 2 – 3 words.
- Formulate paragraphs with numbers and subparagraphs with bulleted lists.
Keep a separate notebook for plans. Write down all your work there. This is a good source of inspiration that will help you keep track of your progress as you re-read it.
We took a look at the general way of structuring the article. Now let’s complicate the task and divide the plan into several types, each of which is created in a special way.
Why is it still better to live according to plan?
I choose to live according to plan. This is my choice and it depends on the following factors:
- This is the only way I feel like I am moving towards my goals.
- It keeps me on my toes.
- I get satisfaction at the end of each day when I take stock.
If you want to make your own plan for the day, week, month, or year, but don’t know how, you can write to me by email [email protected] I will communicate with you without any problems and give recommendations absolutely free.
Plan is a disposition in painting, theater, cinema
From this point of view, the plan is the distance from the viewer to the character in a theatrical production, in a film frame, or any object on an artistic canvas. In other words, a plan is the arrangement of objects in a composition.
For example, about the picture below you can say: “In the foreground we see reeds rustling in the wind, soft grass of the river bank, in the background there are wooden walkways and a birch forest, and in the background a pine forest shines through the foggy haze.”
TOP 5 programs for preparing plan-fact analysis of performance indicators
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- centralized management of cash receipts and expenditures in enterprises with a complex organizational structure;
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