Proper planning is the key towards successful execution. Failing to plan is planning to fail. Or so we have heard about the need to plan our personal and professional lives! However, our planning needs to be effective and realistic in order to bring in the results we desire! That’s where the concept of power planning comes in. Personally, I believe that planning becomes a medium for delay and procrastination when it is done ineffectively or excessively.

Most Plans Fail…Here is Why…

Many of us fail to reach our goals only because

• We plan in vague terms. For instance, “I will do this…”
• We set unrealistic goals and timelines in our plans.
• We end up living too much in our head and fail in making our plans see the light of the day.
• We may have a perfectionist mindset where we obsess too much on nitty gritty details and not enough on the execution and the results.
• We use planning as a disguise to procrastinate and delay action.
• We end up burning too much of our mental energy in the planning process and feel burnt out at the execution step.

Success depends upon effective and result oriented planning as well as successful execution. Here is why you need to do power planning instead of planning and here is what it involves:

Be Precise, Specific and Focused

Instead of making vague plans, our planning needs focus and precision. Instead of saying, “I will do this…,” be specific in terms of stating how you would go about the task, which resources you would need and which method would you use. To iterate, you don’t have to plan each aspect in detail, just adding the dots and crossing the T’s can help you sketch a solid roadmap.

Set Clear Timelines

Time is the most precious resource we have. Being mindful about the time needed and available for tasks makes planning effective. It goes without saying that planning too much and for too long also wastes our time and mental energy. Thus, setting a deadline for planning even makes sense. For instance, I often pledge that I will spend no more than 15 minutes in planning a given task and then start executing it.

Have a Plan B

Another reason plans fail because we plan keeping in view ideal working conditions and outcomes. Meanwhile, we live in a real world, with the unexpected factors, distractions, limitations and barriers. A plan needs to be flexible enough to accommodate these factors. So it’s a good idea to plan keeping in mind that the alternate ways to reach your goals, should you run into a barrier or should you run into an emergency. Having a Plan B would help you reach your goal irrespective of the barriers. Remember, don’t become a hostage to your plan. Be open and adaptable towards changes, so that you are able to meet at least some of goals (if not all), no matter what life throws at you.

The Takeaways

Planning is a way to think through your goals and set down clear steps to achieve them. But planning should neither be too hasty nor excessively lengthy. Otherwise, you would end up staying stuck at the first step and would never get ahead. Being precise with your goals, setting clear timelines and having a plan B at hand.