Plan - But Don’t Forget to Take Action

I cannot stress the importance of planning enough. I believe it is one of the most underutilized tools almost every leader employs. Most leaders want to get moving and take the fire, ready, aim approach to getting things done. Many will say they do not have enough time for planning. As I have stated in the past, nothing could be further from the truth. Planning is a valuable exercise for success.But, like any good thing, it can be over done as well. Extremes are rarely good things and planning is no different. The biggest challenge with planning is the inability to see beyond the near term. Building elaborate plans that try to predict years into the future or create complexities beyond current capabilities can lead to frustration and a self-fulfilling prophecy that planning doesn’t work. The other potential obstacle from planning is allowing it to become a substitute for real activity. Spending too much time trying to get the perfect plan could be as detrimental as not planning at all. Don’t let your planning become a fancy way of procrastinating.

Take the First Step

Once you have the framework of your plan and you at least know the right direction to head, it may be best to identify the first step forward you can take. Then take it. I have found myself in this same situation where I want to spend more time building an outline for what needs to happen, or arrange all of the items that will be required down the road. I spend too much time arranging things that will occur in the future versus simply taking the first action I can to get the plan underway. Save yourself the same trouble and take action on even the littlest of things to get you started.I have mentioned this site in the past, and I believe it is appropriate here as well to help provide an idea of what this can look like. TinyHabits.com is a simple site that introduces the idea of very small steps to get you underway on a new habit. The same thought process can be applied for getting started on a new project as well. Some examples might be:

• Write the first sentence of the email you are working on
• Print the planogram that you need to work on - even if you don’t have the next steps figured out
• Have an impromptu meeting with your team instead of a lengthy planned meeting to discuss the task at hand
• Set out the materials you need to start the project the night before

I have found that if I use my planning time to establish what the next step is and get that started, I can move quickly into the more meaningful components of the plan and look further ahead. For me, that may be writing the first sentence of an article I want to write the day before, so it is already started the next day when I have allocated time to write the full article. This will look different for each situation, but hopefully you get the idea of taking that first step to get started.I will always believe in the importance of planning but also encourage everyone to keep their senses attuned to the potential of over planning and working against your longer term outcome. Balancing your planning time with activities that will actually move you closer to your desired result will ensure that you find the destination that you seek.What are some small, first steps you can take to get started on your most important project today? Click here or on the comments button above to share your thoughts.Photo by Danielle MacInnes on Unsplash