Plan Every Day in Advance

By Bill Kerzman, Director, PATH Family Institute

            Many people use the excuse that they “do not know what tomorrow may bring” to avoid this task.  However, the very act of thinking and planning unlocks mental powers, triggers creativity, and increases emotional and physical energies.  In scouting we often ask the boys, “How do you eat an elephant?”  The answer is, “One bite at a time!”  How true this is!  Remember, every minute spent in planning saves as many as ten minutes in execution!

·        Proper prior planning prevents pitifully poor performance.  Enough said.

·        Work from a list whenever possible.  It is okay to have a master list for your goals, and then break this down further.  There are people who have quarterly, monthly, weekly and daily lists they transfer tasks to as a way of reviewing and focusing for the timeframe ahead.

·        Remember the 80/20 principle – this is also known as the Pareto Principle.  This principle states that 20 percent of your activities will account for 80 percent of your results.  As Brian Tracy states, “One item on a list of ten tasks that you have to do can be worth more than all the other nine items put together.” This is inevitably the task you should prioritize and stay focuses on.

·        Avoid the trap of “clearing up small things” first – this is a temptation that has the illusion of accomplishment.  However, those little things will take your focus off the main goals and you will find that there are always many little things that replace them on the list… working on the little things will always keep you focused on the little things and not your major goals.

·        Motivate yourself – time management is really life and personal management.  Effective, productive people discipline themselves to start on the most important task that is before them.  For many of us in human services, this is about relationships, connections and communication.  Staying focused on inner and middle circles of influence and those relationships can be critical in the people helping professions.

·        Consider the consequences:  your most important tasks and priorities are those that can have the most serious consequences and impacts, positive or negative, on your life or work. Focus on these above all else.