One thing I have noticed of late is that I am very good at planning, just not so good at following the plan through. My to-do list often looks a little like this:
- Make to-do list
- Plan housework
- Plan relaxation time
- Plan planning time
While it is all well and good to have a schedule and a plan to get things done, it is no good if all you do is plan. This ‘busy work’, while it may seem productive, can actually be a waste of time. When you spend so much time planning you run out time to follow your plan, you’ve gone too far. My father always told me, “Prior preparation prevents piss-poor performance”, but sometimes we get so caught up in the preparation, there is no performance to be had. I am going to add one more step to my to-do list:
- Follow the plan
Or better yet –
- Just do it!
Do you get caught up in the planning stages too? What are your thoughts on planning, scheduling and to-do lists? Do they actually make you more productive, or just give you the feeling of productivity? I would love to hear your thoughts!
MummaLish 
I try to avoid planning anything these days. When I plan to do things something always gets in the way in the end, so I give up planning anything.
I like making lists though… not saying they work, but I like making them!!
MC x
#teamIBOT
I agree! If I just do things spontaneously, I get more done. It seems the moment I take the time to plan something, there will always be something to stop it happening!
LOL! last night i did some research on time management and organisational skills and then tonight i found this through my weekly IBOT schedule. It’s like you take the first step in organisation but can’t go past that. You know what needs to be done but can’t do it. I know how you feel. I’m like that a lot. Especially if I couldn’t be bothered really or i’m really tired and would prefer to do what i really want which is sit at my favorite cafe and talk to people, search the net, blog or whatever else.
Yes, yes, yes!!! Knowing what needs to be done is the easy part, it’s the putting it into practise part that I struggle with! A happy coincidence with timing, glad you found me 🙂
I too am great at planning not so great at follow through…..my dad was always a gonna you know I’m gonna do this but he never actually got around to it….I am working hard on planning to follow my plan xx great post 🙂
I worry that I am a gonna too! I think I need to review my goals and break them into smaller, actionable steps so I can actually work towards completing them! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Planning is the easy part. Executing the plan seems to be the difficult part. I’m trying to use the fun things in the plan as reward for actually getting the not so enjoyable parts started, and even better yet if they get completed! I have a distraction issue that can sidetrack me and send me off on a totally different tangent. Doesn’t always work out for the best 😉
Hello old friend!! I was just thinking of you yesterday, but then I got distracted 😦 Good to see you again! I love the idea of incorporating rewards into the plan, it always seems so de-motivating to think “I have to get this entire list finished before I can do anything fun.” Maybe I need to schedule in fun stuff to break up the monotony of the list, thank you!
You’re welcome! And belated hello back… I’ve got a post in the works about losing something … it’ll be up soon I hope. The thing I like most about this reward is that it doesn’t necessary involve the outlay of cash. Just a good time! Catch you soon 🙂
My biggest problem is procrastination!! Is that the same as planning to plan?? Probably, lol #IBOT
Totally hearing you there!! Thinking “yep, I need to do this, this and this”, but then being unable to actually get up and do those things. Or the old “I’ll just do this first”, next minute you’ve done 3 or 4 this’s and still no closer to doing your actual tasks! Argh!!! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Having a list of action definitely helps me, BUT if I misplace it or leave it somewhere else or get distracted by another task, it does me little good. I like planning because half the time I follow it. Just have to work on the other half 😉
I just write lots of lists. Sometimes that as far as my plan goes, but you’ve got to start somewhere!