Are you tired of working without getting any significant result? Are you tired of losing focus on your goals? Or of remaining stagnant despite the hours of work you put in?
If your answers to the above questions are positive, then chances are the root of your stagnancy and lack of productivity is also lack of planning.
Planning gives you an edge over everyone else. It prepares you for what to do when things don’t work out as expected.
I wasn’t the planning type myself, but I knew I definitely had to adopt this helpful habit.
Here are 7 reasons why planning is actually a must-do for anyone who wants to make any significant achievement.
1. It gets you prepared.
The first reason you would want to consider planning as your default setting, is that it prepares you for what’s going to happen.
Things don’t always work out in life, but with planning you can prepare for what to do whenever something unexpected happens. You can say it serves as a backup, so that you don’t remain hanging, not knowing what actions to take next.
Now what I mean is that, it prepares you and creates backup for those moments when life tries to run you over. Planning gives you the chance to prepare for opportunities even before they happen, making you ready to do things and do them well.
2. It gives you an edge.
If planning gets you prepared, then that surely gives an edge over everyone else because you have already anticipated everything and every move at the drawing board.
I think it is safe to say you have been in this way longer (that is through practicing and planning, of course) than your competitors have, making you more experienced and more suitable for the job position or whatever you have been planning for.
It gets you to another level and it doesn’t stop there. This powerful practice makes you a master of whatever you are into, because you don’t just go at it anyhow, but with precision and well coordinated tactics that do not require too much effort.
Even athletes have game plans that allow them to consistently change the approach towards different encounters in the game. Thus, giving them an edge over those who go at it head-on and without a game plan.
3. It helps you save time.
I know this one is a real problem for some people.
Haven’t you wondered why you seem to never have enough time for your job, family or yourself?
Well, it’s because you have been missing something – planning.
People who plan, manage their time very well because they allocate different time for different things.
But if you just go with the flow (which is a good skill when talking about finding peace, being happy and practicing acceptance, but not in terms of productivity and work), you’ll end living your life without accomplishing anything no matter how much time you spend on it.
That’s how lack of planning leads to waste of time.
4. It keeps you focused.
Another important reason for you to plan is that it keeps you focused and free from distractions, and increases your concentration.
When you are overwhelmed with every single aspect of life (friends, social media, social activities and so on), you are most certainly in need of planning.
I’m not saying that getting involved in activities isn’t good. But when you don’t have a specific goal or something you want to achieve as a result of them, you will end up tearing yourself apart and never really accomplishing anything.
Planning makes sure that there is a specific reason why you do what you do.
5. It prepares you for making the best career decisions.
Because planning keeps you concentrated on an end goal, it will also help with choosing a successful career.
When you plan and consider what you enjoy doing and how good you are at doing it, you can successfully take your decision.
It also lets you compare the career you want to choose and its income levels with your present and future needs, making you know how hard or less hard you are going to work to meet those needs.
6. It helps in achieving success.
Due to the fact that you planned extensively before choosing your career, you will have a good one.
When you plan on how you run your career life, you find out that you will move up progressively in your business/career. Over time, you will find yourself among the people at the top of your field.
A well- thought out plan will make even the smallest of businesses attain a great amount of profit at the end of the day without having to break a sweat.
7. Planning strengthens other key parts of life, such as family.
Planning is even closely related to having a good family life.
Family planning is one the most important of them all, because it all begins with the family.
So when planning, make sure you plan for your loved ones too.
When you plan for family, it reduces costs. Meaning, you save more if you know the number of kids you want to have, and the number that you know your wallet/bank account can feed, provide for and meet their every need.
It’s not just about financial needs, but also emotional needs. Planning helps you provide the child with an emotionally healthy environment to grow up in.
About the author:
This is a guest post by David Odinegun of Dream Chase Achieve, a writer and an aspiring programmer.
