The Plan

“Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes; but no plans.”

Peter Drucker

Sometimes you just need a plan.  Before you can plan you have to have two other things: 

1.     You have to know what you want.

2.     You have to be committed to it no matter what. 

What does this mean then with regard to the rest of your life?  It means everything else goes or is reduced in scope.  This isn’t as hard as it sounds, but it isn’t easy either.   As you commit and work towards your plan, you may find that certain parts of your life will just drop off naturally.  Things that once mattered will no longer matter at all.  They will just vanish or at least be greatly reduced.

Other things will be a little more difficult.  For example, if your plan doesn’t include your current job, but you can’t quit, you don’t have the luxury of working your plan while you’re being paid to work your job.  So if you’re starting a new business, you don’t get to make 100 copies of your work plan on the office copier. 

What this means then is that you will have to use your time very wisely.  Minutes count because they quickly turn into hours.  You might be amazed at how productive 15 well-used minutes can be.  Four of those a day will give you five to seven extra hours of productivity per week.  Five to seven hours is a lot of time.

Here are some questions to ask that may guide you:

·      Can I get up 15-60 minutes earlier a day?

·      Can I listen to motivational or educational materials while driving instead of the Top 40 radio stations?

·      During my work breaks can I read or do something that will move me towards my Purpose?

·      Can I exercise more?

·       Are there ways I can do things more efficiently so I can spend more time towards reaching my goals?

·      Can I delegate some tasks to others?

Finally there will be some things you cannot or will choose not to let go.  Hopefully these will be connected to your Purpose, directly or indirectly.  Specifically, I am thinking about your closest relationships.  These should not be sacrificed because then your Purpose becomes something less meaningful. 

Once priorities have been established, it’s time to get to work.  Here are some more questions to consider:

·      What is your Goal?

·      What can you do each day to move closer to it?

·      What is really important to you?  Are you spending your time on that?

That’s it.  Really, this is simple:

·      Create your goal.

·      Work towards it no matter what, as much as possible and as often as possible.

·      Ignore or eliminate all distractions, problems, fears, and obstacles.

·      Get Started.

·      Keep Going.

·      When you have reached your goal, set a new one