I rarely complete my goals and plans within the timeframe I set for myself.
I’m bad at “guessing” how long things take me. So, I end up planning ahead based on some unrealistic deadline that will never fly for me.
Sometimes I just get bored with whatever I set up for myself in advance. At times I venture to try something different, or approach the same idea other than what I planned for.
But, I realize, it’s often that I have a lot going on in my life—most of which occurs as a surprise that “throws a wrench in the works” (or however the saying goes).
Instead of holding myself to some rigid plan I set up during a different time than what I’m currently experiencing, I prepare for each project in advance, but I keep things flexible.
I utilized sticky notes so they could be moved around back when I used paper. And now that I use a digital notebook, I can still move things around as needed.
But there’s more to it than just the tools and methods we use to plan. There’s also our differing brains to consider.
Every brain is different.
My brain is one that won’t do anything unless instructions are "on paper" first. My body is on board: When I don’t have a plan to wake up to, I’m in a worse mental and sometimes physical state.
I’m work-motivated.
Say, one of my kids asks me to wake them early. I’m more likely to be able to get up for them when I have a professional goal set as foundational motivation. (The other side is: I tell them they can set their own alarm, and I can maybe serve as backup.)
Oh, don’t get me wrong, there’s always plenty to do, but if it’s not recorded, I get too overwhelmed to move forward. I have to write things down, then create a framework around the expectations I’ve set for myself.
Okay: I know I've written about habit-building (I’ll share a revamped version next week) and having daily themes being motivators as well, but they’re not springboards, they’re infrastructure.
First, consider how your brain functions.
What motivates you?
Does a “loosey-goosey” plan float your boat? No plan at all? (You probably didn’t start reading this post, if so.) Or a high-detail plan (that you may or may not set a hard deadline on)?
Once you’ve noted your motivation and detail-level of planning, let’s focus on your growth infrastructure. Let's start with what I like to call my "Preview Plan."