A quote from Benjamin Franklin, if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail. This is an impeccable message, yet we still fail to grasp its significance. Similarly, as we all can observe without a plan there is a huge potential to fail but with a solid and strategic plan, we have more chances to succeed.
The essence of planning is it will give you the purpose, offers control and helps reduce the impact of entropy. This is the real value of Benjamin Franklin’s quote. Planning takes time. It is important to know the project purpose and what is it intended to accomplish, before you can commence in the development of your plan.
To get started here is a simple guide.
The American Management Association has this guide questions in getting started.
- What is the purpose of the project?
- What results do you want from the project?
- What is the timeframe or deadline for this project?
- What resources will be available for this project? People? Budget?
- Has a similar project been done before and are there records or guidelines?
- How important is this project in relation to other assignments?
- What are the consequences of doing a good job or a poor job on this project?
To sum up, answering all these questions helps to clarify the objectives. Once this is established, measure the end results using the SMART approach.
S – Specific
M- Measurable
A – Assignable / Attainable
R- Realistic
T- Time-bound / Time related
Following this approach almost guarantees your success in whatever undertaking you want to indulge in. So it is very crucial to choose to plan every time. Choose success over failure. Remember, If you fail to plan you are planning to fail. Start planning now.
Let us help you in planning, use the LP planner and you will never have to worry about planning everything in your life.
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