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Detailed Plans
Why You have to make Detailed Plans
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You have made a plan with all you want in life, including all your goals and all that has to be done to reach your goals and get all you want. You have a priority list upon which you have determined what to do first and what next.
Do always have the end result in your mind, but during day follow your detailed plans. The importance of detailed plans is to know exactly what to do next and to control what you have achieved during the day.
The difference between you major plan and detailed plans is the same as when you prepare to go with your car from Town A to Town D, which is the major plan. You might have to cross one or more countries and pass by several cities and your travel might be planned for several days or more. Your major plan is the basis for the detailed plans. In each of the detailed plans you determine how to get from one point on the route to the next, from Town A to the next bigger city, from there to the next bigger city.
Don’t go too much into detail in your major plan. Go into more detail in your first sub-plan (= short or medium term plan). In that plan you might mention the little villages and some of the sights on the way and consider to stop to see some of them. You have to take that into your time-planning.
The same you do with planning - long, medium and short term and all plans for each single goal and each single aspect of your life. Here you go into detail. Just think that while you pursue to earn a certain amount of money in a certain period of time, you have to also make notes taking time for family and friends, for sports, recreation and a lot of other stuff that might not be considered otherwise. I am again and again pointing out to always look at all aspects of your life.
But there is so much to see and experience as you travel through the country and from one interesting city to the next picturesque village. You might want to stay longer as formerly planned. Don’t. Determine a certain time you stay at each point where you want to go see something or stop for a bite.
The same happens in life and it happens often. You might want to stay longer at a party as to go home and prepare for a meeting. Or worse: The next thing on your to-do-list could be postponed. What happens is that it will take you longer to reach your goals. Let me tell you, if you start to postpone things, no matter what reason you have for it, you will do it again and again. Remember, that what you do often becomes a habit. Make it a habit to move on, when the time you set for something is over. If will make you be in front of others and - most important - it is an important part of your goal setting to reach your goals.
Of course it will happen at times that you will fully focus on something and have no time for anything else, but a few hours to sleep. You might visit a course every evening after work and come home and prepare for the next day of the course. Those circumstances should not become the rule. Don’t usually focus on your work around the clock, you might end up alone or, if you are in a partnership, lose your partner.
Example for major plan and detailled plans:
Let us assume you want to make your own website or blog. To do that you have to - first learn some basics,
- get software,
- get to know the software,
- write the first post,
- publish the post
- market the post
To market a blog will be an own detailed plan and each single post can be quite time consuming.
It often is impossible to fix a specific time from the moment you have a new idea until you have achieved the final goal.
I suggest you set a certain period of time per day to do what it takes to achieve your next goal on your detailed plan. On the plan for that specific goal make subtitles -
1. What you have to do daily
2. Time for family and friends,
3. Sports,
4. Time for fun
5. Time for recreation
and so on.
Stick with your detailed plan
In the evening before leaving your desk go through your detailed plan and cross out what you have done. It gives you a nice feeling seeing what you have accomplished in a few hours of work. You could also make a few notes what to do next morning, with what you will start and what you will do next.
Early in the morning, before you start to work, have a look at your detailed plan and at the notes you made in the evening.
Stick with you detailed plan and don’t let anyone or anything sidetrack you. What you do first is what you have planned to do first for that day. Do it and fully focus on it. As you have finished, cross out this point on your detailed plan and on your notes for the day and then start doing the next thing that has to be done. Focus fully on it. And so on.
If you have a problem to stop with your work to then have time to workout before you share dinner with family or friends, set a timer. Make it a habit to stop when the timer rings. Set the timer early enough that there is enough time to look at your plan and see what you have achieved and make notes what you have to do next day.
What to do to not get sidetracked
1. Phone Calls
Set a certain time when you answer phone calls. Switch the ringtone of your phone off after the time is over and have it on during the time you take calls.
- When something is important the caller will leave a message or write an email.
- Have a call-answering company or a secretary to take your calls and make notes. Some of the calls might be handled by the answering clerk, which saves you a lot of time that you can use for something more important. Some of the callers might just have a quick question, which you can answer while the answering clerk or secretary makes notes and calls back the person, who had the question.
When you make calls during working hours keep it short and tell the other person that you have to get back to work.
2. Emails
Set a certain time you go through emails. First scan them for important emails and after you answered or handled them, quickly go through the rest. Do this thinking that you have more important things to do. Make notes if you want to read a blog post that is interesting, but not so important for the time being.
3. Personal Meetings
Set time frames for meeting people and, if someone shows up while you work, make it short and tell the person that you have to finish something very important on time and have him/her leave, telling him/her to meet with him/her some other time.
4. Getting too deep into details
If you have to learn or read something you might get too deep into details, which might not help you to get on. Tell yourself that you need to get on. Make a note to read it some other time. You will see that some of this stuff seems not any more so important in a few days and if it still is, read it. You will see that you will save a lot of time not immediately reading every thing that seems to be important.
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