Whether you love it or hate it, a solid planning process gives you the foundations on which to build the business and life of your dreams.

A repeatable planning process provides a container in which you can house your dreams and vision, take stock of where you’re at and what you’ve accomplished, break down into steps what you’d like to get done in the next time period, prioritise, and schedule in what’s happening and when.  It gives you the framework to actually get the stuff done that you want to do, as well as providing spaciousness and clarity on an ongoing basis.

If you hate planning it’s probably because you don’t yet have a process which works for you and your unique personality. Planning can work for all personality types.

6 reasons planning might not work for you.

1. You don’t have a repeatable, enjoyable process (yet!)

Trying to reinvent the wheel every time you want to make a plan, adds to decision fatigue. It also wastes precious time and energy.  There’s a likelihood that you won’t be able to find the information to refer back to. If indeed, you bother at all!  With a repeatable yet ever-evolving planning process, you will be mentally filling it in as you go. It’ll be half-filled before you even sit down to write it.  You’ll learn exactly where each piece of information is, so you know exactly where to refer back to when you’re reviewing your plan.  It’s imperative that your planning process and subsequent plan feels good to you. It needs to be enjoyable, because frankly, life is supposed to be fun and why bother with something that’s boring or restrictive!

2. You hate to be constrained.

We’re freedom seeking beings and feeling restricted or restrained is stifling and sucks the life force from us.  It’s little wonder we rebel!  A good planning process enables flexibility, spaciousness, self-compassion, fun, big dreams, acknowledgement, and clarity. If a planning process is making you feel constrained, it’s not a very good planning process!

3. You over plan.

There can be a tendency to put too much in your plan and leave no room to respond to the natural cycles of life, and the inspirations and opportunities which arise as we go. It’s important to factor in a decent amount of white space. Also to be realistic about how long things take and what can be achieved in a given time period. 

4. You’re too rigid.

You wrote it in your plan so you HAVE to do it.  Not true. Life happens and our plans are not there to beat ourselves with if we don’t get everything done when we say we will. Our plans are ever-evolving and serve as our guide, not as our own personal dictator!  Learning to be flexible with our plan and to course-correct as we go is an exercise in self-compassion.  Changing the plan is often the next right step.  Giving ourselves permission to do so can be liberating.  There are always consequences to changing the plan, and so long as we consider them and make mindful decisions, changing the plan is all part of the process.

5. You think ‘I never do what I say I will, so there’s no point.’

It’s unlikely that this is actually true and a good planning process will help you to see that.  If it is true, then a planning process and plan could help you to begin to show up for, and keep your word to yourself.

6. You don’t realise you’re harnessing the law of attraction in the process.

Playing with the law of attraction is fun and helps you to consciously create your reality.  A good planning process helps you to spend regular time focusing on and basking in your dreams, acknowledging what you want more of, and what you’ve already accomplished. You’ll beam this out into the universe with clarity in the present moment, and welcome more of the same or better!  It helps you to soothe yourself into a better feeling place when you’re out of alignment and to re-find your balance and steadiness when times are tough.

If any of these things are going on for you, with a new perspective, a desire for more, and a little focus, you can tweak or change them. You can begin to harness the power of planning and bring your dreams to reality steadily and surely.

If you’d like to experience the joys of planning, I can give you a process as a starting point, take you through it, and show you the power of planning.  Book a no-obligation call to chat about whether working together would benefit you and your business. 

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash