“Failing to plan is planning to fail”
Have you heard this quotation before? I’d heard various takes on this idea before but I was introduced to this theory in depth this time last year when I was part of a blogging mastermind group with Jess and Blair. They are both pretty fanatical about this motto.
I’m here today to attest to this principle. When I’ve got a plan, things generally run smoothly. Without one, I fall into the trap of “being busy”. You know, working for hours but not really getting anything of consequence done. As I’ve worked to implement this principle into my life, I’ve discovered more and more proof that it is true.
The truth behind “Failing to plan is planning to fail” has only become more and more apparent to me since having a baby. Those little time-suckers will take up every waking second on your day plus some if you let them đŸ˜‰ Not working traditional hours means that I have an open framework for my days. For me, the lack of structure isn’t a good thing. However after months of trial, error, and sleepless nights, I’ve developed my own framework that allows me to plan out my weeks ensuring that things both big and small get done.
My September 30 day challenge is a great example of this principle in action. I knew that I needed 30 days’ worth of content, no if’s and’s or buts about it. It seemed like a huge goal upfront but once I made a plan, it was much more manageable. 30 days means 4 weeks. Each week had 2-3 fashion category posts, then one post for each beauty, motherhood, lifestyle, and shopping category. I was able to do one big brainstorming session for the month based on those categories, then fill in the month week by week. From there it was much easier to plan shoots and what images I needed, etc.
But I also find this principle at work for smaller tasks in my life as well. On days when I have a list of tasks and assign them a time slot in my day, they are more likely to get done. It’s as little as telling myself “during Teddy’s first nap I’m going to unload the dishwasher and make a grocery list. Once he’s up, we’ll go to the store. During his second nap, I’ll edit photos.” Without having that plan in place BEFORE my day starts, it’s easy to spin my wheels all day and get nothing accomplished. Or worse, get halfway on one task then start another but leave it halfway done. You see where I’m going with this.
As a list person, I used to think that just having a list of tasks was sufficient but I’ve since realized otherwise. Assigning time slots to tasks has made a HUGE difference in my actual output. It amazes me that just that little change has had such a big impact on my days and workload. Try it out and let me know if it works for you.
Until next time,
Ana Luiza
