Plan the Work and Work the Plan

Many of us are used to goal setting, determining what we want to get done and by when. And, some of us are good at breaking that goal into its composite steps and even creating a timeline for each task to be completed. Why then, do we fall short of achieving the goal?

The reason tends to fall into one of four buckets:

1. Not making the time — What I often see with my clients is that they’ve got a calendar full of meetings and a laundry list of things to do each day. They’ve even taken the time to prioritize the tasks. The missing ingredient? Blocking time on their calendar for the tasks. By this I mean not simply carving out an hour to “Work on Project A” but determining how much time it will take to accomplish the tasks you’ve associated with Project A and plotting those onto your calendar. In this way, when you get to that time on your calendar, you’ll know exactly what you need to be focusing on.
2. Underestimating how long things take to do — This is particularly true when we look at less specific blocks such as “Work on Project A.” I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard someone say, “I really thought I would have made more progress than this.” By creating discrete time blocks (e.g. 15 minutes to gather X,Y,Z data about Vendor 1), you can begin to learn how long things really take you.
3. Allowing yourself to get distracted — You’ve reached the point in your day when you are supposed to research Vendor 1. You’ve got your specific list of questions about the vendor that you are looking to get answered. When you go to their website, you see an interesting link to a case study they’ve just published. Interesting, yes. Critical to answering your list of questions, no. And yet, you begin reading the document anyway. When the alarm goes off at the end of your allocated 15 minutes, you’re surprised that not only have you not finished reading the case study, you’ve not answered a single question on your list.
4. Getting frustrated — Let’s say you’ve completed the research on the 5 vendors and you’re moving into the phase of preparing a recommendation but there is no clear “winner.” Each have different attributes. You could expand the list of questions and go back and do more research — but that feels like an exercise in futility. You could present pro’s and con’s of each and hope that the committee doesn’t recognize that you’ve skirted the task of making a recommendation — but that feels like a career limiting choice. So, set it aside, hoping an answer will come to you. Instead, this is where inviting in a thought partner can help you gain clarity. Perhaps you meet with the committee to determine if there is a ranking or weighting among the various attributes. Perhaps speaking with the project sponsor to understand the intention behind the project will offer insights. In any event, recognizing that you are frustrated, working to identify the root of the frustration, and soliciting advice and counsel, will see you navigating your way through the frustration.

As you “plan the work,” take time to prepare for these progress inhibitors. When you know that they are likely to happen at some point in your efforts toward your goal, you can proactively work to mitigate them.

These preemptive moves can be the difference in accomplishing your goals. And, if you find yourself not making progress on your objectives, this list can offer you insight into where you’re getting stuck and what to do about it.