How to create a working plan

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The right plan will help solve many problems. It can also help make your life exactly the way you want it to be. But making a plan isn't always an easy task. Therefore, we have prepared some detailed tips for you.

As you try to make sense of your life, you are faced with a problem. Or maybe you just want to organize your day. And these are just a couple of examples when you need a plan. In fact, there can be an infinite number of reasons. At first glance, making a plan can seem like a very daunting task. But with a little hard work, a couple of handy tools, a little creativity, and you can come up with a good plan for achieving your goals.

Method one. Create a plan for the day

1. Sit down with a piece of paper

This can be a notebook, exercise book, or a blank document on your computer. Choose what is convenient for you. Make a list of what you need to accomplish in a day. List every meeting and arrangement you have. What are your goals for the day? Do you want to play sports, or, on the contrary, is it a day of relaxation? What tasks do you absolutely need to complete?

2. Make yourself a schedule

What time should you finish your first assignment or project? Write down every little thing, starting with the one you need to do first, then the next, and so write the schedule for the whole day. Make sure you haven't forgotten anything. Of course, every day is different, and therefore every day the plan will be different. The basic plan might look like this:

• 09: 00-10: 00 - get to the office, check your mail, answer letters.
• 10: 00-11: 30 - meeting with Max and Katya.
• 11: 30–12: 30 - project number 1.
• 12: 30–13: 15 - lunch (healthy food!).
• 13: 15–14: 30 - analysis of project number 1, meet with Sergey and discuss project number 1.
• 14: 30-16: 00 - project number 2.
• 16: 00-17: 00 - start project number 3, prepare things for tomorrow.
• 17: 00-18: 30 - leave the office, go to the gym.
• 18: 30–19: 00 - go for groceries.
• 19: 00–20: 30 - cook dinner, rest.
• 20: 30–… - to the cinema with Masha.

3. Reorient yourself every hour

It is very important to take advantage of the opportunity after a certain amount of time to analyze how productive you have been during that time. Have you done everything you needed to do? Then give yourself a moment to reboot, close your eyes and relax. This will effectively move you to the next task you need to complete.

4. Analyze your day

When you're done with most of your day, take a moment to see if you're sticking to your plan. Have you finished everything that was planned? Where did you go wrong? What worked and what didn't? What distracts you, and how can you deal with the distraction in the future?

Method two. Create a plan for life

1. Create general goals that you want to achieve in your life

How do you want to develop? What do you want to achieve in your life? Think of it as a “life list”. Remember the movie Knockin 'on Heaven? This is exactly what the list of life is. These should be exactly the goals that you really want to achieve, and not the ones that you think are necessary. It is sometimes useful to categorize goals for better visualization. Categories can be, for example, the following:

• career;
• trips;
• family / friends;
• health;
• finance;
• knowledge;
• spirituality.

The goals can be, for example:

• Write and publish a book.
• Visit every continent.
• Create a family.
• Lose weight by 10 kilograms.
• Save money for the education of my children.
• Finish the institute.
• Learn more about Buddhism.

2. Create some specific goals with a specific due date

Now that you have general goals that you want to achieve in your life, it's time to create some specific goals. And be sure to set a date for the goal. A couple of examples:

• Submit the book to 30 editions by June 2016.
• Travel to South America in 2015 and Asia in 2016.
• Have a weight of 70 kilograms in January 2015.

3. Assess your reality and where you are right now

Be honest with yourself and really appreciate your current life. Using the goals you have listed, evaluate where you are right now. For example, your goal is to publish a book, specifically, send it to publishers in June 2016. Now, you only have half of the manuscript, and you're not sure if you like the first half.

4. Decide how you will achieve your goals

What steps will you take to be able to achieve your goals? Identify the steps you need to take and write them down. For example, for our book from today until November 2014, we need:

• re-read the first half of the book;
• finish writing your book;
• rework aspects of the book that I don't like;
• editing grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc.;
• give it to picky friends to read;
• find publishers who will review my book;
• send the manuscript to publishers.

5. Write down the steps to achieve your goals

You can do this in any format you like best - handwritten, on a computer, or draw. Congratulations! You have just created your life plan.

6. Review and adjust your plan

Like everything in this world, your life will change, and your goals may change too. What was important to you at 12 may not be that important when you are 22 or 42. And it's okay to change your life plan, because it shows that you are aware of the changes that are taking place in your life.

Method three. Solve problems with a plan

Part one: defining the problem

1. Understand the problem you are facing

Sometimes the hardest part of making a plan is that you don't know what the problem is. Often the problem we are faced with creates a few more problems. Trouble, as they say, does not come alone. What you need to do is find the source of the problem. And that's exactly what you need to deal with.

Your mom won't let you spend four weeks with a friend in a mountain hut. This is a problem, but where is the source of this problem? You got a B in algebra. And this is exactly the reason why your mom does not let you go to a friend for the holidays. And this deuce is exactly the problem that you need to solve.

2. Determine what result you hope to achieve by solving your problem

What goal do you hope to achieve by solving the problem? Focus on achieving your goal. The rest will come naturally.

Your goal is to improve your math grade to at least a four. In parallel with this, as you improve your knowledge of mathematics, you hope that your mom will send you to a friend for the holidays.

3. Find out why this problem occurs

Which of your habits contributed to the problem? Take some time to analyze the causes of the problem.

Your problem is that you got a C in math. Consider what could have led to this: maybe you talked a lot with a friend in class. Or they didn't do their homework in the evenings because of soccer practice, for example.

4. Consider the external factors contributing to the problem

Many problems arise because of any of your actions. But do not forget about external factors working against you. Let's look at an example. You got a bad math grade that needs to be corrected. The reason for this may be a lack of understanding of the teacher's explanations on the topic, rather than what you said with a friend.

Part two: find a solution and create a plan

1. Find several possible solutions to your problem

You can simply write down all the possible options on a piece of paper or use one of the brainstorming methods. Such, for example, as a mental map. Whichever method you choose, you must consider both possibilities for the problem: your fault and factors beyond your control.

Solving the problem of communicating with a friend in the lesson:

• Sit as far away from your friends as possible in class.
• Explain to your friends that you are not absorbing information in the lesson and that you are getting poor grades. So you need to focus on the lesson.
• If you are sitting in your assigned seat, ask the teacher to transplant you so you can focus better.

Solving the homework problem due to soccer practice:

• Do some of your homework at lunchtime or during your break. This leaves you with less work for the evening.
• Stick to a routine. After training, you should have dinner and do your homework. Encourage yourself to watch TV after you finish your homework.

Solving the problem of not understanding algebra:

• Let a classmate help you, who can clarify all the points you do not understand.
• Ask your teacher for help. Explain that you do not understand the material and need further explanation.
• Practice math with a tutor.

2. Create a plan

So you've brainstormed and figured out what your problem is. Now choose the most effective solutions to the problem, in your opinion, and write down a plan for yourself. Hang the plan somewhere where you'll see it most often. Your plan to improve your math level should look like this:

Improvement plan within four weeks

1. Tell Katya that I can't talk to her in class. If this does not help, then change seats from her.
2. Every Tuesday and Thursday do homework at lunchtime. This leaves me with fewer tasks to do after training.
3. Take a math elective every Monday and Wednesday. Goal: After four weeks, improve your level from a C to a minimum of C.

3. Analyze the first week

Have you done everything that you planned? Have you been successful? What mistakes have you made? By doing good analysis, you can avoid mistakes later on.

4. Don't lose motivation

Stick to your plan until you reach your goal. Don't stop halfway. If you don't stick to the plan one day, make sure it doesn't happen again. If you see that this plan is not working, think about what is wrong with it and write a new plan.