Planning is one of those skills that can seriously change your life — at work, in your personal space, and anywhere. When everything goes as planned, it’s pure happiness. When it doesn’t, we feel down. The tips below will help you experience the former more often than the latter.
Play Games That Sharpen Planning Skills
Surprise! Playing games can actually help you get better at planning. You can play strategy games, casual games, Lili Bet Casino, and whatever else. Practically any gameplay includes planning.
Of course, some games are centered around career and personal plans. A fine example is time. It’s designed to teach you how to manage time, money, and long-term goals. You’ll make realistic plans, adapt when things change, and think ahead, just like in real life.
The overall idea is to make games part of your routine. You’ll certainly learn some tricks that come in handy.
Revise Each Plan Multiple Times
The first draft of a plan is usually a bit idealistic (because we like to think everything will go smoothly). But reality rarely matches our first ideas. So, the key is to revise your plan several times. Ask yourself, “What could go wrong?” or “What if I fail to complete this part?” The more you revise, the more prepared you’ll be to handle bumps.
Break Down Your Plan into Sub-Steps (And Add Alternatives)
Big plans are challenging to realize and too abstract. So the trick is to break them down into smaller, bite-sized sub-steps. Think about what exactly needs to happen to make each part of your plan a reality.
Then, add alternatives for each sub-step. For example, if step one is to contact a supplier but they don’t respond, what’s your backup? These alternatives will keep you from getting stuck when things don’t go perfectly.
Plan for Failure
Let’s be real — we cannot predict everything. It’s not exactly plan B that you need. Plan B is another plan. You, in turn, just need to think over the consequences of your initial plan’s failure. Is it super serious? Or will you manage it if everything goes wrong?
All this is necessary to reduce the pressure on you. On the contrary, if the plan’s realization is very important, you’ll work harder on it.
Outline Your Support Resources
Initially, you always assume that you will cope on your own. Hopefully, it’ll be, indeed, so. But what if not? You need to, at least, keep some support resources in mind. For every sub-step, think about who or what may help you if needed. This may be
- expert’s advice
- specific tools
- practical help
- more budget, etc.
It’s also smart to have backup resources in case your first choice isn’t available. For example, if you’re planning a project at work, list people who will back up those already responsible for the tasks.
Ask Friends or Colleagues for Their Planning Know-Hows
Many of us have that one friend or colleague who’s amazing at planning (you know, the one who seems to have everything under control).
Great! Let’s ask them for their tips and tricks. People who are great at something often have little strategies that aren’t obvious, and they’ll be happy to share what works for them.
Evaluation Your Plans
This strategy is mainly relevant for long-term plans. Life changes, priorities shift, and unexpected things happen. So yes, if you have plans for a year or more, do check in with them every once in a while. Sometimes, it may even turn out that you’ll be more comfortable if you give this plan up because you are no longer interested in the goals behind it.
Bonus Checklist for Your Plan: How Good Is It?
- Is the plan tied to a specific goal?
- Are the steps realistic?
- Is the timeline realistic?
- Are there soft deadlines?
- Are there sub-steps?
- Are there alternatives for sub-steps?
- Can you easily change parts of the plan?
- Does it include support resources?