To me, there are five main reasons why I plan my days, months, and years.
- More clarity — When I don’t know what to do, I procrastinate, waste my time, and feel bad.
- Saves time — When I think about what I want to do in advance, I’m more effective.
- Boosts creativity — Planning helps me come up with more creative things to do in my life. It also helps me come up with creative solutions to my challenges.
- Momentum — Planning helps me keep moving forward, so I hardly ever get stuck.
- Better thinking — The process of planning forces you to think hard about what you want to do, and how you’re going to do it. That will improve your thinking skills.
There’s one caveat to planning that I want to get out of the way before we get into the process. You can plan life and set goals, but you can’t control outcomes. In fact, planning has nothing to do with control — it has everything to do with getting started.
