Why don’t we plan more often??

Why is it that we spend more time planning a holiday than planning how we will write a letter or produce a spreadsheet that we, along with others, will rely on for information and decision-making?

Many people will create an Excel spreadsheet, enter data and pass it on to someone else. The next person will enter some data in or make changes. Before you know it, mistakes have happened, formulas are incorrect and as a result data is wrong.

The common reaction is finger-pointing. But the reality is that in our busy world no one has the time to go through an Excel spreadsheet and check every single formula. What we need to do instead is set up our documentation with the goal of securing our data to minimise risk, simplify input and create efficiencies.

Do we just want to throw something together that will serve a purpose? Whilst that might solve the problem right now, it doesn’t solve the problem in the future. In fact, it can make the output even worse and add lots of time to fix it.

We need to stop and plan for what our desired outcomes are.

Former English Prime Minister Winston Churchill is credited with saying: “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail”!

It’s important that we plan: plan the work we need to do, the time it will realistically take to do it and the resources we need to complete it.

THEN SCHEDULE IT INTO OUR CALENDAR!

Having a plan and working the plan will enable us to move forward and create processes and habits to ensure that we are more productive.

There are great benefits to planning. Five minutes saved each workday equates to two-and-a-half days per year. Turn that around to time lost and multiply it by a number of tasks and staff and, before you know it, hundreds of thousands of dollars in productivity have been lost, and stress and frustration have increased.

The benefits of having clear outcomes are that you save time, and extra time results in increasing your productivity and reducing your stress.

So, what are you going to plan to achieve this week?

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