The Link Between Goals & Plans
We hear a lot about goal-setting. But a goal is just the mission. It’s only part of what we need.
Plans create a strategy to accomplish the mission. And that’s the part that’s often missing.
- Plans provide structure.
- Plans narrow down when and how things are done.
- Plans keep you on the right course.
- Plans give you mile markers to measure your progress.
- Plans give you solid details to review, revise and replace.
But that’s only if you have them.
A lot of people take the “freedom” of freelancing too far when it comes to planning. They don’t develop strategies and they don’t make schedules.
If you aren’t willing to plot your course and allocate time to taking the necessary steps along that course, you’re under-committed.
You aren’t trying to succeed. You’re hoping to succeed.
People who don’t plan are less focused and less productive. They waste a lot of time spinning wheels and veering off course. They waste a lot of time figuring out where to start and what to do next.
When you don’t have plans, nothing has to be done any given way or at any specific time. Whatever you feel, you do. And whenever it’s finished, then it’s done.
There’s no timeline. There’s no commitment required. And there’s no accountability. All of these are things that push goals out on the horizon, then out of sight.
Furthermore, when you don’t plan, you’re inviting problems. People who invite problems volunteer to get sidetracked. They choose to put unnecessary barriers between themselves and what they want.
Ultimately, lack of planning means you’re more likely to get out-hustled and it increases your risk of failing.
Success cannot be expected from arbitrary action.
So if you have a goal, and it’s something you sincerely want to accomplish, step up your commitment, plan a way to achieve it.
