5 Tips for successful planning

5 Tips on how to plan any project or ideas

IMAGE: CRM AUDIO

Welcome back bloggers! If you’ve read the previous blog I wrote about tips on how to get started with any project, you have probably decided to start on that project of yours as well. If you’re ready to move ahead and start on a project or idea that you have been thinking about for a long time- it’s time to now start planning for it.

But the next question you might have now is about - how do you logically plan a sequential process for the idea or project that you are working on so that it flows thoroughly from top to bottom?

Here are 5 tips to help you plan for any project or ideas that you may have:

Tip 1: Brain storm ideas

Brainstorming idea involves you pretty much writing anything down on a piece of paper, sticky note or anything you can write on about all the ideas you have about your project.

Planning can sometimes be messy, but first you have to pull all those ideas from your brain and start putting them into paper somewhere. When the ideas are out of your brain, then you be able to better to visualize and see how you can start sorting it out in a much easier form.

Here’s an example of a brainstorm could look like: 

IMAGE: The Data Visual Catalogue

Tip 2: Cluster the ideas and have subheadings for each of them

A masterpiece music from an Orchestra is not straight away written together in beautiful harmonic rhythm, instead it is written piece by piece in sequence till it all meshes up together. If a key or note needs to be adjusted to fit the other notes, then the composer will adjust it accordingly.

Clustering ideas together that are similar, can make it easier for you to distinguish what items have the same attributes and then you can move on to the next step of condensing the information you collected in a more sequential order.

Tip 3: Organize them in a sequential order and prioritize what needs to be done first

If you’re writing an essay in school, you might’ve remembered a formula which all English teachers would have taught you.

a.       Having an Introduction

b.       Having a Body or content of what you will talk about

c.        Having a conclusion to summarize and end your essay

In other words you can sort out the order of what your ideas are - by sorting it out in various ways that would make it logical for you.

It could be from lowest to highest, alphabetical, chronological, colour coded and many more so that you can start planning on what needs to come first and what can come last.

Tip 4: Have a time line and set goals

With whatever project you are making – it is also important for you to start setting goals for what you want to achieve and when you want to achieve them, otherwise you will procrastinate and it could take you forever to finish the task you intend for yourself without a time a time line to go with.

When setting goals, I would again recommend that you start to look for realistic goals and see the small steps first – so that you won’t feel overwhelmed of the BIGGER goals of what you intend to do for your project.

You may have heard of the acronym S.M.A.R.T when setting goals. Here’s what it looks like

Specific – What exactly do you want to achieve?

   Name it or name what they are.

   Know what it is you want to accomplish.

Measurable – How do you know that you have reached that goal?

Can you quantify the achievement you are trying to attain?

    
    Is it tangible or at least an approximate of what you want to finish?

Achievable – Is the goal something that can be completed?

This one to me can seem quite self-limiting, because I firmly believe that anything is possible, you just got to know how to get there.

Sometimes it might not be with your own strength that you will achieve the goal, but it might even be through another person who is more capable of helping you do it.

If you don’t give up – you will achieve anything that you want in life!

Realistic – Is the goal you want to achieve realistic?

This one might sound confusing from the previous point, but to put it clearly – is your goal realistic for you - for example, if you didn’t know how to Ice Skate – you might set a goal for yourself “I want to be able to start Ice Skating independently without support from anyone by next month”

An unrealistic goal would be “By tomorrow I would be able to start competing in the Olympics for Ice Skating” despite you not having any experience whatsoever.  

Setting realistic goals would mean that you give yourself time to grow in a period of time, to learn from your mistake, experience what you need to experience - in order to achieve your goal then get there.

So set realistic goals!

Timely – When do you want to complete your goal?

Just like the previous points, it’s really important for you to be able to put a time line in your goal – to ensure that you are keeping track

Tip 5: Start today – if not set a time of when to get started

Once you have all the other things I mentioned above – you can now get started on that project and start working at it.

You will now be able to visualize where you are at, how you plan to get there and also give yourself ample realistic time to get there.

Planning is about having a vision and laying it down so that you can get straight into it. Sometimes the process of planning can be complicated and to a certain point can even be overwhelming, but if you implement the tips I have provided for you above then it’s a good start in achieving your goal!

Hope you enjoyed this blog If you like this post, please share it on your social media - be sure to subscribe to keep up to date with all future blogs that I will write. I will write a blog each week to give you Tips to help you be Inspired, Motivated and Encouraged to keep becoming the better person that you are.

5 Tips on how to get started on any project

5 Tips on how to get started on any project

Image: Pexels

You’re probably reading this blog because you are someone who always thought about starting a project, business idea, writing a song, writing a book, blog, going to the gym or whatever it is you want to get started with - but have not managed to move anywhere with the vision you have and want a bit of tip on how to get started.

If you’re like me who found it hard to start anything before, I would like to share these 5 tips I learned on how to get started with anything. Take what you can from what I write and make use of it, as you see well fit for your circumstance.

Tip 1: Deciding to start today!

If you’ve been thinking about a concept in your head for such a very long time now, but haven’t managed to get anywhere with this idea, it’s time you decide to get started!

Getting started today does not mean that you will straight away start seeing results, but a good decision to start today may mean that you will put to action or in paper what you had in mind.

There’s no better time to start what you plan to do than today, postponing doing what you intend to do could mean anytime. It could be tomorrow, next week, next month, next year or sometimes NEVER!

So, if you’re done thinking about your vision and idea, get started and JUST DO IT! (Just like the trademark of Nike).

Tip 2: Not letting FEAR and FEAR OF MISTAKES hold you back from achieving anything

Often what can stop us from moving forward is fear. Fear is the enemy of productivity! If you want to unleash your potential, you need to break off from your fears and fear of mistakes and just start doing things making mistakes and learning from them.

Making mistakes may often be risky, however you need to weigh both the moral, benefit and legal consequences of what could occur with what project intend to start. If the risks are low or non-realistic (as some of our fears can often be imagined fears) then go for it.

You can learn from your mistakes and it’s the only way to get better with whatever you want to do. So break that wall of fear, make mistakes, but learn from them so that you can better grow as a person.

Henry Ford a Business Entrepreneur legend has stated:

“Whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re right”

It’s all about your mindset!

Tip 3: Taking the first step 

If you want to get to your destination, no matter how far it is, that only way to get the is taking the first step!

Small steps may seem insignificant and pointless at first– however smaller increments of steps are the only way you will get to your destination. You might not know it now, but along the way – you may find a horse that you can saddle on, a car that can drive you there or a plane that can propel you straight to where you want to get to - you get the point.

The point of making small steps also relates to Tip 2. As you move in your journey of achieving your goal, you will make mistakes, but these mistakes can also help push you to grow faster and better.

If you want learn how to play a song in an instrument, you have to first learn the different notes before you start piecing them together in a beautiful organized song. You get what I’m trying to tell you in relation to this.

Take small steps and you might not even notice, that you’re already there in your destination.

Tip 4: Welcome positive feedback and filter negative feedback

To make the most out of your experience in anything that you do – be prepared for any setbacks, negative comments, bashers (or critics), trolls and haters. Learn to distinguish who the individuals are who are set to just discourage you and those who provide creative criticism to help inspire you to do better.

There is no point at all really listening to negative purposeless comments, as these will only hinder you from truly achieving the goals you have set for yourself.

Surround yourself with the right crowd and do not get so caught up or bogged down by what other people think of you.

Know your identity, know yourself and don’t let anyone else define what you are. Be better - by always stepping up and staying in course. People will doubt you, you may even fail at some other things, but just like what I keep mentioning in the previous blog tips I wrote above – learn from them and GROW!

Tip 5: Educate yourself

If you want to continue growing so that you can achieve that project or goal that you have set for yourself LEARN!

In this generation and age, there are tons of information and learning opportunities where you can get knowledge and wisdom from. Some of these you don’t even to need to pay for and are free.

Here are some examples of those resources:

-          Reading Books

-          Listening to Podcasts

-          Watching videos perhaps in Youtube

-          Attending free seminars

-          Having a support group, this could be your friends or family

-          Networking with people who have the same likeminded thoughts as you

-          Having mentors who have been there and done what you are trying to achieve

Whatever project it is you are trying to achieve, there’s always an opportunity to grow, develop and excel from who you were yesterday and what you will become tomorrow. Part of the growth that you will need is by constantly learning the ins and outs of the journey you are taking to get to your destination.

And with that I hope that just like myself, as you start this journey ahead to in reaching your goal that these tips will help you get started to get where you want to be. 😊

Hope you enjoyed this blog If you like this post, please share it on your social media - be sure to subscribe to keep up to date with all future blogs that I will write. I will write a blog each week to give you Tips to help you be Inspired, Motivated and Encouraged to keep becoming the better person that you are.