There are two kinds of activities we do. One is the core activity on which we do not have any choice. For example, the stuff your boss asks you to do, or stuffs like going to dentist for an urgent toothache etc. These are your core activities.
But there are other activities that is outside your core activities that you wish to do. But many times it happens that you take up an activity but leave it midway due to lack of sincerity and enthusiasm. Or you think of doing something but never actually do it. The following step by step guide will make sure that this does not happen anymore. These steps will make sure you complete the things that you once started. It may be a success or a failure at the end. But the important thing is that you fought till the end and did not quit midway.
Before taking up a new activity: Plan well
- Visualize the end goal. What exactly the goal mean to you? Do you really want that to happen? Or you don’t care?
- Fix the means (aka plan) to achieve that goal up to step by step details.
- Then ask yourself the following questions:
- Can you afford the means: in terms of time, money etc.
- Would the new activity affect your existing activities? If yes, what changes need to be done to your existing plans? Can you afford that?
- Would you enjoy the means? If yes, great! If no, are you motivated enough to make yourself bear the pain of the means? Reconsider point 1 to see if the goal is really strong enough?
For every point above, write a whole paragraph. Yes, you must write it down. Otherwise, the whole thing will lose importance.
Enjoying the means is really important here. If the end goal is not attracting enough to justify the painful means, you will anyway end up leaving the activity midway. This is a two way process: the goal must justify the means and the means must justify the goal.
We need to take a few more moments to convert the means to a concrete plan. A good plan must contain:
- Exact work items
- Identifiable sub steps
- Well defined completion criteria for all the substeps and the overall plan
- Timeline for each substeps.
OK. Now you have a goal and have the plan to achieve the goal.
Now let go of the goal and concentrate only on the plan
You are not allowed to think about the goal anymore. Now you just have a daily todo list to work upon. Just do the work for the sake of it. Constantly thinking about the dazzling goal will only confuse you and you will lose sight of the details of the plan.
Adhering to the plan
- Prepare monthly, weekly and daily work items for the plan.
- Completion of each sub-step should give you a sense of achievement: that you did your part honestly
- Do not multitask
- Adhering to the plan has the utmost importance. Everything else is secondary.
Revisiting the plan
You will inevitably make some mistake while making the plan for the first time. For this you need to reevaluate the plan time to time. While reevaluating the plan do this as a third person. As if you are judging somebody else’s stuff. This will help you in the following ways
- Decisions will be independent of emotional attachment
- Decisions will be independent of sunk cost (already invested money and effort)
There may be three possible outcome of this re-evaluation:
- Continue as it is
- New plan. For this again consider all the factors that you did while making the plan for the first time; like, does the means justify the goal and the goal justify the means and would it affect other ongoing activities and if yes how much etc. Note that this may involve re-planning your other activities too.
- New plan with end goal modified.
- Put the activity on hold for specified period. After which you will again revisit the plan.
- Ditch the activity: this is not leading anywhere and you are not attracted to the goal anymore.
Note that ditching the activity is not same as leaving it midway as it involves analytical decision making from a third person point of view.
Letting go
There is a possibility that after all the effort you fail. May be the goal was too big for you and you made some mistake in planning. Or may be some external events changed the ball game altogether. You must reserve on to yourself the power to let go.
But there is high chance that you will succeed
Once you made a detail plan and periodically review it, there is little chance that the goal was too big for you. Or some external events diverted your attention.
Dream big!
