Going on vacation is something we can all agree upon. An excellent idea and something to look forward to.
The question is where to, when, how, and on and on. It is unlikely we will take a vacation without doing some planning. Even if we choose to take a trip that is all about ‘seeing where it takes us, there is some planning involved. Permitting day-to-day experiences to guide you and requires some thought.
The time we take to plan is the most valuable time we will use. As has been written here before, time is our most precious commodity. The investment upfront will save time later on.
Your plans may differ depending on the purpose, the magnitude of the undertaking, the anticipated effort and involvement required. In all its simplicity, we should at least be considering a few key elements.
What is our objective?
How will we know we have achieved our objective – the measure of our success?
Who is the person(s) responsible for leading and supporting the task?
When do we plan to start, and when do we plan to end?
Within the plan, there will be varying levels of detail in the form of actions that we need to take, and it will include specific tasks, meetings, reviews, testing, and more.
Going through the planning exercise helps us understand what we need to do deliberately and helps those who support us better understand what they need to do and how they all fit together.
There is no doubt that the time you take to plan will be time well spent, and the more you plan, the greater the likelihood of success in the execution.
