4 Things You Need to Know About Planning

For years I resisted the idea of detailed planning since I so highly value variety and I was convinced that planning would cost more time than it would create.

Recently I’ve been re-working everything I know about planning. I’ve been a meticulous digital calendar user, but I recently switched to writing in an actual planner with pen and paper – the Tony Robbins RPM system to be exact.

I’m deep into my journey and it appears I was right on some level – planning does take a significant amount of time. It may save me some time in the end but that’s not the real benefit to me. The REAL benefit of a high-level planning system isn’t the 15 minutes you spend doing it every day. The real benefit is the clearing out of the mental cobwebs and the reactivity that dominates our brains every day.
​
So many of us live with this daily sense that we’re not doing enough, or we’re doing the wrong thing, or we’re doing too much. Most of us don’t take the time to think about it in detail like this, but that nagging anxiety that plagues many exists precisely because you haven’t come up with a clear, concise vision for your life or your day (you can’t have a clear vision for your day without a clear vision for your life. 

I will talk more about Tony Robbins’ RPM system in the future, but I’m going to extract some big picture ideas that will help you feel like you are in control of your life and thus make you feel relaxed and in charge of your destiny.

1. A few minutes every day gives you peace of mind – Even when your days are pretty much set on a routine, it’s easy for us to disconnect with WHY we do the things that we do. In the RPM system, every “to-do” you have is connected to a result you wanted which is also connected to a “why” you want that result. If you take a seemingly mundane activity like walking your dog there are several results this could be working toward. Maybe your dog is a problem and needs more exercise and this brings peace to your house. Maybe you need more exercise so walking the dog is the line between life and death. Writing down every day why you’re doing something will reconnect your brain to the purpose of our routines and keep you out of feeling like you’re “wasting” your time on the things you “have to” do.
2. Every task serves a higher purpose – As referenced in the first point, every little task you’re doing serves a result you’ve consciously or unconsciously chosen. If it doesn’t serve a result you care about, then it’s time to scratch it from your routine or finally take some time to do the work on figuring out what you want out of your life. If it does, it’s time to take joy in it again because it’s there to serve your vision of your life.
3. Start with your “musts” – If you’ve done the work with a coach, or on your own, of figuring out what it is you want out of life and clearly assessed your values, you start your calendar with tasks that support the things you value the most. For example, someone who is a devout Christian and their primary goals are a happy family life and getting to heaven will schedule family prayer and Bible reading before they schedule their continuing education or client prospecting. Someone who values making their first million and travelling around the world should have a vastly different to-do list. Your daily calendar should reflect your values. Your values are your own even though society is always trying to tell you what they should be. You can’t plan your day without already planning your life.  
4. Planning isn’t sexy – Planning or using a planner isn’t the next exciting vision that changes the world. It’s the shooting free throws of the personal development space. In a world that is dominated by the next big TED talk or the hottest new motivational Instagram post, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that just doing the work is sometimes what is needed. You can’t master the other areas of your life if you feel frustrated, short on time, and de-energized because you’re just being whipped around the rapids of life with no oar or boat.

 
If you’ve never been a planner, make tomorrow morning the first day that you are. Decide what you want your life to be and THEN design the perfect day to support that vision. I highly recommend investing in the RPM system if any of this speaks to you.
​
If you need help moving your life forward or can’t see what is blocking you from happiness, then I highly encourage you to start with a free clarity session with me by clicking here.