08 Jul Tips #11 :: If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail
The quote “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail” by Benjamin Franklin says it all! Success is not accidental. It has to be planned. You decide the way forward before you actually start walking. Simply put, plan before you start action.
Planning does not mean deciding day, time to the minute and place for each and every topic. That does not make sense. Plan what topics you want to complete by a date. Put that in bold and bright letters on a calendar where you can see it.
Some of the students have tried going with the flow. Totally going with the flow would never work! Just start studying whenever you realize that you have free time and start where you stopped last time. Will this work? Yes, this approach can pay when you plan the time and priorities!. Whenever you have some time available, the first and only thing you should do is start studying for the PMPⓇ examination (or anything that is your top priority!!). The point is, does it really work?
Put yourself in this case. Would you really use your spare time wisely if you have not planned at all? Unless you have it in your mind to study for the PMPⓇ examination and that too with a fairly good priority, it just will not happen. You will never find free time. There are thousand and one things to be done. After you are through the day, perhaps you realize that you spent time in activities that were really not your priorities. You spent time watching a street fight or you spent time arguing with a neighbour that did not yield any results. Now you feel that you could have used this time to study! But what’s the point? You cannot reverse time!
Imagine another scenario where you have decided that the PMPⓇ Examination preparation is your priority and you want to finish the preparation by a certain time. If you have planned how you want to complete your preparation, your mind may push you (Yes, planning is necessary, but it is not sufficient!) to work in that direction. If you want to be successful, spend some time now and plan your studies
Though some of my students have said that they like to go with the flow, most of them would like to plan their studies. It is not very difficult. You are Project Managers! Use your scheduling skills. Write down the study activities and write down planned start dates in front of each of them. Keep a track of whether your progress is as per the plan. If not, you should change the plan to suit your pace. Just like what you do when you feel that your project activities are not going to start as per the plan. What do you do then? Reschedule, isn’t it? You do not give up on the project.
Feel free to use (and ask us if you do not have a copy) of our 45 day study plan. Copy it and modify it to suit your pace and you will realize that you are on your way to success.
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