Module 9 · Planning & doing · Lesson 1 of 7

Planning and doing

A plan is useful exactly as far as it changes what you do. Turning a goal into a project.

7 min read · Free — no account needed to read

The idea

Planning and doing are different activities, and both are needed. Planning decides what to do, in what order and when. Doing is the actual work. Some people love planning so much that it replaces doing; others dislike planning so much that their doing goes in circles.

A useful rule: a plan is worth exactly as much as it changes what you do. A beautifully detailed plan that sits in a notebook achieves nothing. A rough plan that tells you what to do tomorrow morning can change a year.

Turning a goal into a project is the bridge. A goal says what you want; a project is the set of things that must happen to get it. “Run a half marathon” becomes: choose a race, pick a training plan, get shoes, block three runs a week, find a friend to train with. Each is doable; together they reach the goal.

Why it matters

Without planning, effort scatters and important things never get their turn. Without doing, planning becomes a pleasant way of feeling productive. Knowing which one you need right now keeps both in balance.

See it happen

Sanjay has spent weeks designing a colour-coded system for his side project, with boards, tags and templates. The project itself has not moved.

The first read

Getting the system right first seems sensible, so everything runs smoothly once he starts properly.

With this idea

He notices the planning has become a way of avoiding the uncertain work. He limits planning to one list of the project’s parts and the next action for each, and spends the next evening on the first real piece of work.

What changed

He kept just enough planning to guide the doing, and then did.

Easy to get wrong

• Believing a better system will solve a motivation or clarity problem. Usually the system is not the obstacle.
• Refusing to plan at all. Some structure saves far more time than it costs.

What this rests on

Practical wisdom. A widely used way of working. Useful to try — not a scientific law.

Try it: Goal into project

1. Write down one goal you want to reach.
2. List the main things that must happen for it to be reached — five to eight items.
3. Mark which one has to come first, and what the first action on it is.

Reflect

• Do you tend to over-plan or under-plan?
• Which of your plans has become a substitute for doing?

Use it in the coming days

Turn one goal into a short project list this week in My Goals, and put the first action on your schedule.

Where to do it: My Goals

A goal’s milestones are the natural place for its project list.