I don’t need a map, I’m a bloke

Holidaying abroad seems a long way off at the moment with the dark nights and cold mornings, but its nice to look forward to something as we move into the new year. Me and my families default destination is Florida where the sun always shines, the food is plenty (too much at times) and the theme park rides fast, not to mention meeting a certain Mr. M Mouse along the way.

When we are out there, we hire a car as its easy to drive round in the states, the roads are wide and the generally other drivers are courteous. My job is driver whilst my wife Lizz, is the navigator usually using the map we picked up at the car hire place, which she is pretty good at getting us to where we need to be. I take this for granted sometimes and just jump in the car eager to get into the parks and start having fun. Lizz however always asks me to look first on the map so I know where I’m going, but why should I? Lizz does a great job and I never get lost. That is until I take a wrong turn and rely on my male intuition (or is that sheer stubborn pride) to get back on the right road. Of course, this would help if I had an idea of the roads beforehand……

Where are you going?

This really highlighted that you should always have in mind your destination, more so at work, and how you are going to get there. You need to have that end goal in sight and the steps to take to reach it. It’s often called a vision, which is great to identify and strive towards, but a bit like my holiday car journeys, it’s not just about heading off, if you don’t have a good plan, then you might not end up at the right destination!

Planning your route

My planning involves deciding which park to visit, checking if there is enough fuel in car, if and what time we will leave. Simple things, but important.  At Pro-Development, though, we love an outcome-based plan.  A plan that identifies the end goal and the steps/objectives required to achieve that goal.  Some people we talk to don’t have a plan, because planning takes time, time people don’t have, but believe us, take the time out to plan will pay dividends in the long term.  Make sure that your plan:-

• has enough detail to understand what needs to be done.
• can be measured so you know when it is achieved.
• challenging but within the skill set of the team/individuals.
• relevant to what is required.
• have a date or deadline to achieve them.
• and be inspiring and engaging.

Spend your time well

If you use your diary, be honest with yourself.  Are you being realistic or are you underestimating the time activities will take?  Another common theme is people double booking their time.  Not for client facing work of course, but for behind the scenes work, administration, development work etc!  This could be construed as an act of denial, unless of course you are a multitasker extraordinaire.

Empty your head

Some of our clients spend the first 5 minutes in a morning or the last 5 minutes of the day downloading their brain.   If you haven’t already, have a read of Will’s blog on de-cluttering your mind and then follow that with a read of Joanne’s blog on creating a positive mindset and.  Both will help you to get set for great planning.

Recognise when it’s too much

Call it or delegate when you are overloaded.  Sometimes there simply is too much to do.  This is the point we can become stressed, flustered and can stop thinking clearly.  So, call it out and tell people and get their support, there is no place for hero mentality here.

There are many tools you can use to help with your planning and goal setting and we can help you do this.  Just get in touch with us and we can discuss the right way forward for you to achieve your business and/or individual goals.

Don’t forget that we have the amazing 40% funding available that many businesses will be eligible to receive.  To find out more contact ….

And do I now look at the map before we head off from the hotel? Of course I do every time! (I hope Lizz never reads this blog, or I’ll be navigating by myself🙂). I hope your holiday and work planning goes smoothly.