You know the project is coming up.
You know the event is around the corner.
You know the meeting is on the calendar.
Which is why you’ve gone over the details, made your lists, and planned to be ready.
So why then my sweet friend, are you running around like cray-cray, hours, even minutes, before it’s go-time?
Like most ambitious people in the world, you’re an SP.
A Semi-Planner.
Semi-Planners are awesome people with generally great smiles. (Just sayin’).
They are conscientious. They take pride in their work. They value integrity.
But their expectations of how much they can get done in a given period of time is a little bit…
…Off. Wonky. Disproportionate. Unrealistic. (Stop me any time).
Perhaps this sounds familiar.
You have a big presentation in two weeks. So you plan to start next Monday (still giving yourself a whole week to work on it).
At the week’s start, you get bogged down with two new projects, plus an unforeseen dentist appointment.
This means when you finally sit down to work on it, you have three days left.
You’ve had so many great ideas over the week but now, none of them come to mind.
You’re overwhelmed by how much you have to get done so you jump into other projects. With under two days to go, you’re back to the presentation again.
Compiling all the research takes you a full day longer than you thought.
And, OMG, designing each slide is beyond painful.
After staying up half the night, your sleep-deprivation hangover intensifies…the copier is jammed.
You run down three flights to use another machine, barely making your meeting on time, and praying you haven’t sweated through your shirt.
You deliver it but wish you had had more time to practice.
It doesn’t go too bad but not as great as it could have gone either.
But you tell yourself it’s okay because “at least I got it done on time.”
And “this is just the way it is when I’ve got so much on my plate.”
I’m calling you out, Semi-Planner.
That is NOT the way it has to go.
There is no reason you should find yourself in that stressful situation.
It is time to retrain your planning muscles.
The most powerful way to do this is to reverse engineer your goals.
Work backward from the day you need to deliver, respond, create, or attend – to today.
And then PLAN…for real.
Not semi-plan, like making a list and storing great ideas in your head.
But plan out what that entails in terms of energy, resources, and time each day.
Actually put it in writing because that’s where the magic happens.
You see what you really have time for and what you don’t.
Blowing off this step would be like an architect working on your home without a blueprint.
No bueno.
Semi-planners don’t reverse engineer down to those pesky details, so they end up stressed against a deadline or running on fumes.
Not a fun or rewarding way to live.
I know you’re capable of reaching all your goals and dreams – without drowning in chaos.
So I challenge you.
Reply back to this email and let me know about an upcoming project you can better plan for.
The world needs your talents and skills.
It’s up to you to plan ahead to get it to them.
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