May 2021 Countdown to Success: On Planning

5 Inputs, 4 Quotes, 3 Thoughts, 2 Challenges and 1 Question (April 8th, 2021)

“Helping you achieve high performance medicine.”

Happy May,

Your journey of professional development is important to me. Please hit that reply button or join our Facebook Group to share your journey and inspiration with our community.

You never know when your ideas, stories, actions or reflection will inspire another vet out there!

Alright, let’s get to it!

Here are 5 Inputs to Inspire, 4 Quotes to Contemplate, 3 Thoughts to Ponder, 2 Challenges to Conquer and 1 Reflection Question to help you grow this month.

5 Inputs to Inspire

I. David Allen’s Getting Things Done I cannot say enough good things about this book; the entire text will be paid off when you learn his simple Two-Minute-Rule. In fact, Allen’s book is one of the top five most influential books I’ve ever read.

II. Thought leader Brenden Buchard on how he uses planning to “Win the Day.” He discusses how planning can give you confidence in your ability to accomplish a variety of tasks, big or small

III. Mark Cole, CEO of John Maxwell Enterprises on what to consider when planning. Things like what needs to be done, how should it be done, who should do it and where must it be done. These are great things to consider when planning your workflow!

IV. Harvard Business Review on the proper use of Objectives and Key Results as a planning tool in the workplace. The article explains the benefits of OKR’s for an individual as well as how proper implementation of OKR’s at work assures that the team’s plan aligns with all their skills pointing them towards a common objective.

V. Starting your planning journey from nothing? Checkout the High Performance Planner. This journal is a great way to begin your planning journey. While much more in depth than many people would care to do; if you complete just one month (the journal is good for 60 total days) with this journal you will begin to understand which planning techniques payout the most for you. Then you can pick and choose which to use into the future. Well worth the <0.25 cent per day cost.

4 Quotes to Contemplate

I. Margaret Thatcher, the “Iron Lady,” on planning:

Plan your work for today and every day, then work your plan.

II. AllTopStartups founder, startup consultant, and journalist Thomas Oppong on the need to commit to a plan:

If you commit to nothing you’ll be distracted by everything.

III. Former Poctor and Gamble executive and speaker Scott Mautz about the importance of choice and action in planning:

Choosing not to decide is still a choice, a corrosive one. Indecision is often born from insecurity, a fear of making the wrong decision and looking bad. Highly confident people don't worry about who's right--they worry about what's right. And if they decide incorrectly, so be it. Onward. Upward. Live and learn.

IV. Anonymous on how to approach a failed plan:

If the plan doesn’t work, change the plan, not the goal!

3 Thoughts to Ponder

I. Planning isn’t hard. List all the things to be done in that moment. Rank the top five in importance 1-5 dependent upon due date, need to be done, return on investment, and enjoyment they bring. Then attack them in that order.

II. Start your plans out with easy wins. This builds a positive mental mindset and will make you feel like you can take on more. This way when you get to the meat of the task you have some momentum.

III. Without planning you will live a stressful life. You will be forced to jump from task to task. This means you will be unable to protect the tasks that bring you meaning and value and fill your cup from the day to day needs that others bring to you.

2 Challenges to Conquer

I. Before you begin your next consulting workup, project development or team meeting take five minutes to plan the order of your tasks and review the objectives you wish to accomplish in that time frame.

II. Purchase a wall calendar for the year and map out a plan for each of your annual goals. Add deadlines for each goal’s Key Performance indicators and monitor your progress towards achieving them.

1 Reflection Question

What are the three major things I wish to accomplish this year and what are my plans for making them happen?

Until next month,

Dr. Eric Rooker

Founder of Operators to Owners