When we plan, we get greedy.
I want to :
- Find a new job
- Rediscover my 20-year-old body
- Learn German, Italian
- Develop my business
- …
And the list goes on and on.
We tend to get greedy when we plan, whether for daily tasks or long-term projects.
And since a lot is at stake at this stage, here are 5 key principles to make it a success and achieve our goals
1/Distinguish between the “progress” and “maintenance” phases
Your projects are multiplying and accumulating.
Every quarter(my favorite time to sprint), you must recognize that you can’t speed up on all your projects.
And recognize that you can’t speed up on all your projects.
Crossing an essential project off your list is tough. Keeping it and not progressing is frustrating.
Why not just name it something else?
“Progress” or “maintenance.”
In the first case, I prioritize and go all out.
In the second, I maintain.
I can only have a few “Progress” projects (less is more), but I can combine them with a few “maintenance” tasks.
This distinction helps us to manage our expectations better.
An article to go further on this point
2,500 days of Streak with Duolingo, and I’m still not progressing (enough) in German.
I’ve been flirting with the idea of learning German seriously for years.
On Sunday, I reached a streak of 2,500 days with Duolingo.
And yet I’m far from fluent.
Why?
Because German is often relegated to a maintenance role in my projects.
But recently, I had an “aha” moment. I mention this in the last point…
2/ Remain realistic when planning and optimistic when executing
Any project initiated :
- Will take longer than expected
- Will be more difficult than you thought
- Punctuated by unexpected events and distractions
- You’ll be disappointed when you realize it was a good day but not yet a long-term result.
- And it’s never a (complete) victory. There’s always work to be done.
Now that you know, stay optimistic about execution.
- It’s hard, but I’ll get there
- It’s long, but worth it
- I got sidetracked, but I’ll get back on it.
- This good day is a sign that I’m heading in the right direction.
- This new habit brings me joy and meaning, so why should I stop?
Being realistic saves you a lot of frustration.
Being optimistic inspires you to keep going.
3/Successful planning: don’t fall into the trap of early excitement
I’m so excited.
Why?
Over the past month, I’ve shifted my goal of learning German from a “maintenance” mode to a “progress” mode.”
Have you ever felt like that?
We want to tell everyone.
In the morning, we’re super motivated.
But then…
After a few days, weeks, months (for the bravest). Inspiration fades.
And we move on.
But we all know that to succeed, we have to persevere.
4/Successful planning: Real progress comes from persistence
It involves :
- Identify the project we really want to make progress
- Making it a priority
- Don’t just practice what’s easy, practice what’s necessary—often referred as “deliberate practice”. A concept well explained by K. Anders Ericsson in his book Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise.
- Innovating our routines as soon as we get bored...Routines help me a lot. But sometimes I feel a kind of boredom. That’s when I learned to pivot. Keep the big picture, but do it differently. There are a thousand ways to learn a language. It’s better to innovate in your routine than to abandon your project.
5/Successful planning: have a good why
Recently, I’ve been participating in a few networking events for entrepreneurs around my home. And I’ve seen how limited my German is.
To comfort myself, I’ve developed a way of thinking that ensures I stagnate in my progress. 🙂
“It’s hard to learn German in Switzerland. I don’t need to. People speak English or French. And besides, the local language isn’t German; it’s Swiss German.”
It’s easy to see how this thinking doesn’t help me improve.
My “aha” moment…
About a month ago, I had an “aha” moment. Same as my clients have during a coaching session. The one that lets you see and do things differently.
At a dinner party, I met someone for the first time.
He’s 45+ and has lived in Switzerland for 10 years like me.
He speaks several languages, like me…
But with one big difference.
He has a perfect command of spoken and written German. Not at all like me 😒
And as for the “aha” moment when I realized I could do an Ironman and be an executive simultaneously (read the story here)…I’ve realized I can also become bilingual German in Switzerland.
So, I began to reinforce my why.
- I live in the German-speaking part of Switzerland
- I would like to help my children/grandchildren with their German homework.
- I want to get more involved in local business life.
- I’d also like to coach in German.
- Learning German is a great way to get out of my comfort zone
- …
It’s not going to happen alone. So, I started to give myself the means to succeed. One quarter at a time by moving the German from “maintenance” to “progress”.
What projects do you really want to make progress on?
And how are you going to provide the means?
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