by Veronica May, co-founder of Allcorrect.org
The title you just read is something to make people look at an article. The actual article you are about to read is not nearly as wishy-washy or plebian in topic. This article is actually about teaching yourself to succeed at a task by working through the stages required. It is about teaching yourself the mentality it takes to plan a task, start a task, and finish a task. It is about training yourself how to succeed by fulfilling a task. Not asking, not wishing – just planning, doing and completing.
Planning – Why?
By creating a plan, you are giving yourself a roadmap to the completion of your project. Without a plan, you are simply guessing as you go and that is a process that can result in your project taking a lot longer than it should.
Planning – Sticking to your plan is important.
If you do not stick to your plans and ensure they are completed, then you will never get away from the planning stage. The planning stage will always be as far as you get if you do not teach yourself the discipline needed to enter something on a plan and make sure it happens.
Planning – Start with a small plan and work upwards.
A small plan is better to start with. It helps you practice completing the items on your plan. Once you have successfully completed a few plans, you can start building bigger and bigger plans. Just make sure you complete every element of every plan. If you leave things undone then you undercut your efforts in the long run.
Planning – Keep a shorter plan handy for referencing.
When you do make a large plan, you should keep a smaller plan handy. It should act like a skeleton plan and help remind you of the major elements of your larger plan. It is just common sense as it helps stop you having to read through your big plan every time you move from one stage to the next.
Doing – What?
Taking the first step after the planning phase involves picking an element of your plan and working on it until it is done and you are free to move on to another element of your plan.
Doing – The first step is knowing when you finish.
Having a deadline is vitally important. Your plan should have a schedule and an end date. The end-date is going to help keep you moving forwards, and your schedule should help you achieve that end-date goal.
Doing – The second step is starting.
Take one element or one part of your plan and work on it exclusively until it is done. Trying to do numerous tasks at one time will only make your job harder.
Doing – Do something on your plan or that helps your task everyday.
A good policy is to ensure you do something productive every day. It means picking something from your plan and doing it every day. It does not have to be a big thing, as you will not always have the time. Just any small thing that gets you even a tiny bit closer to your goal is all that is needed.
Completing – What?
You may not complete as per your deadline, but you should learn from this so that your next plan has a better and more realistic schedule. The end goal should be achieved without question. If you do not aim to complete your planned task, then you will not and cannot succeed.
Completing – So many people stop before the finish post.
Giving up is very easy, and many people do not realize that they give up at the most vital stage. Do not give up without a fight because the completing of your project (and your subsequent success) will rely on you finishing a project.
Completing – Never stopping means never failing.
Do not quit and you cannot fail. You may not hit your deadline, but that is either due to poor planning or poor execution. If you have not finished trying, and if every day you are doing something to help achieve your goal–then you have not failed.
Completing – Learn to hit your deadlines and learn with practice.
Hitting a deadline takes practice. You need to practice creating a good and accurate plan, and you need to practice working until you have hit your goal. Practice and you will hit your deadlines and create better plans.
Conclusion – Planning, Doing, Completing.
All three elements need your discipline, and that discipline can only be learnt through practice. You need to practice planning so that your plans are accurate and give you a clear roadmap to success. The “doing” side needs practice too because it is easy to put off items and easy to simply ignore entries on your plan. Completing takes practice if you want to complete as per a deadline, and do not forget that you cannot have failed if you are still working on your project. If you do not quit working on your project, then you can never fail.
Veronica May is a founder of Allcorrect.org, the professional editing and proofreading company that helps students to get totally correct and well-written papers.
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