Planning for 2020: Fail to Plan, Prepare to Fail

 By Kristine Charles

You’ve all heard the saying ‘fail to plan, prepare to fail,’ right?

It’s a (paraphrased) quote attributed to Benjamin Franklin* and, as a Virgo, it’s my mantra. I am also OBSESSED with stationary (Kikki K is my spiritual home) and I have a paper planner which I ADORE so… who better to talk about planning for 2020.

And YES, I know this is early. But if your life is anything like mine involving a day job, a writing job, family and volunteering commitments and something resembling an attempt at a social life, you want to be giving thought to what 2020 might look like for you well before 2020 arrives.

Otherwise, you just wind up with drunken New Year’s Resolutions that don’t last beyond Australia Day.

If you’re lucky enough to make it that far!

So, here are my three best planning tips for you to adopt in 2020.

1. Set priorities

You need to understand what your ‘big rocks’ are: what are the most important things you want to achieve in 2020? Is it finishing that manuscript you’ve been working on? Is it getting four new books out? Is it getting your kid through the HSC? Is it training for a marathon, or painting your house, inside and out? Write yourself a list of the things you want to achieve in 2020… and these become the things for which you would decline a romantic romp with Idris Elba (or whoever your Hall Pass name/names are!)

If you haven’t seen the Stephen Covey lesson about scheduling the big rocks, check it out here. 

2. Commit to focus

Hi. My name is Kristine and I am a Master Procrastinator.

Yep. I will be sucked in to cleaning the toilet if it gets me out of committing to focused work.

But half an hour completely focused on something will be more productive than two hours switching back and forth between tasks (and by tasks, I mean Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!).

So, once you’ve identified your big rocks, don’t let them get smashed under the weight of all your day to day stuff. Commit time to attend to them – be it early in the morning, later in the evening, on your lunch break, or in the car while waiting for the kids to finish... whenever.

Book those blocks of time into a planner (whatever form yours takes – paper, or electronic) and commit to them. Tell someone about your commitment and let them nag you into submission!

From a writing perspective, think about sprints, or techniques like the ‘Pomodoro Technique’ to help you set time for productive work and still give you time to clean the toilet…

 

3. Say No

You’ve identified your priorities for the year, and you’re committing time to attend to them, scheduling time in your planner of choice and… Jason Momoa calls you up.

But, Saturday you’re already committed to a priority on your list. It’s written in your diary in really pretty ink, and… there are stickers!

One must be ruthless. Assess every invitation against your priorities for the year (and your personal priorities – which are also important! Sometimes family… or Momoa comes first).

But, if you value your priorities, and a hot night with a wildly attractive Hawaiian isn’t on the list well… the answer to Momoa must be no ☹ (unless, of course, you convince him to reschedule for a better day!).

This is the toughest tip to follow. But, believe me, at Christmas 2020, when you’re celebrating all the things you achieved in 2020… you’ll thank me for turning Momoa down.

I promise 😉

* As this is a blog about books and writing, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that Benjamin Franklin formed the first public lending library in America, and the first fire department in Pennsylvania. So, thanks for the books, and the hot firefighters…!

Kristine Charles writes sexy tales where coffee (and red wine) is abundant, designer shoes and handbags are cheap, chocolate has no calories and men always put the toilet seat down. Find her at www.wordsbykristinecharles.com or on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Have any tips for Planning for 2020? Let me know in the comments.

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I love to love… coffee. Still. My one true love.

I love to laugh… at my nephew’s funny Instagram posts (@codyjon)

I love to learn… this month, about self-publishing.