Whether you’re feeling overwhelmed and scattered or like you have your life together, planning is a skill that can be learned and improved with practice. But if you’re trying to embody the good characteristics of a person, it’s important to learn what characteristics are associated with effective planning and how you can apply them to your life.
What are the basic characteristics of planning?
One of the characteristics of a good person is the ability to be organized (and plan ahead for all the things life may throw at you). The basic characteristics of planning are so important to develop in order to simplify your life.
While you can’t plan for everything in the future, these 7 qualities of a good planner will help you to succeed in all that you do (and even bounce back quickly when you encounter setbacks):
- A good planner Is detail-oriented with organized characteristics
- A good planner is empathetic and proactive
- A good planner has a positive attitude and works smoothly with others
- A good planner possesses strong communication skills
- A good planner is flexible in their approach to planning
- A good planner has the ability to focus
- A good planner is practical
What is an effective plan?
An effective plan is one that has clearly defined goals, objectives, and milestones.
It is important to have a clear goal when starting to plan for something. Without a goal, it can be hard to know what exactly you are trying to achieve.
It is also important to have set milestones and objectives in order for your plan to be successful. These help map out the completion of your goals and give you something to look forward to.
But most importantly, it’s important to actually create and WRITE your plans, rather than keeping them jumbled in your head.
These are some of the best planners for moms.
Define planning
Planning is a process to gain a clear understanding of what one should do and how they should do it to achieve a specific outcome.
It’s a process where one person or group of people create a guide for the future.
A plan can be used to help someone think about all the details that need to be covered in order to reach their goals.
It can also be used as a map for someone to use in order to figure out what they need to do next and how they will get there.
Importance of planning
Planning is an essential part of any organization, project, or process.
But it’s especially important for busy, overwhelmed people to sort their thoughts and create a roadmap of next actions.
Limitations of planning
While planning is an important first step to any project, it’s easy for perfectionists, procrastinators, and overthinkers to spend too much time planning instead of taking action.
If this sounds like you, try doing a brain dump to get all of your swirling thoughts out of your head, and then take immediate action on the most important task.
Good planning process
A great planning process, especially if you’re feeling overwhelmed, is a brain dump.
One of my favorite time management books, Getting Things Done by David Allen, discusses the importance (and process) of completing a brain dump to make sure you’re capturing everything, from the most minute worry to the stress about your 10-year financial plan.
Learn more about how to do a brain dump (and get a free printable workbook to walk you through the process) in the Ultimate Guide to Doing a Brain Dump.
Give yourself the gift of an effective plan
To create an effective plan, start by doing a brain dump.
Then, create an organized list of your goals, with milestones to show your progress.
One of my favorite goal setting planners is the Powersheets notebook. It gives you a place to brainstorm your goals and break them down into monthly, weekly, and daily tasks so you’re continually making progress.
Another great way to stay focused on your plan is to use a habit tracker.
Get the printable Healthy Habits Tracker here: