{"id":1021,"date":"2021-03-07T12:36:51","date_gmt":"2021-03-07T10:36:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/silverliningideas.com\/?p=1021"},"modified":"2021-03-07T12:36:53","modified_gmt":"2021-03-07T10:36:53","slug":"planning-and-uncertainty-opposites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/silverliningideas.com\/index.php\/2021\/03\/07\/planning-and-uncertainty-opposites\/","title":{"rendered":"Planning and Uncertainty. Opposites?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When everything is so uncertain and things can change over a night, is it really necessary to make any plans? If yes, how is it even possible? These are the questions I would like to answer focusing on our personal lives.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n

I love planning and organizing. It is essential for me to see the next steps. So I really wanted to find a solution: how can we make any plans when we are not sure about what is going to happen<\/strong>. I collected 4 methods<\/strong> which can help you to plan even in an uncertain period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo by Jess Bailey Designs<\/strong> from Pexels<\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

1 Decide the Timeline: Short-term or Long-term<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It may seem a simple idea, but it is worth to check the timeline of your goals<\/strong>. What period is uncertain for you? If it is short-term, then plan for long -term. If it is long-term, plan for short-term<\/strong>. Due to COVID-19, I don’t know if I will be allowed to celebrate my birthday in the way I usually do (big party with friends) this year. However, I can plan some long-term goals such as travel with my friends during the upcoming 10 years. I can also think about what do I want to accomplish in life. Though question, isn’t it? On the other hand, if long-term <\/strong>outcomes are uncertain, you can focus on your next steps, taking one day at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 Focus on the Things that You Can Really Influence<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Stephen Covey explains in a very understandable way they difference between our circle of influence and circle of interest<\/strong> in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From Stephen R. Covey<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

It is suggested to use our energies on things we can really influence<\/strong>. I can complaint all day long about the bad weather, it is definitely in my circle of interest, but I can not change it. What I can do is to take an umbrella with me when it is rainy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you set goals about thing you cannot influence, you will have less control in reaching them. Think about things you can influence. You can also break down complex goals <\/strong>such as “protect the environment” into small action steps which you can influence. For example: “I want to learn ways to use less waste in my household”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3 Review and Adjust<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Plans can be helpful, but only if you check them. And you may need to adjust them<\/strong>. You can use KPIs and score cards from corporate life even on your private life. If its too much, just set milestones<\/strong> for example for every quarter or even every month<\/strong>. Plans sets us into directions, but we can always choose to do something differently if circumstances change<\/strong>. Or if our thoughts and emotions change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo by Chinmay Singh<\/strong> from Pexels<\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

4 Have plan B, C, D, E… <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The whole alphabet is available for you if it is necessary. Optimism is a great way to approach life, but we need to be aware of the risks and mitigate them. Creating plan B, C, D can help us with that. What can go wrong in plan A? What can change? You can prepare scenarios<\/strong> for yourself just like in business planning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite all the things I mentioned earlier, I don’t believe it is always needed to have plans. We all have periods in our lives when we don’t have goals<\/strong> and it just five like this. Here<\/a> are some ideas what to do when you don’t know your goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some periods of our lives definitely contain more uncertainty than others. I focused on our personal lives, but you may find some useful tips from Forbes<\/a> for your business here. If you need further help with planning, check out this article: The Problem with S.M.A.R.T. Goals<\/a> or contact me on Facebook<\/a> or using the contact form<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

**Cover photo by Startup Stock Photos<\/strong> from Pexels<\/strong>**<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When everything is so uncertain and things can change over a night, is it really necessary to make any plans? If yes, how is it even possible? These are the questions I would like to answer focusing on our personal lives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1031,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"spay_email":""},"categories":[538,546],"tags":[54,97,681],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/silverliningideas.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/pexels-startup-stock-photos-212286-1-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/silverliningideas.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1021"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/silverliningideas.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/silverliningideas.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silverliningideas.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silverliningideas.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1021"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/silverliningideas.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1021\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1047,"href":"https:\/\/silverliningideas.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1021\/revisions\/1047"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silverliningideas.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/silverliningideas.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silverliningideas.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silverliningideas.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}