“Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance”

I can remember my Dad saying it as we cover the floor with newspaper when decorating, or use sandpaper on skirting boards. There was always plenty of work that required planning going on in our home. The houses I grew up in were always ongoing renovation projects for my parents.

Dad’s catchphrases are always pure gold. He was (and still is) a very thorough kind of chap. The garage was always tidy – “a place for everything, everything in it’s place” and he was very systematic. He did his best to pass these skills on to me.

The event plan at Lifestyles Festival made sense for this reason. It was systematic and ordered. It required detailed planning and the idea was to leave no stone unturned in the ‘thinking it through’ phase… “measure twice, cut once”.

And that’s fine. I’m never going to say that’s not a sensible approach. But here’s the rub;

You might think you have prepared for all eventualities, you can even try to plan for exceptional circumstances, and even “acts of god” but even the best laid plans, (yes, that other great saying) will only get you so far. There’s no way you can possibly plan for all eventualities. Strange and wonderful events happen that you cannot possibly predict – that’s the very foundation of life! So not only am I now re-engineering the plan to include things like “use best judgement”, “apply initiative” or “assess the situation” but I’m cutting myself a little slack in the life-planning process too. It’s absolutely OK to have a goal, a vision, an idea of where you’re going – this is healthy – but you know what? It’s fine to ‘wing-it’ a bit too. It’s absolutely OK to play it by ear, and actually, if you make allowances for that – you’ll probably get along a little better, and with a little less stress. Especially if people know you planned for it.