Activity planning means knowing how to manage available resources and define priorities in the most orderly way possible. So, whether in our work environment or in our personal routine, planning is essential.
Mainly for those who want to start and have their own business, being a person who plans all the stages of their activities is the first step to success.
But did you know that there are several types of planning?
If you want to know more about them and how to apply them in your life, continue reading and learn everything you need to plan your business and other areas. Let’s go!
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What is planning?
Planning, according to the dictionary, is the action or effect of developing a plan, and determining the stages, procedures or means that must be used in the development of a job, party or event.
All planning defines the present and foresees how the future will unfold. It is necessary to know exactly where, how, why, when and how much for the plan to succeed.
There are no set rules for planning something, but most people commonly follow these steps:
- Analysis of the situation.
- Formulation of what will be done.
- Execution of the plan.
- Evaluation of the results.
Why is activity planning important?
We all have dreams or want to achieve something. So, from the moment we define our objective, planning becomes essential, because it shows us what is needed to achieve it effectively.
For example, if your dream is to have your own business, you will need to plan where you will work (in an office or at home, for example), what the business model will be, why you choose that niche to start, when it will start and how much you need. invest.
All this will allow you to organize, plan and make a schedule of activities to be carried out in the short, medium and long term.
The same goes for personal goals, like taking an international trip, for example. Where will the trip be, how will you go (by plane, on a cruise…), why do you want to go to that place, when will you go and how much will it be necessary to invest.
Without this analysis, your decisions will be less accurate and more confused. After all, it is not enough to want something and expect things to happen as if by magic.
The planning of activities is something that must always be present in the routine, so that both professional and personal processes are carried out effectively and the moment of success is ever closer.
Strategic planning and the SWOT matrix
Strategic planning is a management and administration tool used by companies and entrepreneurs not only to map opportunities and possible threats to the business, but also to determine future goals and objectives.
An excellent tool to do this planning is the widely used in the corporate universe, regardless of the size of the company.
Who wants to enter the world of or in any other business sector, doing this analysis will help you understand the market as a whole, the competitors and the opportunities to explore.
What distinguishes good planning is the organization and structuring of what will be done. The more detailed this is, the more the business will be prepared for future challenges!
Advantages of planning activities in your business
Planning is part of the routine of any healthy business. It mainly helps in making important decisions, in addition to offering other benefits such as the following:
1. Better organization in the execution of tasks
With good planning it is much easier to organize, create plans and manage your tasks, thus increasing productivity.
When you know the workflow and what it takes to get something done, it’s easier to complete the task successfully.
2. Macro view of the market
If you have already done or are going to do the SWOT analysis, you will be able to identify risks and opportunities in your market.
This macro vision and the fact of planning in advance will give you more confidence to give continuity to the work and will make it more efficient.
3. Vision of available resources
Activity planning helps you work according to the available resources and you can modify them according to market changes. For example, if you are investing in and Google’s algorithm changes, you will need to adapt your content to that change.
4. Lower costs
Without consistent planning, the risk of investing in something that isn’t going to work is frankly great. We are not only talking about losing money, but time.
Therefore, create your action plan taking into account the available budget, the time needed to execute the tasks and what can be done to optimize each of its elements.
Planning it helps to avoid expensive projects, which will contribute little to the final result.
5. Preparation for the next challenges
Finally, an important part of doing good planning is that you prepare yourself to face the challenges that are to come, thus eliminating much of the anxiety at work.
Imagine you are entering a competition. Who will come out better: someone who has been preparing for it for a long time or someone who has never seriously prepared for it?
What is personal activity planning and what is its structure?
Now that we have understood the importance of strategic planning in the business world, it is time to understand how it can work in our personal lives.
Personal Strategic Planning is a process that will require a certain self-analysis because it contemplates recognizing what your essence and your personal mission are.
It is a definition that can cause surprise at first, but just like in business, understanding the strengths and weaknesses of our lives is very important so that we can walk towards the achievement of a certain objective.
The structure of personal activity planning can be seen as follows:
- Situational Analysis (strong and weak points, opportunities and threats).
- Personal Mission (objectives to conquer).
- Stock Plan (which can be personal, professional and/or financial).
It is a difficult analysis to do, especially for those who are starting to undertake, because it is not easy to recognize one’s strengths and weaknesses.
But we all have strengths and weaknesses, right? And recognizing them and doing this self-analysis is the first step to being a better person in the personal, professional and family environment.
Another way to do this personal planning analysis is to use the SWOT analysis again, which will help you not only identify your strengths and weaknesses, but also the opportunities for improvement and the threats that may hinder your evolution.
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How to plan personal activities?
With a well-done personal planning, the greater the chances that your projects will be successful. Basically, the process of planning personal activities is:
1. Define goals and objectives
Everything starts here, and it is important that the goal is well defined. For example, if you want to travel next year, you can already think of a place.
2. Situation analysis
Once the goal is defined, it will be necessary to analyze all the factors that will influence its completion. Returning to the example of the trip, it will be necessary to analyze the finances, if a passport, visa, etc. is needed.
3. Deadlines
Planning means execution. After the analysis, divide the goal into small tasks and define realistic deadlines to meet them.
4. Control tools
This part is essential to manage the schedule. Here there are many options, either through applications or Excel spreadsheets, for example, although the most important thing is that you record the progress of the project and that you remain motivated until the end.
Tips for applying planning in your daily life
Do you realize how task planning is something present in our lives at a deep level?
We know that it is possible to conquer something without planning it, but when we adopt an action plan to run after a certain objective, it becomes much easier to focus and draw routes to shorten the path.
Finally, take a look at these 3 ideas, brief but essential, so that planning becomes something natural in your routine and you can take advantage of all the benefits mentioned in this post:
1. Be realistic
Being realistic has nothing to do with being pessimistic or not believing in yourself. It means working with a reality that can be changed, with the resources available and within a healthy timeframe.
When making a plan, whether for professional or personal life, analyze the tangible possibilities. Otherwise, the feeling of frustration will be inevitable and you will be tempted to give up at the first obstacle.
2. Work on improvement points
Planning includes identifying our weak points, as we have already said. But, what is the point of understanding these points if you don’t change them?
For example, if you want to start a business but you have behaviors and thoughts that can potentially sabotage your progress, it would be better to evaluate and think about points for improvement until you manage to eliminate them definitively.
Overcoming and working on improvement points with intelligence and resilience is a big step for planning to be successful.
3. Stay focused
Success depends directly on your commitment to the goal, and staying focused is essential. Distractions are everywhere and it will be very easy for you to get sidetracked from your plan of action because of them.
Staying focused is not always easy, but it helps a lot to stay motivated. However it is essential to avoid depression and achieve your goals.
In the next article we will show you , which is also a fundamental factor when it comes to conquering any objective. Get to know him and take one more step to take the planning of your activities to the next level!
This post was originally published in November 2019 and updated to contain more accurate and complete information.
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