Planning is half the job done.
Planning your PhD is half your PhD done and if might I add that you are going to spend half your PhD time planning your PhD. It might feel like the time you invest planning is a waste but its not. Note that I used the word invest because, return is expected on an investment. You get the dividend from time by being more productive.
Yeah, you get the message! Planning requires time. It takes time to plan. This was a reason I didn’t embrace it early in life. I felt instead of spending so much time planning what I want to do why don’t I just go ahead and do it. Big mistake. And I will tell you why.
- Planning helps you keep track: It helps you know what you have accomplished and what you have left to do. You need to spend time planning, so you don’t have to waste time doing nothing. More so, it helps you avoid doing the same thing twice.
- It clears up space in your head: When you plan, you have a direction of what you want to do. It is like a compass that leads you therefore, you go about your day with a purpose and a sense of direction.
- Planning helps you organize your priorities: With planning, you can organize your priorities according to urgency and importance. This will ensure that you do not spend a lot of your time on less important things. Note, that some things are important but not urgent while some other things can be urgent but not important. What I am saying in a nutshell is that not all important activities are urgent. Planning ensures that you channel your resources to the right activity per time.
Not all planning are effective. To effectively, one has to determine where they are presently and where they intend to go. I will dive further into planning effectively in my next post. You can join my email list below so you don’t miss it. I look forward to seeing your contributions/ suggestions to this post in the comments.
Photo credit: Daniel Foster on flickr
PS: Pictures below are from my planner.
