The Truth About Planning and Doing

ryanng413
May 6, 2023
3 min read

There is this time in my life when I was obsessed with self-improvement. I read self-help books, listened to social entrepreneurs, and got myself the Medium app. Every day I woke up, I was energetic for endless work and creation. I was ready to make my life better.

And there I was, writing yearly plans and monthly schedules. I was totally “in the zone”. I set my days for different tasks, for instance, weekdays for work and exercise; Saturdays for fun and socialisation; Sundays for planning. I would rigorously plan for all the events in the coming week, with different activities embedded to different hour slots. Then, my planner would be filled with words and numbers. It is like I can envision how my life is going to pan out exactly.

Before 2020, I was drafting my plans for the coming year. I printed 10 sheets of tables with 12 rows and 2 columns, On one column, I wrote the months. On the other, I would list out the things I expect myself to do. Oh yes, the 10 sheets are for the 10 important factors in my life. I guess none of you would like to know what they are, anyway.

Aha! Sounds like a good strategy, I thought.

Well indeed, it was quite helpful because I wouldn’t have to think about what to do at the moment. I could literally stick to whatever I have written. It was also efficient because I could save the time I used for wandering and thinking to actually doing stuff.

And so I continued. A very rigid and planned schedule. 6 months.

But then, I started to feel like I wasn’t progressing fast enough. I felt that I did a lot, but then I hadn’t accomplished much. I pondered.

Then, I realised,

It was because I was TOO focused on planning.

Perhaps it has happened to you. It may be because you are afraid, or you think you are not ready. You want to make the most preparation before you start your guitar lessons or that toastmaster competition. You look at Youtube videos, ask friends, read books, in hopes of searching for the best information you can find about whatever you’re doing.

The thing is, my friend, you are making excuses. You might tell yourself that you are avoiding unnecessary mistakes, or you’re looking for the best way. But really, you’re just afraid. Afraid of embarrassing yourself, afraid of being judged, afraid of taking that step.

It’s like playing video games, but instead, you are looking for the best gaming strategies BEFORE you even start playing. Now, this sounds ridiculous, right?

Don’t get me wrong, planning is very important! However, don’t plan so much that you forget to actually do it. Sometimes, you THINK you are putting in the effort, yet you are just wandering around the edge of your comfort zone. You are procrastinating and overthinking.

Truth be told, there are a lot of things in life that are much simpler than you thought. Walking up to talk to that person you find attractive is literally the same as a stranger walking up to you for a chat. Worrying everyone in the gym is looking at and judging you when they are worried themselves (or they don’t even notice you because they are so focused).

Something funny about action is, it can be very simplistic or very complicated, and it all depends on how you see it. Apart from that, it is powerful. The “small habits” thing isn’t a joke. If you just choose to do something small every day, you will be much better off in the future. Action is such a miraculous thing, yet everyone just seems to avoid it. If you’re thinking about what brings you to the next level, this.

So… just do it.

Therefore, as the cliche says… Balance is key. What I like to follow as the rule-of-thumb is 1:4. Say you have 4 hours of activity, use 1 hour to plan for it. Plan the logistics first, and then some key details. Don’t go overboard. Once you get the idea of what to do, it’s set. All you have to do next is to go for it and savour the moment.

Not until you actually attend that event or do that literal thing you’ve been thinking about, will you FEEL what it is ACTUALLY like. It’s different to what you predict it to be. It’s exhilarating and a relieving at the same time. It’s a magical feeling.