The common trap of personal development is to remain in a place where you are continuously learning and absorbing all the knowledge whether it is reading books, listening to podcast, taking courses or attending seminars.
This can be very subtle and you can mistake them for growth.
In our quest for growth and hunger to improve, we need some space for integration. This is a period where we need to apply what we have been learning.
In fact, one of the best ways to learn is to learn by doing.
Of what use is all the frequent learning and constant planning if we cannot see results. Execution is what leads to these results.
When you are trapped in a state of overplanning, all you have is just head knowledge that has not been activated and this can be very detrimental to your growth as it can lead to self-doubt and resentment.
If you have been wondering how to get out of this rat hole, make this post your final post to move out of your comfort zone and GET THINGS DONE!
Some of the major reasons that causes this mistake of thinking more but doing less could be as a result of;
- Fear of the unknown – In your quest for growth, one of the devils you MUST kill and overcome is FEAR.
The fear of the unknown has crippled so many destinies and kept so many talents hidden.
One thing that intrigues me about confident people is their daring spirit. Their attitude to go out and conquer come what may is so inspiring.
Half of your problem will be solved if you conquer your fear.
Let me tell you something of fact…people don’t give a hoot about you like you think. They are 99.9% thinking about their own lives. The thought of failing and looking bad would stifle your growth and you shouldn’t let that happen.
- Perfectionism – One thing I have found out to beat perfectionism is to stop being too critical of other people’s actions, output or product.
I use to be the kind of person that spots out any mistakes or irregularities in people’s jobs. I will sit behind my phone and laptop and just judge and judge my life away.
I’d say things like ‘oh! She should have done it like this’ or ‘she shouldn’t have put that out for the world to see’.
This particular trait really limited my output as I was always scared people will judge me and mock me.
It took a whole lot of reconditioning and reprogramming to rid and done with that mindset.
Now, when I see someone doing something and putting themselves out there amidst the criticism, I applaud their effort, and even drop some words of encouragement.
This is one of the bravest things to do.
I always motivate myself by digging into the past videos and journey of people I look up to in my industry, and it gives me the necessary push to keep showing up.
- Comfortable with being comfortable – One powerful quote I love about comfort zone is ‘if you don’t step out of your comfort zone and face your fears, the number of situations that makes you uncomfortable will keep growing’.
Reading that alone makes me jump out of bed and do what is needed for my growth.
Staying in your comfort zone is like a love-hate relationship. You feel so safe assuming a state of hiatus and that can be OK in the present, but in the futures, this can be your greatest undoing.
To break this seemingly beneficial but actually detrimental habit of over planning and over thinking, here are 7 ways to stop overplanning and start executing.
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SET A TIME FRAME FOR PLANNING
I always set out my Sundays for planning my weekly activities and just execute in the remaining days of the week.
To get out of that trap of wishing and wanting, you have to set limits on your planning time and get on to executing all that you have planned.
Set aside a day to plan your week or you can set aside an hour to plan your day.
Don’t go beyond this time frame. Any other thing that you remember to plan, put it down as reminder somewhere and move it to your next planning day or hour.
This habit will help you stay focused and clear on what you need to execute and get done with.
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DITCH THE PERFECTIONISM MINDSET
Consistent average work will always beat exceptional work that is rarely done. You will never experience the power of consistency if you keep in dwelling on the perfectionist maze.
Using myself for example, I know a lot of creators in the sewing sub industry that are doing amazingly well despite being amateur dressmakers.
Being a professional dressmaker, I can tell from their finished product that level of sewing skill and expertise.
But guess what! Their consistency has placed them far ahead above their contemporaries.
No matter how long you withhold putting yourself out there and actually doing the work, no matter how you keep on refining and updating your skills in the comfort of your zone, you will never be good enough if you don’t dip your foot in and test the waters.
People who are consistent improve tremendously because they learn on the job and improve by doing.
Make this post your gentle reminder to stop overthinking your amazingness and start blessing the world with your gifts and skills.
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BALANCE EACH PLAN WITH A CORRESPONDING EXECUTION
I always liken my goals to a Lever with a fulcrum, load and effort. To be able to balance this lever, the load must be equal to the effort.
To make your personal growth a reality, your execution has to balance out your planning. Putting off your task to a latter date is procrastination and shouldn’t be an ingredient in your personal growth journey.
One of the effects of overplanning is frequently procrastinating. To solve this problem of procrastination, balance out each planning with an execution partner and don’t go on to plan another thing until the last task has been executed.
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BREAK DOWN GOALS INTO MANAGEABLE AND ACTIONABLE STEPS
To get to letter Z, you need to go through A B C. Break down your task into actionable steps. For example, if you want to start your own blog, you can break down your task into sections like;
- Hosting,
- Pinterest strategy,
- Theme installation
- Content writing etc
Breaking your task into small steps helps you stay focused on one thing at a time and enables you to manage it effectively without getting overwhelmed with the big things.
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BREAK THE ICE OF INERTIA
Believe me when I say that the hardest part of execution is starting out. It is very easy to gain momentum when you are already in motion but very hard to leave that state of rest.
If you wait for things to be perfect, you will never start. Tomorrow is never the best time to start, the best time to start is NOW!
We often lie to ourselves by saying things like ‘I will start when I achieve this or that or ‘I will start when I buy this or that’. No sis, you will only start when you DO IT NOW!
Start that business you have been longing to start, learn that skill, start that blog, start that YouTube channel, just start!
You can start with something as simple as your brand name, logo and tagline. This can give you the much-needed push to forge on. People do not take note of your mistakes like you do, so please ditch the excuse and just jump already!
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MAKE PEACE WITH THE FACT THAT THINGS MAY NOT GO AS PLANNED
Aha! I love this one! There is a whole lot to learn when you decide to step out of your comfort zone into the world of your dreams.
It is such a huge learning curve and you have to dive in with an open mind and so much positivity.
When you make plans and launch out to actually do those things you planned, things may not go as planned and this is a common thing in the world of dreamers.
The sad thing that so many people do at this stage is to recoil and go back into their shell. This is what you should look out for and be aware of.
I once heard of an influencer who ran back to his 9-5 job because he could not take the negative comments that were thrown back at him from viewers.
As hurtful as this may sound, feedback can be used to improve on what we have done and go back to the drawing board to improve on the plan.
Also, because of the ever changing world that we live in, there are constant updates and upgrades on a daily base and the right thing to do is to keep abreast with what is new in your industry and field.
Things will not always go as planned, and that is OK. This is one of the perks of growing and self-improving and it’s good to learn how to navigate and maneuver such situations as they come.
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MAKE A LIST OF YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS
It is such a fulfilling and encouraging feeling to check of your list of goals that you have reached or accomplished.
This is a good practice to have as it can encourage and motivate you to pursue your goals and move on with your growth.
Having your accomplishments listed out can help boost your moral and give you that invisible pat on the back you sure need.
So, there you have it guys! These are the 7 ways to stop overplanning and just get on to smashing your task.
If this post was worth your read, I’ll love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below.
Share with your friends and in all your social media channels, and I’ll see you in my next post.
Do have a blessed day!
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