A wonderful article by Ivan Pirog on spontaneous planning:
The Formula for Success: Spontaneous Planning and Living in the Flow
Is success possible without setting long-term goals and planning? Can you move in several directions at once without spreading yourself too thin? How do you live in the flow, forgetting terms like “self-motivation” and “laziness”?
This is the second part of the article “Spontaneous Planning for Those Who Hate Time Management.”
Here you’ll find all the best bits that didn’t make it into the first part. You’ll learn about the biggest mistake of popular goal-achievement systems. About why people give up on pursuing their cherished dreams. And you’ll get acquainted with five practical components of the success formula.
This article is dedicated to all victims of time management who have failed in achieving ambitious goals. To people whose self-confidence has suffered in fruitless attempts to apply rational systems that contradict their inner nature.
“Why Do People Give Up on Pursuing Their Cherished Goal?”
Proponents of various goal-achievement systems, every single one of them, teach us how to set goals correctly. They assure us that proper goal-setting is half the battle.
The goal should be specific, measurable, results-oriented, time-bound, inspiring, and motivating. A properly set goal will continuously inspire and give you strength in your daily work.
Once the goal is set and truly sparks burning enthusiasm, we move on to creating a plan. At this step, we list the stages, deadlines, and all the necessary actions leading to success.
If the goal is inspiring, it will irresistibly push a person to do everything they’ve planned.
Right? At first glance, the theory is convincing. But, upon closer examination, it is deeply flawed at its very core. I want to say that the basic principle of time management, which everyone declares, is its fundamental mistake!
Let’s face the truth. Trainings have already taught us how to set goals correctly for a year or even ten years ahead. We know how to do that. So why does the vast majority give up on pursuing their goal right at the start?
Let’s figure it out now.
“The Glaring Mistake of Goal-Achievement Systems”
Imagine a horizontal line on a notebook page. The start of the line is the first step on the path to the goal. The other end of the line is the moment of achieving success. That is, the line reflects the time period from the start of the journey to arriving at the destination.
Let’s say the goal is set for two years: to buy a car. Let’s take this entire path as 100%. How long do you think a person will celebrate buying the car? Well, let’s say a week. It’s hard to celebrate any longer.
2 years is 700 days. Accordingly, 7 days of celebrating victory is 1% on the timeline. Let’s not delve into the fact that a person can’t work all 693 days straight. For our example, let’s assume they can.
SO, THE MISTAKE OF GOAL-ACHIEVEMENT SYSTEMS IS THIS…
They teach us to get motivated by positive experiences and the moment of glory from that measly 1% of the total time. Meanwhile, they completely ignore the joy and pleasure of the process itself!
While preparing this article, I deliberately reviewed books and articles on time management. Everywhere it was said that a goal should inspire. But not a word about how the activity itself absolutely must bring pleasure, a sense of meaning, and satisfaction.
What’s more! In one blog, I found the following. I quote:
Seeing such a tempting goal as a million dollars in front of you, you won’t have to ask yourself “how to make myself work.” You’ll have high self-motivation when it comes to work that contributes to achieving your long-term goal (dream!). Moreover, your daily routine actions will become more conscious and filled with meaning, because you’re working toward your dream!
Later in the text, the author suggests setting a goal: “$1,000,000 in seven years, so you don’t have to work 8 hours a day anymore.” In other words, he considers it normal to endure routine and unpleasant work for seven years just so you never have to do it again.
But that’s complete absurdity! Wouldn’t it be better to spend seven years on something that brings you joy? And really, why limit yourself with time frames? Why not do it for your whole life?!
In my opinion, reason number one why people abandon an inspiring goal is the unwillingness to do tasks that don’t resonate with their soul. The unwillingness to engage in them at all, despite the desire to achieve the goal.
Proper goal-achievement systems should first and foremost teach us to find an activity we enjoy. Then set a goal. And only after that, make a plan: how to achieve the goal by doing what we love.
With this approach, all 100% of the time period will bring joy.
That’s why the first and most important principle of the success formula sounds like this: do what you like and what brings you pleasure.
I want to note that an activity that brings pleasure doesn’t mean an easy activity. For example, writing blog articles is hard work for me and, at times, mind-blowing. But overall, I really enjoy it 🙂
“Let’s Swap the Concept of GOAL for PATH”
A goal is a destination or a final product at the finish line. The moment of achieving it is a fact that can only happen once. After reaching a goal, you can rest on your laurels for a while, and then set the next one.
The moment when a goal is achieved cannot stretch out over time. For example, when you go to the store and buy kefir. As soon as you pay, it’s yours. The goal is achieved. It’s impossible to go to the store and pay for kefir for a whole year. Well, only if you didn’t buy it on credit 🙂
Okay, this is clear and obvious. Now let’s answer the question: why is setting the goals listed below fundamentally wrong? Here’s the list:
- Learn English;
- Start your own business;
- Learn to play the guitar;
- Find your true love.
The desire to learn English cannot be a goal. It’s a process of continuously improving your speaking and writing skills. It can’t be finite, if only because we’ll have to constantly maintain our vocabulary. Otherwise, we’ll simply forget the language.
Starting a business isn’t a goal either. A business needs constant development: new clients, new services, process improvements, and so on. A business requires regular investment. We can’t just become business owners one day and rest on our laurels.
Well, it depends on the business, I suppose. But that’s not the point. I think you get the idea.
The other points are pretty clear too. Playing the guitar is a process. If you stop, the skills fade. And if we’ve found our true love, the fairytale is just beginning 🙂
But if these aren’t goals, then what are they? Let’s call it a path. A path that has a direction and involves constantly gaining experience with continuous development of skills and talents.
Then our list transforms from a list of goals into a list of desires. Desires to move in a certain direction and grow. Let’s phrase it more accurately:
- Embark on the path of continuously improving my spoken and written English skills;
- Embark on the path of creating and constantly developing my own business;
- Learn to play the guitar and refine my mastery by performing for friends and at concerts;
- Find my true love, so I can continuously build, strengthen, and nurture the relationship.
“Goals on the Path”
If you remember, the previous article was about living without goals. This point needs a more detailed explanation to avoid misunderstandings.
It’s not that the path leads to a goal, but moving along the path involves achieving small goals.
Let me explain with my own example. When I decided to start a blog, I didn’t set goals like: “Create a popular blog that will make it into the top ten.” Instead, I made the decision to embark on the path of blogging. The path of constantly developing my writing skills, the path of continuous communication with readers, and the path of new discoveries.
At first glance, this aligns with the principle of “life without goals.” But not entirely. On the path of blogging, I constantly encounter goals. Right now, my goal is to finish this article. The next one will be to write another article. Then I’ll want to improve something in the design. And so on.
It’s like traveling through uncharted territory. A wanderer walks through the forest, enjoying the beauty, the scent of freshness after the rain, and the chirping of birds. Suddenly, they come to a river. Their goal now is to cross to the other side. As soon as that happens, their path continues.
Then the traveler steps out onto a scenic plain and sees a mountain. He decides to climb to the top. Now his goal is to conquer the summit and enjoy the view. When he reaches the top, the goal will be achieved, but the journey will continue.
In my opinion, this is the ideal way to frame things.
This is the second principle of the success formula, which states: constant development and living in the flow, instead of setting goals.
“Moving in Several Directions at Once”
Developing in several directions is one of the most important principles of the success formula. It provides the necessary novelty of experience and a change of activity. For an irrational person, doing just one thing is like death.
Staying in a flow of variety keeps interest alive and prevents you from abandoning projects you’ve started.
Spontaneously switching from one activity to another is like a friendly party. Imagine you’ve invited thirty of your best friends. You share different interests with each one. You have something to talk about with everyone.
The party is in full swing, and you want to give everyone some attention. First, you strike up a conversation with one friend; ten minutes later, you’re chatting with another. Half an hour in, you’re actively taking part in a fascinating discussion with a small group of people.
By switching from one person to another, you’ll manage to talk to everyone over the course of the night. Now imagine that party lasts a whole year! That’s enough time to discuss a million different topics with each guest individually. The productivity is tangible.
But from this perspective, what does moving toward a single goal look like?
A similar example: a party, conversation. The only difference is that you’ve invited just one friend and plan to talk to them for an entire year. Every single day! You’ll enjoy each other’s company at first, but not for a whole year!
So, success principle #3 is: variety through movement in several directions.
“But What If I Start Spreading Myself Thin by Doing Multiple Things?”
Let’s first define what “spreading yourself thin” means in the negative sense of the word.
Spreading yourself thin means grabbing onto several things at once and dropping them without finishing. It also involves doing unnecessary actions instead of focusing on what’s important. Simply put, spreading yourself thin means cluttering your attention with trivialities, changing goals like you change gloves.
It’s easy to avoid this.
First, a list of directions will help us. Second, for each direction, we’ll prepare a list of important actions. Third, we’ll need minimal oversight of the directions. Fourth, our list will only include paths that our heart is drawn to.
Throughout the day, as we switch from one direction to another, we’ll focus on what’s essential. It might look like spreading yourself thin, but I’d call it multi-tasking NON-spreading 🙂
“Getting Ready for Spontaneous Planning”
Well, it’s time to get down to practice! We’ve already covered the three most important principles of spontaneous planning. Practical experience will help us absorb the remaining two.
STEP ONE
First, let’s define the directions we want to move in. This will be a list of all the paths we feel drawn to take.
Take a blank sheet of paper and list all the paths that interest you in a column. If you’re not sure what you want to do, I recommend going through a search for your talents.
Note that we’re not listing goals. We’re listing paths. So I suggest clearing your mind of thoughts about results you can achieve. Forget about success and fame. Focus on making sure the areas of activity are interesting to you and bring you joy.
Keep writing until you run out of ideas. Turn off your inner critic. Now is not the time to think: “I have no experience in this,” “It won’t work out,” “There are no opportunities,” and so on.
Try to make each point answer the question “what to do?” For example: “Grow flowers,” “Write books,” “Train memory,” “Learn and improve English.”
STEP TWO
The list of directions is ready. Now, for each direction, we write down the types of activities we’ll engage in. Notice that these types of activities are not a “To-do” list. They’re more like options for things to do within one direction.
Start the name of each type of activity with the words: “Right now I would work on…” or “Right now I would focus on…“
Let me give an example. Suppose there’s a direction “Write adventure novels.” What types of activities does this include? Something like this:
Right now I would work on generating ideas for the next books;
Right now I would focus on thinking through the plot;
Right now I would work on describing the characters’ personalities and their motivations;
Right now I would focus on writing the next chapter for the draft;
Right now I would work on editing the text;
If you’ve decided to embark on the path of learning English, the list might look like this:
Right now I would focus on reading a book in English;
Right now I would work on watching a movie with English subtitles;
Right now I would focus on reading a grammar textbook;
Right now I would work on composing a few sentences with new words;
STEP THREE
For directions that involve monetary profit, complete one important task that will help determine the value of your work for others.
Write down the name of the direction separately and answer the questions:
What value does my work provide as an output? What product or service is this?
Why do people need this value?
What needs of people am I satisfying with this value? What problems am I solving for them?
And when this need is satisfied, what changes in their lives?
And when that changes in their lives, what happens next?
What will I get by doing this for people?
And when I get that, what will happen then?
A good little list. It helps clarify the situation and get a couple of insights.
“The Practice of Spontaneous Planning”
So, in the first two steps, we got a list of directions with a set of activities for each one. Now it’s very important to hang it in a visible place.
Make the list accessible at any moment. Print out several copies. Carry it with you. Irrationals tend to forget the items on a list. They usually say: “Oh, come on. I remember the list anyway. I won’t forget.” Saying that would be a mistake.
First, when it’s time to act, irrationals often forget about the list and its contents. That’s just how they’re wired. Second, we’ll need the list to identify the inner responses that kick-start the inner engine of creative energy.
WHAT TO DO WITH THE LIST?
When it’s time to act, take the list and read it. While reading the items, pay attention to your inner body responses and emotions. Listen to how you react to each type of activity.
As soon as you feel there’s an inner desire and readiness to do something from the list, start taking action. Do it until you feel you’re about to start forcing yourself to continue the work.
At that moment, stop and praise yourself! This is very important. Reward yourself with a kind word, because you’ve just made progress along your chosen path. You deserve the encouragement.
Now, for variety, switch to a different type of activity. Look through the list again, listening to your responses. You’ll notice that the activities you didn’t feel like doing a couple of hours ago are now very appealing.
Having chosen the next activity, act until you feel you don’t want to anymore. Don’t force yourself to keep going. This can lead to overdoing it. If you overdo it, the desire to return to that activity might not come back for a long time.
We’ll talk about overdoing it in detail in the next article. For now, I want to quote the definition Barry Fireburn gives in his seminars:
“Overdoing it is a negative phenomenon that occurs when a person cannot track the optimal moment to finish a particular action in time and starts to ‘persist,’ trying to do it further or longer than that moment. It has certain (unpleasant) manifestations and even more unpleasant consequences.”
This is the fourth principle of the success formula: don’t overdo it!
By the way, by switching from one activity to another, you ensure variety as well as control over the directions. This is a very simple kind of control. It helps avoid scattering and helps you focus on several directions at once.
Therefore, principle #5 is: control the directions.
It’s like watching TV. The viewer sits in front of the screen and clicks through channels on the remote. When they find an interesting show or movie, they stay on that channel for a while. When the movie ends, they keep switching channels in search of something interesting. It’s the same with a list.
“Conclusion”
There’s so much more I’d like to say, but it’s time to wrap up. We’ve covered the core principles of the success formula. Now, using them as a foundation, you can create your own system for a spontaneous life, tailoring it to fit you.
A final few words for those who go to work every day and don’t yet have the chance to pursue their passions (for now).
Using the spontaneous planning approach, you can create to-do lists with tasks that need to be done. The principle is the same: look through the list, choose what you feel like doing right now, and spend some time on it.
No priorities and no “eating the frog” first. Only what you feel like doing right now. Of course, this applies to those who don’t work a regular job too.
In short, it’s up to you to decide how to use the success formula. There are no rigid rules here. Take for yourself what seemed most valuable. And now, let’s sum it all up:
- It shouldn’t be the goal that inspires you, but the activity itself;
- Do what brings you joy;
- Instead of setting a goal, make a decision to embark on a path of continuous growth in a certain direction;
- Move in several directions at once, switching between them using your list;
- Don’t lose your list. Keep it in an accessible place;
- Avoid overdoing it;
- Keep track of your directions so you don’t spread yourself too thin.
That’s all for now. Thank you for sticking with me until the end! I wish you success on your journey of discovering spontaneous time management 🙂
“If you share this text somewhere online, please credit the author. Thank you!”
Best regards, Ivan Pirog