A Proven Strategy to Getting Things Done

The Life You’ve Wanted Starts With A Plan

Part 2 – A Proven Strategy to Getting Things Done

In I.S. (Information Systems), the major projects that get implemented are done so by using the life cycle process we discussed last week.   Not to get too technical and bore you to death, I need to give you the pieces, but in a way you can use them to implement the projects in your life, your home.  Continue reading at your own risk.  Normal people don’t do this type of stuff and they don’t get these type results.  If you read beyond this point, you might be tempted to use this to make your life exactly what you want your life to be.  Remember your life is your business.  It’s not your mom’s business, it’s not even your pastor’s business.  Your employer doesn’t run your business; you do!  In your business-your life, if you want to get big things accomplished, you are going to need a process.   What I’m offering you are the concepts to use daily to help other businesses succeed-the same processes you use at work everyday.  You can use the same business techniques from the office and apply to your home, your life, your business.  I’d like to call this process “The Project Implementation Life Cycle” or PILC.

Here are the PILC phases and how you can use them to do anything you plan to do for your life-your business:

Phase 1 – Planning: We talked a lot about planning so I won’t spend much time here.  Planning as phase 1 is just to state what you want to get done.  If I were you and this is very important, I’d write my plan down.  For example, Pamela and I wanted to complete our basement, so we jotted down a plan.

Phase 2 – Analysis: In this 2nd phase, you discuss what it will take to accomplish the project.  Notice that so far you don’t need 1 penny to begin the process.  For Pamela and I, we only needed a few things since we determined in this phase that we wouldn’t be able to do the work ourselves.  So to accomplish this project we needed money and a contractor.  Sounds simple?  Let me reassure you, everything becomes simple when you stop overthinking and get started-put pen to paper.

Phase 3 – Design:  In this 3rd phase which I love, you still don’t need a dime.  This is where we needed to get specific regarding what we wanted to see and in our case completion of our basement level.  After talking to our contractor who gave us some great ideas (taking action), we went to the internet and found some pictures to give us a visual to what we wanted to accomplish.  The next step was to make sure we had our funds in place.  Just a note, I’d never start a project that resources weren’t available.  We wouldn’t want to have to put our project on hold for any reason.

Phase 4 – Construction: Let the work of a well designed plan begin.  Let’s pause here for a second.  In each phase, give yourself an opportunity to use the phase as a topic of discussion when you consult God-prayer.  In this 4th phase, you’ve put together a design that you’re happy with, now pull the trigger and let the work start.  It’s as simple as that!  Don’t let doubt, worry and what others have to say stop you from making progress on your project.  Running your life is your business!

Phase 5 – Testing: Let me say this up front, nothing ever goes totally as planned.  There will always be obstacles to overcome.  Know it, accept it and live with it, but more importantly don’t let it stop you from completing the goal.  In this 5th phase, you make any adjusts you need, revisit your design and taking into consideration the setback(s), you work around the obstacle(s) and make it work.  For our basement project, we wanted to implement in 2 phases, a family room with a workout room and a full bathroom.  Well it wasn’t wise to do it in 2 phases, months a part as we planned, so we needed to figure out how we could do it all at once.  We adjusted our plans. We didn’t stop.  We didn’t have to consult a counselor.  We didn’t have to take a second mortgage.  We simply altered the plan and moved forward at our own pace.   

Phase 6 – Implementation: The final phase of the project is when the plan has been completed, tested and can come to an end.  You get to see your plan become a reality.  It’s this phase which will fuel you to begin your next project.  

What would completing your most desired project do for you?  Leave your comments.

Life is too short to keep putting off all the projects you want to accomplish.  You’re not getting more time to do them.  So why put yourself in crunch time at the end of your life to do the things you can do now?