With the planning and preparation behind you, now’s the time for action as you launch yourself on the journey of a lifetime towards your vision. Keeping up the momentum is vital to make constant progress and avoid stagnation, and it will also help you maintain your purpose and focus.
Although you need to keep moving forward, it’s important that this doesn’t become frenetic, but that you keep control and train your eye firmly on the prize. This means, despite the emphasis on doing, you’ll also need to plan and review your actions.
The key is to allocate time to thinking and doing in the right proportions, as this will significantly increase your chance of success. To keep the emphasis on action, a maximum of 20% of your time should be dedicated to gaining clarity of thought to enable you to plan, review and strategise, while the remaining 80% should be devoted to doing. This will allow you time out to make sure you’re on the right track and are learning from your experiences.
But as you’re only spending a fifth of your time thinking, make the most of it. Give due consideration to the quality of your thoughts, as crisp and clear thinking will drive your plans in the right direction. Make provision for quality thinking time (QTT) – the space to ponder without interference or distraction. Thinking in stressful, chaotic conditions will achieve little.
Although focusing mentally is vital, don’t be tempted to overdo it – stick to your 20% time allocation. Avoid pontificating about your desires and needs. Be sure to get on with it when you have decided exactly what it is you are going to do.
Positive progress is only made when doing follows thinking. However, your dreams and visions will remain in your head if you don’t push yourself towards implementation. Remember the following equation