The third smartcut can be boiled down to one word: PLAN.
Productivity guru Brian Tracy MBA wrote that every minute spent planning saves ten minutes of work. I don’t know where he got the statistic, but I tend to agree that taking the time to plan can help accomplish two things.
First, just starting a project via the planning process can help mitigate the bane of academia: procrastination.
Second, planning allows us to create the path we’re going to follow, identify potential obstacles in advance, and feel confident we will at least end up close to where we want to be. Meanwhile, skipping the plan and jumping straight into a large project is like having to hack our way through a jungle with a machete: it takes a lot of energy and you’re never certain you’re heading in the right direction!
- SMARTCUT #1: Follow the Instructions
- SMARTCUT #2: Recognise What You Can & Cannot Control
- SMARTCUT #3: Plan
- SMARTCUT #4: Use the Right Tools
- SMARTCUT #5: Build Positive Habits
- SMARTCUT #6: Training
- SMARTCUT #7: Learn from Others
- SMARTCUT #8: Ask for Help
- SMARTCUT #9 Get Out of Your Own Head
- SMARTCUT #10: Get Out of Your Own Way