“…thinking in more effective ways about projects and situations can make things happen sooner, better, and more successfully.”

David Allen, Getting Things Done p.62

I have been working on a long-term project involving planning resources for some time now, a project that deals with real life time management and planning processes. As a very visually-oriented person, I learn better through written aids, such as worksheets, checklists, and especially the GTD Workflow diagram. I have created a few tools for my own use, and shared some of them with my readers.

One of the Best Productivity Ideas

The latest project has to do with the Natural Planning process that David Allen discusses in Chapter Three of Getting Things Done. I believe that this is one of the most useful productivity ideas to turn up in a long time. I wish that many of the facilitators of countless planning sessions that I have had to endure had heard of it!

What I like most about using this process is that no special equipment or expensive training is required. Merely following a sequence of steps can make project planning a joy rather than a modern form of torture. The irony of my own project is that the first time I read Getting Things Done I glossed over the section on planning as I did not think that I had any projects that were “serious” enough to warrant this kind of effort. I did not realize that this planning process is not at all cumbersome. On the contrary - it is straightforward and simple to follow and to implement. It can be used for large-scale, team-driven projects as well as something as mundane as a blog post.

In learning how to use the natural planning process for projects large and small I have learned to simplify my own project tracking and improve the completion rate. One of the most exciting consequences has been to move some of my Long-term Goals into shorter-termed Contexts.

Vertical thinking, really contemplating the issue at hand and how it will get from point A to point B is essential to the success of a project, and the natural planning method is a vertical thinking tool.

The Essential Phases of Natural Planning

There are five basic steps in this planning model, each of which will be examined in turn:

1. Define the Purpose of the project and the Principles to be followed
2. Outcome Visioning
3. Brainstorming
4. Organizing
5. Identify the Next Actions

Following these steps, in this order, may seem like common sense. Yet how many of you have been trapped in “planning sessions” where common sense had apparently been tossed out a window? Where no actual planning got done? Where you left the meeting feeling defeated and demoralized, with less of an idea of what you were supposed to accomplish than when you went in?

Define the Purpose of the Project

One of the most common mistakes that planners make is to start putting together a plan, agenda, or punch-list without having a clear idea of exactly what they want to accomplish. Project planning can be greatly enhanced by the use of high-level thinking (what David Allen calls “the 50,000 foot level”, Getting Things Done, p.51). Getting the “big picture” view of the current project or situation will aid you in determining the need-behind-the-need, or the “Why” of working on the project in the first place. If you do not know why you are working toward a particular goal you may never get there, and you will certainly never persuade anyone else to follow you into that darkness.

“Anything worth doing is worth doing well“

Asking yourself, your leader, or your team about the “Why” of a project or obstacle is a good way of finding out if it is worth doing. [editor’s note: if it is not worth doing, do not spend any more time on it!!] What is the cost of this effort going to be measured in - time, energy, expense? Who is going to pay the price?

When your leader, you, and those you are leading all understand the value of the project it leads to increased motivation. Getting motivated about the execution of the project creates a stimulus for doing the hard work of proper planning.

Principled Planning

Once you have determined that a project is worth doing, what are the values and principles that will guide you through to its completion? Depending on the type of project it is, you may have certain values regarding safety, cost, usability, complexity, etc. Are there principles that you are willing to compromise in order to meet a deadline? Which of your principles cannot be violated, regardless of cost or time constraints?

Including resource allocation into your project plan will be essential to its success. People, money, and time are the most common resources, ask yourself which others you may need. Is there a dedicated team, or workspace, or a new piece of machinery/equipment that must be obtained? How will these choices affect the eventual success of the project?

Finally, your principles will determine how changes are made to the plan once it is underway. Who will review and approve these changes? Are there naturally occurring points in the plan where choices about changes can/have to be made?

The Purpose = A Compass

The plan that you are about to create will be your road-map to success. Your Purpose and Principles become the compass that keeps you pointed in the right direction. Clearly defining your purpose and the principles that you will follow make it possible to communicate your goals to your team, or those who will ultimately be implementing this plan. This open communication will make it simple to monitor your program and detect when it may be getting off-track or bogged-down.

In the next posts in this series we will look at Outcome Visioning, Brainstorming, Organizing, and Identifying your Next Actions. At the end we will go over some real-life examples and present a planning tool that can guide you through this Natural Planning Process.

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