I can bet that you are an advocate of flexibility, especially as regards making adjustments when plans don’t seem to be generating the desired results. There is really nothing wrong with that, as long as you have given sufficient time backed up with relevant information to guide your decision. Where I consider it as a huge problem is when you are so eager to have your plans so perfect that you keep adjusting it without ever allowing it gather the necessary momentum to generate visible results.
I’ll be revealing 5 shocking reasons why constantly changing your plans are not as beneficial as they may seem in achieving results.
- Your initial plan might just be great; you may actually have struck a good deal or made an excellent bargain at the first instance but your deviation or constant tweaking deprives you from enjoying or harnessing the inherent potentials. You might never get to know how good a plan you had if you never allowed it to overcome inertia and gain traction.
- Results appreciate with input; if your reason for tweaking your plans hinge around the fact that you don’t see visible results soon enough, you have to remind yourself that it usually takes numerous blows to breakdown a rock and every single hit contributed to the eventual result. You always make more impact than is visible but the accumulation of your effort over time is what gives you an impressive visible result.
- Lots of resources will waste; a lot is put into back and forth movements. Commencing the implementation of a plan and returning to change the plan is often accompanied by some degree of waste. Imagine that you are building a house according to a plan and after the casting of the staircase; you decide to reposition the staircase for reasons best known to you. This may involve breaking down the existing structure and unfortunately certain material will not be easy to reuse. This is also applicable in terminating an investment before maturity. There is usually some sort of penalty which may include forfeiting of accrued interest or a portion of it. Always compare the additional advantage that the change in plan will bring to the lost resources in deviating from the plan.
- Time is lost in the process; Time can be considered as a resource but this happens to be an irreplaceable one. Numerous activities can be run concurrently and some of them can be repeated but once time is missed, it’s been missed. You’ll need to borrow time that would have been used to achieve something else. Consistently tweaking your plans during implementation is like moving in different direction. A 3 hours journey may end up becoming a whole day’s journey if you keep changing route continuously without sticking to one. Just as a map with navigation is a very helpful tool for saving time and gas when making a trip, Some sort of code or principle should guide your decisions in sticking with plans or changing them.
- There’s no guarantee that you are not going to change again once you start changing; this may sound funny but it is true. If you are in the habit of constantly creating new plans without considering the implication, you may just keep going on and on without ever realizing that a lot is going down the drain and worst still, you may never get to follow one to a logical conclusion. You may think that you already know this but the real question is; what have you done with what you already know? For how long will you continue to assume that nothing works in that area that you have continuously tweaked? This is certainly the time to get accountable and take ownership of the results that you generate by sticking with your plan and only making changes when they are truly necessary based on facts from verifiable data.
The fact that you tried many things and none seemed to have worked is not a conclusion that the options you tried were not viable, there is that slight possibility that certain key things to reaching their full potentials were not applied before a change in course.
It is important to consider your working tools, the best practices in the field, your willingness and ability, outsourcing or the possibility of partnering before you give up on a venture or an approach that you adopted. There could just be that missing link that you can find and push things in the direction of your expectation.
There are also times to give up on adopted plans as you are not compelled to stick with it just because you started out with it. When you realize that a plan does not resonate with your values or you have sincerely lost interest, there really wouldn’t be any need to force yourself against your will. When better options or more effective solutions emerge, you can replace the old but never forget that focus and consistency is what enables you to put in the required amount of attention that can generate visible results. Moving in every direction at once will only leave you where you are or get you to nowhere. Your effort must be directed, else a lot will go to waste and that’s why it remains best to have a good plan to stick to until you generate your desired results.
Wise Counsel 