A Work in Progress

"A goal without a plan is just a wish."

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

It seems to me that when creative individuals are confronted by structure and organization, they immediately revert into a passive-aggressive mode of operation.

Maybe this is why so many artists miss deadlines? I know creativity does run answer to a timeclock, but really? Having a goal is rarely a bad thing. It gives you something to aim for—a target to shoot at.

The Cylons had a Plan. The Bene Gesserit had a Plan. Hari Seldon had a Plan.

Now, we’ll ignore that most of those plans lasted decades and centuries. But how do you know how you’re going to get from Starting Point A to Finish Line B without having a Plan? How do you accomplish something like, say, writing a book without having a Plan?

Or, as a friend of mine put it oh-so-succinctly, “Focus, Steven! What's your PLAN????”

Well . . . umm . . .

I really have no excuse. Trained in project management, I can’t find direction on my own personal endeavors. Bad form. Worse yet, bad example!

So, I spent my Sunday morning putting one together: setting a SMART (Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-Bound) goal, specific objectives, and a list of scheduled milestones. I won’t bore you with its details there. Suffice to say, it exists.

Now we’ll see how well I do in sticking to it.