Are You Stuck in “Planning Mode” or Are You Taking Massive Action?

by Aliyah Dastour

“When the path reveals itself, follow it” – Cheryl Strayed

You might have read that quote above and said, well, the path hasn’t revealed itself yet… But maybe the issue is that it HAS revealed itself, but you aren’t willing to see that path because of all of your distractions in the way.

It’s crazy to me how quickly we will spend our time planning to plan to create the plans of what we want to do when we are able. As someone who is guilty of this myself, I’ve learned that in order to see the results I dream to see, taking action is the most crucial step. There is no sense in planning to do something if nothing actually happens with those plans.

This year, I want to be the year for you that you are SHOWING UP exactly where YOU want to show up and be consistent in taking massive action versus doing the fun “planning phase” of it. While planning is important, it’s easy to stay stuck in the planning phase. My advice is to plan enough to take the first few steps and then see how it actually goes once you start taking action. Sometimes there are unexpected surprises or challenges or routes that weren’t initially seen that will help guide you to where you should be going and it’s never revealed until you take the first few steps.

Here are my 3 pieces of advice I’d love for you to consider as you choose to SHOW UP in 2020 to set yourself up for success achieving whatever goals you have set for yourself this year.

1. Don’t stretch yourself too thin – rather than putting 10 things on your to-do list, put the MOST important thing that will get you closer to your goals the fastest on the list first. Accomplish this goal and stay consistent in it. Once this is a process, is batched, or delegated so you’re not having to spend much time on it, move on to the next item on your list. It’s easy to feel “stuck” when you have 29 things on your to-do list and only 24 hours in a day to accomplish it, it can feel overwhelming. Don’t allow it to, by keeping yourself nimble and crossing those items off the list by focusing on the RIGHT thing first.
2. Do what you do best and offload the rest. There are a few exceptions to this rule, but rather than trying to do ALL THE THINGS, do the things that you thrive in doing and where you feel most productive and proficient. This will allow you to feel excited about showing up and help you stay in your zone so you can create work that feels good.
3. Schedule the most important things on your calendar to make sure you are giving it the time it deserves. I have learned to block my video creation time on my calendar and along with my video blueprint I can efficiently get through all of my videos I create for 3 months. And more importantly, I block my family vacation time so that work doesn’t run over this time when things get busy. While I am committed and love what I do, I need to give the time to the people that need me the most, my family. Too many times over the past 10 years I’ve allowed myself to “reschedule” or “plan for that vacay later” when I feel things are busy at work.

Originally published by Aliyah Dastour on January 13, 2020.  Aliyah Dastour is the CEO at Alimond Photography & Alimond Academy in Leesburg, VA.  Aliyah is dedicated to helping clients deliver their “it” factor through Video Marketing and Branded Headshots.