“Plan for what is difficult while it is easy. Do what is great while it is small.”
Sun Tzu
Rarely do great works become easier because you put off starting. Rushing to get something done at the last minute isn’t a mark of high efficiency but is instead an indication of poor planning and prioritization.
I used to believe that I did my best work when I was under the gun, under the pressure from needing to hit a deadline. The truth is that I was using that as an excuse for not setting aside the time to tackle the hard work before it became a last minute time crunch.
Doing the hard work is much easier when you plan for it appropriately. Waiting until the last minute isn’t a plan, it is a recipe for failure…
Timeless truths do not change. I guess that’s because they’re timeless.
I’m re-reading the first sales book I had ever read (nearly 20 years ago). The author is Frank Bettger (1888–1981). The book is How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling (1947).
Chapter Three hits head-on the topic of planning and organizing. The final sentence reads: “The whole secret of freedom from anxiety over not having enough time lies not in working more hours, but in the proper planning of hours.”
Within this chapter, he includes a poem:
It isn’t that I’m indolent
Or dodging duty by intent;
I work as hard as anyone,
And yet I get so little done,
The morning goes, the noon is here,
Before I know, the night is near,
And all around me, I regret
Are things I haven’t finished yet.
If I could get just organized!
I oftentimes have realized
Not all that matters is the man;
The man must also have a plan.
Thank you, Dusty, for posting this Sun Tzu quote. I’m a big fan of the book: Sun Tzu – The Art of War for Managers: 50 Strategic Rules for Today’s Business by Gerald A Michaelson