For every task whether simple or complex, a detailed action plan is necessary for the best outcome and accomplishment of goals. Although simpler tasks look easy but skipping one step can ruin all your efforts. Therefore you need to create an action plan having all the key tasks, their sequence, all the minor detailing to avoid any dilemma. It is very important to define your goals or purpose clearly before creating an action plan for favorable results.
An action plan turns imaginations into existence. It describes the course of how the strategies are utilized for achievement of objectives and goals. An effective action plan should have:
- All the actions required to do.
- Personnel required for the task.
- Time required for carrying out all the actions.
- All the required resources.
Reasons to Create an Action Plan
For successive completion of a task or a process it is very imperative to follow an organized approach. There are many reasons to create an action plan. Some of them are:
- To contribute to your organization.
- To make sure that all the minor details are looked upon.
- To take all the possibilities into account.
- For efficient achievement of all the goals.
How to Create an Action Plan
An action plan is the first thing to be done before starting any project. For maximum benefit, an action plan should be efficient enough to achieve all the set goals. Here is how to create an effective and efficient plan.
Define Goals and Objectives
First of all, the goals should be specific and clearly defined. The goals defined should be obtainable and practicable. It might be good to set higher goals but within a range that is easily accessible. Otherwise failure leads to disappointment and frustration. Always set a time frame to achieve those goals as it boosts up the whole process and augments better performance. Make sure to form “SMART” goals that means
S for “Specific”
M for “Measurable”
A for “Achievable”
R for “Relevant”
T for “Time bound”
Classify Tasks
Start by describing all the tasks that are required for achieving the defined goals and objectives. Write down all the tasks in their order of completion and priority. This step helps to avoid skipping of any important task which leads to erroneous results.
Set Achievable Milestones
Milestones represent Different levels on the path of accomplishing the set goals. Always create backward milestones; to start at the end and work astern towards current situations. By setting different milestones gives a feeling of accomplishment once a single milestone is achieved and it encourage to work efficiently.
Brainstorming
Brainstorming is the complete list of actions and creative ideas that are required for the achievement of a particular goal. By using this approach, List all these actions and write down below the specific goal.
Make a Schedule
After brainstorming, make a schedule of all the tasks along with the time frames. Now make a daily plan for these tasks to generate expectancy and precedence. However, if there are more tasks in your daily routine it will be critical to manage all of these; therefore, in such situations time management is the most important thing.
Designate Resources
Designate monetary, human and physical resources at each and every step. It is important to avoid any shortfall of these resources anywhere in the progression. If, unfortunately, any shortcoming of these resources occurs it is important to revise the plan and overcome it.
Monitoring
Several measures should be taken for monitoring of all the tasks at every step of the action plan. This step is very important to identify any problem or imperfection that might occur in the process.
Implementation
Once all the above steps are completed, it is now time to implement the action plan that you have created. For effective results, follow the schedule religiously. Do all tasks as you have scheduled them. If you do not follow the steps as it is, you are not going to accomplish your goal.
Evaluation
It is very important to evaluate your performance time to time for best results.
Conclusion
An action plan is the complex version of To Do lists, which helps to manage different tasks together easily. It is usually effective while managing small projects. It is therefore important to create a productive action plan for efficient achievement of goals.