Strategic planning is useful in charting out a general course and assigning priority, but it can be time consuming and difficult to account for all the details, time and effort estimates, and problems that crop up. Creating or working toward deadlines amps up a task’s urgency and boosts short-term productivity, but too many deadlines lessens or breaks the effect especially if deadlines are missed. Crafting a robust system is fantastic, but it takes upfront effort and a willingness to delay the work’s reward which can put stress in other areas. Asking for help and delegating is magical when it works, but finding the right person for the right job with the right agreement should almost be considered an art form.
With all the tools available to you, which do you use most often? What’s your balance? What would you like your balance to be?