Planning in the writing process (plan, write, revise, edit, proofread) and in life matters for growth that sticks. Lack of growth – feeling stuck – often comes from failure to plan.

At some point, planning must stop, and writing must commence. If it doesn’t? Analysis paralysis. Procrastination. Executive dysfunction. Maybe you’ve heard it described another way: “I’m stuck in planning mode.” Whatever you call it, it’s a failure to move to the next step. In writing, it’s failure to move from planning to actually writing.

I’ve seen this many times in writers I’ve worked with. The result is a last-minute, frantic attempt to finish an assignment, which leaves little time for the rest of the process, or abandonment of the project altogether. Some get stuck in planning because they want the perfect idea planned out in the perfect way. The result? Frustration over an elusive goal. As close as we can get comes via revising, editing, and proofreading. Many people get stuck planning because they fear writing. Ideas come out stunted, messy, and disjointed at times, which is uncomfortable and frustrating. Experienced writers will tell them, however, to just write that messy first draft and move on.

Many people make writing more difficult than it needs to be. They forget or never realize that it’s simply getting ideas down on paper, however they come out. The hard part? Revising and editing. Seeing what you wrote in increasingly refined ways. Fortunately, there’s lots of advice and protocols for managing these steps, too.

Moving from planning to writing in the writing process is much like moving from setting goals and preparing your environment for success to acting in life. Doing the activity itself gives you a much clearer picture of where you are than only making plans. Planning a vacation makes it go more smoothly, even if it rarely goes as planned. Game plans in sports. Teaching a class. A typical day at the office. How often do any of these activities go exactly as planned? The activity itself – the writing of life – is necessary for progress.

Deadlines help. Goals help. Having an iterative perspective helps. Keep trying and adjusting. Plan. Write. Revise. Repeat. Refuse to lose your focus for writing – for anything in life, really – because you never move on from planning.

Planning for my next book is well underway! A continuation of Comfortably Uncomfortable, this book will give you strategies for a deeper life. While I promise not to get stuck in the planning stage, I’m not quite ready to reveal a publication date. Stay tuned! You’re in a core group of my readers who will be the first to know.