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An effective action plan always begins with a clear goal, purpose, or intention. Such a plan is designed to take a person from the current moment directly to the implementation of the stated goal. A properly drawn up action plan can solve almost any problem.

Steps

Part 1

Write down all the details. As you work on your action plan, start writing down every detail. You may find it useful to have a notepad with tabs to keep track of the different aspects of this process. Here are some example sections:

• Ideas/miscellaneous notes
• Daily charts
• Monthly charts
• Stages
• Research
• Continuation
• Participants/contacts

1. Outline the task. The more vague the task, the less effective the action plan will be. Try to define your desired goal as early as possible (preferably before starting the project).

   • Example: You need to write a master's thesis (major research) of approximately 40,000 words. This paper consists of an introduction, a review of the literature (with a critical analysis of other studies and consideration of your own methodology), a practical demonstration of your ideas with specific examples, and a conclusion. The duration of the work is 1 year.

2. The plan must be specific and realistic. A clear goal is just the beginning: every aspect of the plan must be precise and achievable. For example, plan specific and achievable schedules, milestones, and deliverables.

   • Precise and realistic plan items for a long-term project will proactively reduce the stress of poorly planned implementation with deadlines exceeded and tedious overtime work.
   • Example: You need to write about 5,000 words a month to finish your dissertation on time, leaving a couple more months at the end to refine your ideas. From a feasibility standpoint, you shouldn't set a goal to write more than 5,000 words every month.
   • If you work as a teaching assistant for three months out of the entire term, you may not have time to write 15,000 words during this time, as a result of which you will have to distribute this amount over the remaining months.

3. Intermediate stages. Stages are significant milestones on the way to a goal. Start planning stages from the end (achieving the goal) and move backwards to the present time and circumstances.

   Break large tasks into smaller, more manageable chunks. Some tasks or stages of work can be daunting.

   • If a large task is overwhelming you, breaking it down into manageable smaller subtasks can help reduce anxiety and increase confidence in your abilities.
   • Example: A literature review often becomes the most difficult section, a kind of foundation for future work. Completing this section requires studying and analyzing a large amount of information.
   • Divide the task into subtasks: research, analysis, presentation. You can narrow the subpoints even further and select specific articles and books to read, as well as set deadlines for completing the analysis and writing the results.

4. Use task lists. Make a list of tasks that need to be completed within each stage. The to-do list itself is ineffective, so indicate exact volumes and realistic deadlines.

   • Example: Divide the literature review work into small tasks so you know exactly what needs to be done and also estimate a realistic time frame. For example, every one or two days you will need to read, analyze and describe one source.

5. Set a time frame for everything. In the absence of a clear time frame, work can stretch on for an indefinitely long time, and some tasks will remain unfinished.

   • The order of the plan items is not critical, but the same cannot be said about the time frame for each aspect.
   • Example: If you know that you can read about 2,000 words in one hour, and the article to read is 10,000 words, then you need to allocate at least five hours of time for the article.
   • It is also necessary to take into account the time for at least two snacks and short breaks every 1-2 hours as you get tired. In addition, at least an additional hour should be added to the final time for possible unplanned delays.

6. Create a visual representation. Once you've completed your action lists and set your time frame, move on to creating some sort of visual representation of your plan. You can use a flowchart, Gantt chart, spreadsheet, or other convenient option.

   • Keep the visual plan in an accessible place - for example, you can hang it on the wall of your office or classroom.

7. Cross off completed tasks. Not only will this give you a sense of satisfaction, but it will also help you make sure you don't miss anything.

   • This approach is especially convenient for team work. When working with other people, you can create a shared document that can be accessed anywhere in the world.

8. Do not stop. Once you have made a plan, presented the tasks to your colleagues (when working together) and indicated the stages, move on to the next step: start working daily to achieve the goal.

   You can move the deadlines, but you can’t stop halfway. From time to time, unforeseen circumstances arise that make it difficult to meet deadlines, complete tasks, and achieve goals.

   • Don't be discouraged. Review the plan, and then continue working towards your goal.

9. Track your progress. Research has shown that moving forward successfully is the best motivation. To track your progress, simply cross off completed tasks on your schedule.

   Go to bed and get up early. Research into the daily routines of successful and productive people will tell you the truth - most of them start their day early. They also usually have a morning routine, which often motivates them to achieve further accomplishments.

   Take breaks. Breaks are necessary to stay motivated. If you are always working, you will become tired. Breaks help avoid overwork and optimize working time.

   Visualize. Take a few minutes to think about your goal and imagine how you will feel once you achieve it. This makes it easier to cope with difficulties that may arise.

   Understand that it won't be easy. Everything that is dear to a person is rarely given without difficulty. The path to a goal usually does not come without many problems and difficult decisions. Come to terms with this fact.

Part 4

1. Write down your wishes. A diary or text document is suitable for this purpose. If you are not yet sure what exactly you want to do, then this practice should help.

   • Regular journal entries are a great way to study yourself from the outside and record your feelings. Many people claim that writing down their own thoughts helps them understand their feelings and desires.

Do you often experience the joy of victories? If not too often, then we can assume that you do not often achieve the results you need. But still, I am sure that you want to increase the number of goals achieved and results achieved. Let's figure out what is needed in order to achieve these very results.

1. Purpose

First you need a goal. Purpose should ignite a fire within you. You must want to achieve it. If everything happens this way, then you will certainly be “on horseback”. If the goal does not ignite or motivate you, then think about whether it is really yours? Isn't it imposed on you from the outside? Relatives, friends, loved ones? Think about it. Sometimes such things are not entirely obvious.

Let's say that you have found a goal for which you are ready to jump out of bed in the morning. It is yours and you strongly desire to achieve it. What to do next?

2. Vision of the result

Once your goal is determined, I highly recommend sitting down and thinking about what outcome you want to achieve. Thinking about it is the minimum you should do. It will be better if you draw your result or at least write it down. It’s much easier to work with something visual. Remember that when you have an “image” of the result in your hands, the goal will be achieved much faster.

So you know your result. Then you can visualize it. For example, if you want to get a brand new iPad 3 and are saving money for it, counting every penny, then you can, for example, hang a picture of this device on your computer desktop. Why is this being done? It's simple. Firstly, you will clearly see why you are making such a big effort. Secondly, by seeing this picture, you will visualize the moment when you will hold it in your hands, when you will explore all its possibilities, etc. And this moment of visualization should not be neglected. Although this seems absurd at first glance, this technique works very well. It is also worth noting that the pictures should be as realistic as possible.

You determined your result, wrote it down, and drew it. What will we do next

3. Action plan

After the goal has been set and the result is known, it’s time to think about how to achieve this result, this goal. You can't do this without a good and structured plan. Therefore, your next action should be to draw up such a plan.

I recommend writing everything in as much detail as possible. Granted, you want the same iPad. To make money on it you need some kind of strategy or plan. You need to earn money. Perhaps you want to buy it cheaper somewhere in a foreign online store. You can make a detailed plan, starting with where and how you will earn a certain amount of money, which should be immediately determined, and ending with where you will purchase this tablet. By describing everything step by step, you will see where you are, what needs to be done, and what has already been done (perhaps your favorite). Therefore, do not be lazy to spend 15-20 minutes drawing up a plan. It will save you a lot more time later. I think you won't deny it.

What do we do after making a plan?

4. Select the active step

Once you have made a plan, you must choose an active step for the first points. An active step will be considered one that requires certain physical or mental actions from you (that’s why it’s active :)).

Let's say you've written down a plan to make money by selling (or reselling) a car. If you look closely, this is not an active step. After all, this paragraph does not imply any specific actions. How to choose this active action. You need to think about what you need to do to make the sale. Probably, the active steps at this point will be one of these:

1) Write a sales ad

2) Repair the brakes on the car

3) Assess the car and set a price for it, etc.

Now this is more specific, isn’t it? Therefore, every time you write a plan, write down an active step after that. This way you will know what to do and where to go.

Like this! Using this algorithm, your goals will be achieved much more efficiently. And you will feel the joy of victories much more often than before. Remember this and be sure to use it!

Now that the logic of action has been developed, assumptions have been defined, indicators and means of verification have been found, it is time to draw up a list of specific actions to achieve each intermediate result. Perhaps some of them have already been included in the outline as a result of the previous discussion, but now we will approach this issue more thoroughly.

We answer the question: What exactly is necessary and sufficient to do to guarantee the achievement of an intermediate result, taking into account the specified indicators?

How to do it? Typically actions are the “roots of the goal tree.” In Figure 11, the suggested actions are goals 2.1.1.1, 2.1.2.1, 2.2.1, 2.3.1, 2.3.21.

In the example about a yard that lacks space for children to play, specific actions will include repairing a playground or building a new one, finding or creating secure parking for residents’ cars, planting trees, organizing a cleanup day to clean the yard, removing construction waste, driving out alcoholics from the playground, etc.

For each of the results, we determine the actions that will lead to its achievement and write them down in the column of the table under the result in question. The actions placed under the result must ensure that the intermediate result is achieved. If this is not the case, you need to add missing transactions and discuss possible assumptions.

However, at times it is not so simple, and upon closer examination it may turn out that the “spine” itself is quite a complex problem. Since we have already decided earlier that it is within our competence, we must conduct additional analysis, starting from a new central problem - the intermediate result.

In our example, “construction of a new playground” will require negotiations with the housing and communal services department, obtaining permission to dismantle the old playground, creating a project for a new one, approving the new project as meeting the standards and safe for children, “procuring” and transporting materials, the construction itself, and acceptance of work by authorized persons who may have contact with the sanitary service. In general, this action gives rise to a number of other actions, requires establishing contacts with many people and planning a separate mini-project.

If the ways to achieve a result are unclear, you should immediately understand the issue in detail and build a “problem tree” several levels below the “unclear” place, or indicate in the action plan a reference to the need for additional analysis, and later conduct a detailed study of the issue. You may need to seek advice from specialists. Such a decision will demonstrate a responsible attitude to the issue, as opposed to “approximate” planning of “approximate” actions.

Thus, either the action plan after conducting the research will become obvious to the project team, or it will become “confused” in the problem, which indicates that the problems have not been studied deeply enough at the analysis stage. In this case, for the “incomprehensible” problem, re-application of the LSP method will be required to solve the problem.

Let's return to the plan we are drawing up. One more addition to all that has been said: as a rule, actions are indicated in the table in the order they are performed - from top to bottom.

Let us remind you that at any stage, reformulation of actions and reasonable detailing of activities is allowed - after all, we are drawing up an effective action plan.

If all members of our analytical group agree with the action plan drawn up, then we can proceed to identifying the necessary resources.

Opposite each action it is necessary to indicate the resources that are necessary for its implementation. Not only the missing resources are indicated, but ALL those that will be needed to carry out this action.

If we need to dig a large and deep hole starting at the fence within a certain period of time (“before lunch”), and we already have the required number of volunteers (5 people), and only 3 shovels, then in the column dedicated to resources for implementation action “digging a hole during a period of time, the upper limit of which is a lunch break”, it is necessary to indicate not only the missing 2 shovels, but “5 people and 5 shovels”. Better yet, instead of the number of people, indicate the amount of work in man-hours.

If any resources are needed to carry out an action - a computer, a car, other equipment - for a limited time, say 5 days, then it would be a mistake to include the full cost of purchasing such equipment in the project resources. You should find out the price for renting equipment (look at offers from organizations offering such a service) or the cost of depreciation of equipment for this period (work for an accountant).

If, to analyze the central problem of our project, we need to rent a hall with 50 seats for 3 days, you won’t include the average cost of such a room on the real estate market in the calculation of the project?

After specifying the resources required to carry out the activities that will lead to the achievement of the output, it is necessary to ensure that the combination of actions and the listed resources, in combination with the assumptions, guarantees that the output will be achieved and the indicators selected for it will be achieved.

After completing the resource description stage, it is again necessary to make sure that all participants in the discussion agree with the presented scheme as a whole (from actions in combination with assumptions - to intermediate results, from intermediate results in combination with assumptions - to the project goal, from the project goal to together with assumptions - towards a common goal). If this is not the case, it is necessary to continue work until all parties reach full agreement with the necessary changes.

After completing the action planning phase, the Logical Framework is finally complete!

This is what the logical-structural diagram for our example will approximately look like after preliminary compilation “on cards” (see Figure 18.):

Figure 18. Logical flowchart example - step 4

If the document in which the completed LSS will be present is intended to apply for funding for a project, it must be taken into account that various grantors and donors are guided by their own rules when estimating the cost of a project. For example, the scope of work can be converted into man-hours, and then the cost of the project is calculated based on the cost per unit of time spent. Almost any organization, upon first request, will provide the required standards, guidelines for filling out the application, competition conditions and other similar information, using which in combination with the existing logical structure diagram, you can easily cope with the paperwork.

So, to create an action plan, you need to:

1. Determine the actions that must be performed to achieve each of the intermediate results: the “roots of the goal tree” and the actions necessary to achieve the project goal.

2. Determine the assumptions for the overall action plan.

3. Determine the set of resources necessary and sufficient to perform each of the actions.

4. Check the logic: the set of actions performed, subject to the provision of resources and compliance with assumptions, should guarantee the achievement of an intermediate result.

5. Make sure that all participants in the discussion agree with the resulting picture. If this is not the case, continue to select and refine actions for each of the intermediate results.

6. Make sure that the project logic is preserved.

Strictly speaking, the application of the logical-structural approach is completed at the previous stage, however, for effective project planning it is important to draw up a work schedule (schedule of activities) based on the already completed logical-structural diagram.

Once the action plan has been determined, we must establish a time frame for our activities in general and its individual stages in particular. We also need to establish the priority of actions: what work should be done as a preparatory stage for subsequent actions, and what work should be done to “polish” the result, what are the critical points in the implementation of our project. It is necessary to determine the responsibility of each of the participants at each stage of the project in order to clearly know who is leading the work on each of the “fronts”, who to turn to for help and advice, who will be responsible in case of unexpected failures and make key decisions. It will also require more detailed detailing of the action program prior to the tasks.

We answer the questions: When? Who? Who is responsible? What should be done?

Most often, a work plan is drawn up in the form of a Gantt diagram.

The Gantt chart is named after Henry Gantt (1861-1919), an associate of the "father of scientific management" Frederick Taylor (1856-1915). Gantt studied management through the construction of ships during World War I and proposed his chart, consisting of bars (tasks) and points (milestones), as a means of representing the duration and sequence of tasks in a project. The Gantt chart turned out to be such a powerful analytical tool that it remained unchanged for almost a hundred years. And only in the early 1990s, for a more detailed description of the relationships, lines of communication between tasks were added to it.

An example of a Gantt chart is shown in Figure 19:

Figure 19. Example of a Gantt chart - a completed work plan

Tasks (actions) are presented as segments on a timeline (in this case, it is a calendar placed at the top of the table). For each task (action), the execution status can be indicated (in the figure it is indicated for action 1 and tasks 1.1 and 1.2). To construct a diagram corresponding to the LSS, we will indicate specific actions and individual tasks necessary for their implementation.

The diagram allows you to arrange tasks in chronological order relative to the start (completion) time of their execution or their priority.

The connections between actions (tasks) are also indicated if the execution of any action can begin only after the completion of another (or the presence of certain results that will be obtained during or after the execution of another action). In the diagram, activity 2 will begin only after activity 1 has been completed, and task 3.3 is somehow dependent on the completion of task 2.1.

Technical tools for creating a Gantt chart (or other types of work schedule) are readily available and are present in many software packages, including Microsoft® Office Visio, Microsoft® Project. There are also a sufficient number of freeware programs that are focused specifically on planning and monitoring the execution process, including the creation of such diagrams.

Another element is control points, or milestones. At these points, a check should be carried out - monitoring the achievement of some specific results, the amount of work performed, etc. (we will talk more about project evaluation and monitoring in the chapter “Project Appraisal Criteria”). In the diagram above, such milestones are assigned to the dates 01/31/2007 and 04/30/2007, and for them the criteria according to which verification will be carried out should also be defined (for example, “agreements have been made with partners X, Y, Z” or “preparations for landing trees is completed"). As a rule, this is the achievement of a fundamental result for the implementation of the project or verification of an assumption.