The 6 Ways Winners Plan For Success

 　　Once upon a time, I used to be the messiest person alive.

　　I don't just mean in terms of messy room and messy car. I mean messy plans, too. I would have a general idea of what I wanted to do, but wouldn't be really sure about how I wanted to make it happen.

　　Over the years, through watching others and by trial and error, I have finally found ways to come up with plans, organize them and following through with them in ways that are much more manageable than they are overwhelming¹.

　　Recently, I have started keeping track of what I do when I first come up with a plan that seems to be all over the place.

　　Whether the plan involves work, play or anything else, having rules on how to handle this sort or organizational skill can enable a person to become more familiar with their own organizational process and can help them improve on the ways that they already have.

　　Here are some helpful hints that have helped me create plans that are thorough², orderly, and easy to manage.

　　1. Write down your plan

　　Make an outline of everything you need to have and do to make your plan happen. Make a list of all of the steps that need to be accomplished³ and think about what needs to be done.

　　Detail everything thoroughly⁴ and read over it so you can start coming up with some mental solutions of how to carry out your plans.

　　2. Come up with at least three different ways of carrying out your plans

　　This way, you ensure that if for some reason plan one doesn't work, you have a plan two and a plan three to lean back on. It's just a matter of being organized.

　　This is one of the things that has helped me the most, especially when I'm tackling⁵ so many things in my life.

　　Chances are that there is always more than one way of doing things, and chances are that if one of those ways doesn't work, one of the other ones will.

　　3. Commit yourself to finishing at least part if not all of your plan at once

　　It will show that you not only have initiative⁶ to get things rolling, but that you are invested in the results obtained with making the move to get everything done.

　　If you make a commitment to finish before a specific time, make sure that you carry that out, and be sure to do everything in the way you said you would, within the time-frame you set for yourself.

　　4. Do one thing at a time

　　Don't try to tackle⁷ more things all at once. All that does is delay your progress, distract⁸ you and make you lose your interest, motivation and energy.

　　Carrying out an effective plan requires being as organized as possible. You will only achieve this by sticking to the order of the plan and not deviating⁹ or trying to do more at once.

　　5. Finish what you started

　　Do not abandon things mid-project.

　　It will only annoy everyone around you including yourself. Unfinished plans are a waste of time, energy and, in some cases, even money.

　　6. Come up with a follow up plan

　　Nothing says organized more than keeping a notebook with all of your plans for work, complete with outlines, a detailed¹⁰ description of how each step was carried our and a plan of action.

　　Plus, following up on the details of an organized plan lets everyone know you are a responsible, involved and thorough individual that has the best interests of the people involved at hand.

　　Don't be afraid of organization. The older we get, the more necessary it becomes to have the skills necessary to follow through with confidence and to be able to carry through plans in an organized and manageable way. It pays to be organized, after all.

1 overwhelming   

adj.势不可挡的，压倒的，无法抵抗的

参考例句：

• The flood was overwhelming and the city was soon drowned.洪水来势凶猛，很快这个城市就被淹没了。
• The act was adopted by an overwhelming majority.该法案以压倒多数通过。

2 thorough   

adj. 彻底的，完全的，精心的

参考例句：

• He made a very thorough analysis on the situation.他对形势的分析很透彻。
• The committee reported its findings after a thorough investigation.委员会在彻底调查以后报告了调查结果。

3 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

4 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

5 tackling   

n. 扭住, 抱住, 卷起

参考例句：

• a bottom-up approach to tackling the problem 处理这个问题的自下而上的方法
• There are three essentially different ways of tackling the problem. 解决这个问题有三种根本不同的方法。

6 initiative   

n.主动性，首创精神，主动权（的行动），倡议

参考例句：

• He went to see the headmaster on his own initiative.他主动去看望校长。
• His employer had described him as lacking in initiative and drive.雇主说他缺乏进取心和干劲。

7 tackle   

n.工具，复滑车，扭倒；v.处理，抓住

参考例句：

• Don't forget to bring your sports tackle with you tomorrow.别忘了明天带上你的体育用具。
• We have gained sufficient experience to tackle this problem.我们已经有了足够的经验来处理这个问题。

8 distract   

vt.分散注意力，转移注意力，使分心

参考例句：

• Don't distract my attention.不要分散我的注意力。
• It was all a ploy to distract attention from his real aims.那纯粹是障眼法,用以分散人们对他真正意图的注意力。

9 deviating   

v.偏离，越轨( deviate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I compromise by using a prepared text and deviating from it whenever I feel the need. 我搞折衷办法，准备一份讲稿，觉得需要的时候就自由发挥。 来自辞典例句
• Theories deviating practices are inane, while practices deviating theories are blindfold. 脱离实践的理论是空泛的，脱离理论指导的实践是盲目的。 来自互联网

10 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。