Any good plan must have three factors

• What is your goal?
• How will you reach your goal?
• When will you reach the goal?

I am going to narrate three instances in my life where we did not adhere to these principles and faced the consequences.

About twenty years ago, my brother and I went to see a movie in Kolkata: the theater was very close to our house. We arrived way ahead of time and went to the ticket counter: ‘2 tickets for Umrao Jaan please’ my brother said. The guy at the counter looked at us and said, Umrao Jaan is not racing here from this week. We were so upset and frustrated. The closest theater took us 20 minutes by bus. When we entered the theater, we had missed all the trailers and 15 minutes of film. My brother and I kept blaming each other: You should have checked the newspaper!

Moral of the story: you should know where You’re going? What is your goal? What do you want to achieve? Otherwise, you will arrive at the wrong destination.

In the last week of October ’98, I went to Yosemite with some other friends. One of the friends helped us plan the trip. He booked cabins, rented a fancy car, planned to-dos in Yosemite. We arrived in the afternoon after a picturesque walk. We were so excited! We realized the problem in the night. Fall is supposed to be the best time to visit Yosemite. Unless you book unheated cabins in the bush and the night temperatures are freezing and we were newbies to India not used to cold weather. We slept in wool socks, thermals, jeans, jackets, every available duvet and blanket, and still woke up shivering.

lesson no. 2: How Are you going to your destination? It is vital: how does not only mean what tools/techniques you will use (car in our example), but also minor details, logistics, external conditions, etc.

During one of my visits home, we went to Goa -Hawaii of India- My parents, two brothers, their families and I, there were 10 of us. The drive from Mumbai to Goa is very scenic: lush green fields by the river, coconut trees, rolling hills and sprawling towns and cities. Goa has an exquisite combination of sun, surf and beaches.

Like all good things, our trip had to end and we left for the station. After a few minutes, my older brother suddenly announced: Oh no, our train leaves at 5:30 (instead of 6:30, which we were looking for). My dad started: Why didn’t you check this out sooner? I always tell everyone to check and verify these things, but they never listen! We’ll miss the train and be stuck now! My little brother told the driver: drive fast and take a shortcut if possible, we are running late. My nephew, who was 5 years old, asked ‘mom, what will happen now? Will we return to the hotel again?’

It was 5:10 and we weren’t sure how long it would take. Everyone’s heartbeat was racing: stopping at a red light seemed like an eternity. The driver used the traditional Indian method: honking constantly to declare that he had an urgency and that all vehicles must give way. In India, it is an unofficial voice signal used by everyone.

Finally, we arrive at the station – time: 5:26 PM. We ran to the platform: two porters and 10 of us. My two nieces and nephew were overly excited – it was becoming the highlight of the trip for them.

As we started to load the luggage, the train started to leave. ‘Everyone run, let the parents go up first’ – There was pandemonium. Just as the train started to speed up, everyone and our luggage piled onto the train. We take a relief view. It lasted only a minute. We had gone up to the penultimate compartment and one where our seats were was very high up.

Our dramatic journey continued… Carrying luggage and people through the compartments. We ignored the people who were staring at us, making faces and commenting, and continued marching. Until we were prevented from going any further! We had come to the First Class compartment and were not allowed to pass. My brothers tried to talk to the train conductor if there was an exception, but they refused. We stood/sat on our suitcases to the first station where our train stopped and then transferred.

Our relaxation and joy of the last four days faded in the tension of a couple of hours. And we really wanted to go back, to the noise, pollution and traffic, to our home sweet home.

Third factor in a schedule: When

Bottom line, whether your goal is to meet a personal fitness resolution, a house painting project, or a cross-functional IT project, every plan should have a defined goal, defined methodology, and timeline. .

As the famous saying goes, He who fails to plan, plans to fail