The new Natural Planning Model webinar is posted

[John Forrister]

We've posted the recording of last week's Natural Planning Webinar.

This webinar gives you hands-on practice with David's instinctual, five-stage thought process for naturally planning your projects. You'll take a project through defining purpose and principles, envisioning the outcome, brainstorming, organizing, and identifying next actions.

There was terrific attendee participation in this webinar. Please post any questions or thoughts that occurred to you in the live event, especially if they weren't fully addressed during the webinar.

https://gtdconnect.com/multimedia/au...0&trackid=1346
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[John Forrister]

For example . . .

How do you draw the line between organizing and deciding on next actions?

How do you tell when brainstorming starts to become organizing?

What happens when deciding on the purpose changes the intial outcome?

 

[Oogiem]

My big issue is that I get the Why or the purpose and the Outcome all mixed up. To me those 2 steps are pretty tightly blended. Why I am doing something is very close to what I want to have happen at the end.

So here's a couple of examples where I get those steps blended.

A current project is the clean-up of my computer system. I have outcomes of:

1. Mac clean, current and easy to use
2. Good backups
3. Can recover in case of system failures or fire
4. Offsite backups
5. Encrypted critical files
6. K & R can access my files in case of personal emergency
7. Takes less time to file documents and to locate them later

Now those are certainly decent descriptions for part 2 but they also describe the guiding principles, easy to use, covered in case of emergencies and so on. But I never really could figure out the why.

Another example is one to re-design our sheep handling facilities. During the webinar I put the following in the Why section

1. Can't handle the plowing and shoveling of snow to open the lower gates to feed sheep
2. Can't take hay from both sides so can't use older hay first
3. Can't sort or wok sheep in a chute in winter
4. Can't do sheep ultrasounds or blood draws in winter
5. Can't easily move sheep to pens for feeding when snow blocks lower between corral gates

Then for the outcome I had the following:

1. We can feed out hay from any of the cuttings and can access it from both sides.
2. We can use the sweep in winter
3. All gates are under cover
4. We can deliver hay to the corrals from the north side under the hay barn not through the south pasture gates.
5. We can work sheep in the shade in summer and under cover in winter.

But to me they look like restatements of the same thing.

 

[ArcCaster]

Oogie, maybe I am mixing apples and oranges, but I am equating the 'why' in natural planning with the 'why' in levels of focus. If I do that, if raises the level of the natural planning why. For example, a 'why' to your mac cleanup might be 'be able to capture and retrieve valuable thoughts easily and at will'. For sheep, it might be 'Minimize the negative impact of winter on my sheep-related tasks'.

I would say your current 'whys' are specific and problem related -- a great place to start -- but, because they are so specific, your outcomes look a lot like your problems. Maybe the whys should be way up above the vision level -- which makes them NOT specific and problem related?

 

[kelstarrising]

Sometimes I need to let my mind go to the outcome first, then back it up to purpose. Just be willing to edit the outcome if clarifying purpose changes the outcome.

 

[ArcCaster]

Yes! Just did that with a current project that is resisting me; my conclusion about the original planned outcome: "What was I thinking!?". I am looking forward to moving forward more closely aligned to purpose.