How to Prepare to Win

Lately, I've been all consumed by research. If you were to stop by my house you'd likely find me swimming, dizzily, in a virtual sea of articles and web pages. But of course as soon as you walked in, I'd dry myself off and offer you a seat, not too, too far from a stack of thick and dusty library books. You see, I've been doing research for my next big project. The next chapter, so to speak. I am excited for sure, but before I make any moves, it's important to know in which direction to head. So how do I decide where to start? Well, with any big project I like to do three things to that help me prepare before I act on an idea.

First, I learn as much as I can on the topic or industry. This is where internet searches and library trips come in handy. But in an attempt to spend more time actually 'learning' and less time just 'searching', I limit my surf time and focus on reading through all relevant material before skipping ahead.

Second, I take note of all the important information and factors that will directly affect me. I find jotting down key facts on sticky notes or in a small note book works great. And as I'm reading and processing, I'm also thinking about my goals and objectives for the project. Those goals as well as a rough timeline will all go down on paper, too.

And third, I arrange all of those sticky notes and scraps of paper into what becomes 'my plan.' From there, I not only know where to start and in which direction to head, but I now have an outline for success that is based on my own thorough research. Which makes me even more comfortable - not to mention confident - in the following through with my plan.

This is the process I use whenever I take on a brand new project. Well, maybe just really big, new projects anyway. It's a simple process and that's why I love it. I don't know about you, but I'm more likely to follow through on things that aren't made to seem so daunting.

So how about you? Do you tend to plan ahead or leave it all up to fate? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments and have an awesome week.

This month's GIVEAWAY winner is… Stephanie over @ the TinyShop.co! Congrats Stephanie! Please send and email to RaleighCalligraphy@gmail.com with your favorite card and mailing address. You can find all the new stationary styles at RaleighCalligraphy.com.