It didn’t go according to plan
It didn’t go as planned.
By the end of the week, I knew things had fallen apart.
Several meetings were rescheduled. One was cancelled.
Good news that I was expecting had gone the other way.
Big items on my to-do list were still undone.
By the end of the week, I was beating myself up pretty bad about not making the progress I hoped for.
I felt stuck.
Has this ever happened to you?
We’ve all had weeks (or months) like this, haven’t we? Times when things were so far off plan we wondered why we even bother putting a plan together at all.
And yet, those plans can be even more important in times like these.
Thankfully, I wasn’t that far off the plan in reality.
In my weekly retrospective, I realized that the scheduling changes were all outside of my control. I had done all the follow up that I needed, and most things were rescheduled. The week included a couple of key decisions that would unlock progress in the days to come. And I was able to use some of the unexpected windows of time to check off a few things that had been lingering for a while.
All in all, even though the week didn’t go as planned, I realized I still had good forward momentum on my top priorities and had set myself up for a better week ahead.
All because I had a plan, even though things hadn’t gone according to plan.
Most weeks don’t go according to plan, no matter what we do to set ourselves up for success. The perfect planning journal or planning schedules don’t guarantee that things will happen as we expect. Usually something comes up to wreck our plans.
So what are we to do?
Here are a few things that can help:
Start with the end in mind
When we know where we’re headed, it’s much easier to course correct when things come up. If our planning doesn’t spell out clearly how we define success, we’re in for a bigger challenge.
Perhaps you’re planning a big product launch. Do you know what core use cases need to be solved, so that you can prioritize what doesn’t make the cut? Maybe you want to workout regularly. Do you know what results you’re after, so that you can adapt your workout plan if you’re not seeing the progress you’d like?
Ask why
Things will happen that you don’t expect. If we don’t take a moment to understand why they happened, we can’t adjust our plans to reduce the chances of them happening again, or the impact if they do.
Maybe your budget numbers come back off every month. Understanding that one metric is calculated for the current period while another is for the previous period will help you adjust your expected numbers to better align with how you can measure results. Perhaps your dog consistently interrupts your last meeting of the day. Building in a walk mid-afternoon may hold him off for just long enough for you to finish your work without interruption.
Reset
When things come up that aren’t in the plan, as they inevitably will, it’s important for us to take a moment to pause and then choose our next action.
Perhaps customer response to your beta program doesn’t come back as favorably as you hope. Do you continue building the next feature set in your roadmap, or do you pause, review the feedback, and prioritize based on what you learn? Maybe the countertops you had your heart set on aren’t available. Do you continue installing the cabinets, or use this as an opportunity to revisit your plans for the kitchen and possibly go a different direction?
As the Benjamin Franklin quote famously says “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” Making sure that our plan has a clear end in mind, asking why when things don’t happen as we expect, and giving ourselves a moment to reset can help us get back on track.
How are your plans going this week?
You’re here. You want to be there. I can help.
Let’s talk. Book time, and we’ll figure out how to get you unstuck and get going.
How will you iterate towards the person you’re becoming?
June 12, 2025
About the author:
Christina Von Stroh is a leadership coach who helps her clients become wildly successful by applying iterative software development practices to achieve their dreams. Want to work with Christina to help you iterate towards the person you’re becoming?
Book your free strategy session.
