3.g 计划，还是不计划，是个问题

Make Time Your Friend 3.g: To Plan or Not to Plan, That Is the Question

> By Li Xiaolai · 2008-05-18 · [Original (web archive)](https://web.archive.org/web/20111113130626/http://www.lixiaolai.com/archives/433.html) (Chinese)
> Our translation from the Chinese original.

Borrowing the sentence pattern of the Bard's "To be, or not to be, is a question." [Translator's note: so in the original; Shakespeare's line is "To be, or not to be, that is the question."], very often the choice we face is "To plan, or not to Plan, is a question." In most cases, a plan is always necessary. Of the maxims related to planning, my favorite is this one: "We do not plan to fail, we fail to plan."

**(1) The precondition of a successful plan: a realistic, feasible goal**

The dictionary says that so-called success is achieving the expected goal. This is what I consider the simplest, clearest, most side-effect-free definition of "success." Once you have an expected goal, you can work backward to each implementation step, and in the end a plan naturally takes shape. All the plans that are ultimately carried through to the end are carried through because their goals are realistic and feasible.

There's a saying that once made a deep impression on me: "There is only one kind of failure, and that is giving up halfway." But another fact should make an equally deep impression—sticking it out to the end doesn't necessarily mean you'll succeed. If a person's goal is to build a perpetual motion machine or to refine an elixir of immortality, then no matter how unremittingly he persists, it is in theory meaningless, because such a goal isn't realistic. Another situation that deserves attention is that some goals that could ultimately be achieved through unremitting persistence are still unrealistic for a person with a limited lifespan. For example, humanity's dream of soaring through the sky like a bird is by no means an idea that only came into existence in the last hundred or two hundred years. In fact, before the Wright brothers first successfully made a test flight in December 1903, at the beginning of the last century, over the long course of human history countless people tried to fly in all sorts of ways—many of them fell to their deaths, and those who survived basically probably just died in frustration.

I use the example above to illustrate the point for a reason. Once, a student came to ask my view on his chances of going abroad to study. After I had carefully learned about his current situation, his goal, and the time he had available to prepare, I told him, "It's impossible for you to make such a leap in just half a year. I'm telling you, in your situation you need at least two more years." I saw the surprise on his face but ignored it and went on, "I think you'd better not waste your time; go do something practical."

I, who had always taken pleasure in "encouraging others in everything," this time poured, if not cold water, then certainly a whole basin of water. The student looked disappointed and said, unwilling to accept it, "Nothing is impossible! Hundreds of years ago people didn't believe humans could fly into the sky; hasn't it now been proven that they were stupid?" [Translator's note: the original writes 愚蠢得了, with a stray 得; read as 愚蠢了 / 愚蠢的, "stupid."] I could only smile bitterly: "How many years can you live? Didn't you just tell me you only have six months? I give you two years, and you say that's impossible……" The student's anger suddenly erupted, and he practically shouted at me, "I don't think you're fit to be a teacher at all—you can't help one bit, you're useless!" [Translator's note: the original 一点忙都不帮不上 has a doubled negative; translated by the intended sense, "can't help at all."] I figured I should shut up.

I knew that student's anger wasn't essentially aimed at me; it was just that in that instant reality hit him so hard he lost control. I don't think that at such a moment "well-meaning comfort or encouragement" is any different from "hypocrisy" or "deception." He wasn't angry because I told the truth, but because he didn't hear what he wanted to hear. But what I want to say here is that in real life we can see many such living examples of refusing reality, and I think no calm person wants to become like that one day.

In fact, for most people, almost none of the things they need to do are anything "unprecedented and never to be repeated." By the law of normal distribution, less than 1% of people have the chance to pursue goals that everyone looks up to like that. For an ordinary person like me, the way to prove my goal is realistic and feasible is fairly simple: 1) someone has already done it; 2) there's no big gap between me and that person.

However, even these two simple criteria need some explanation. "Someone has already done it" doesn't necessarily show that I can do it too. I also have to think: how long did it take him? By what means did he do it? Where exactly is the difference between him and me? Which things can I really not surpass at all? Where are my relative strengths? Is it possible for me to make up for my relative shortcomings in some way? Perhaps I have to ask even more questions before I can be sure my goal really is realistic and feasible.

Things are often not as simple as imagined. More often the awkwardness we face is that if we don't start acting, we have no way to judge whether the goal really is feasible, or conversely, whether the goal really isn't feasible. So often only after starting to act can we make a correct judgment. If in the course of acting we find that the set goal really is unrealistic and infeasible, then giving up halfway not only doesn't mean failure, it means the decision-maker is supremely rational.

Time is wasted often because 1) the goal is unrealistic or not yet feasible for now; 2) the implementation strategy devised to reach the goal is wrong. So, in order not to waste time, when doing anything, first carefully examine these two conditions. People are always admonishing us to "think thrice before acting," but few tell us what exactly we should think over at least three times. My experience is that before acting, thinking over the two conditions above repeatedly—far more than merely three times—greatly reduces the waste of time.

In fact, "wasting time" is a simpler, clearer, more accurate and intuitive, and more far-reaching description of a sad outcome than "success, failure." The phrase "wasting time" is based on process; the phrase "success or failure" is based on results. For a person of flesh and blood, there is in fact only one final result, and that is death. Failure is never the result, because in the vast majority of cases, for most people, failure doesn't mean death. When people do things, whether they succeed or fail, they usually still have to go on living. Going on living means having to keep doing many other things. The reason people always say "failure is the mother of success" probably comes from plain experience: the more failures a person has gone through, the relatively richer his experience, and afterward he's less likely to make mistakes. —The precondition being that the experience had better do him some good before he dies.

**(2) Long-term planning is an ability that can only be learned through practice**

Once, at a lecture at a certain university, I mentioned in passing that my career span is really too wide: studied accounting in college, did sales after graduating, many years later actually ended up at New Oriental teaching English, now a freelancer…… I don't know what I'll do in the future; anyway, what I do know is that someday I'll certainly do some things that would surprise, never mind the people around me, even me.

Actually, I personally don't believe in any career planning. Maybe I've had bad luck. When I graduated from college back then, there were no career advisers around me, and I was so muddle-headed that I didn't even know whom I should ask. And today, the people around me are all famous, senior career-planning masters, and yet nobody has given me any advice on this.

When I was very young, I learned that some people could actually make plans spanning decades or even a lifetime and then carry them out meticulously—when I read *The Count of Monte Cristo* back then, I felt that this was exactly what made the characters in the story so impressive. Later, watching *The Shawshank Redemption*, the film adapted from Stephen King's novel, I felt again that such badass [Translator's note: 牛逼, a vulgar intensifier; rendered with comparable force] figures must exist in some corner of this world, but anyway, not me.

For quite a long time, I always felt I couldn't help drifting with the current. In college, double degrees were popular, so I went to Jilin University and muddled my way into some second degree in "International Economics and Relations"—what was the use? From graduation to today, never mind the certificate for this second degree, I haven't used even the bachelor's diploma in my original major once. Back then it was also popular for seniors to get a driver's license, so of course I found a way to scrape up some money and went to get one, and my classmates were all envious—but what was the use? After graduating, when I was making a lot of money, I found I was always shuttling between several cities, and buying a car was totally unnecessary; later, when I finally settled down, I found taking taxis was still more convenient and efficient, so to this day I've never used that license; counting it up, it hasn't had its annual inspection in 12 years……

Many years ago, something Cui Jian said in an interview instantly woke me up. He said, "Plans can never keep up with changes." Hearing this, I suddenly got goosebumps all over. Examining myself, I found that one of the most important reasons all my plans, without exception, ultimately couldn't be fulfilled was that my plans were always very long-range. I figure it was probably because I'd read too many novels and seen too many films and forgot who I was.

However, after reflecting painfully on the pain, I still felt that however fast things change [Translator's note: the original writes 变化多块 ("however many pieces change"), a slip for 变化多快; translated by the intended sense], there should always be a plan. It's just that when making a plan, you should take change into account. So I began to think seriously: given my own circumstances [Translator's note: the original writes 以为自身的情况 (literally "thinking my own circumstances"), read as 依/以自身的情况; translated by the intended sense], how long a plan was I actually suited to making? In other words, how long should the term of each plan be set so that it could be carried out smoothly with my ordinary, even mediocre, ability and talent?

I tried a year and found I couldn't even complete a one-year plan, so, while once again calmly accepting the fact of my average talent, I cut the term in one go to one week. I finally found that when a plan's term was only one week, it was easy for me to stick with, and I could often complete it outstandingly. This discovery made me very happy, because I found I could still do some things. And as time went on, I was actually able to slowly lengthen the term—two weeks, a month, and I was even able to make a one-quarter plan!

Not until I was nearly thirty did I cautiously extend the term of my plans to one year. To this day, I still use one year as the longest term for making plans. Seven years ago (2000) I spent half a year preparing for various exams and then went to New Oriental to apply for a job; after many twists and turns I finally started lecturing at New Oriental, and I spent a year's time [Translator's note: the original writes 一年的时候 ("a year's moment"), read as 一年的时间, "a year's time"] steadily turning myself into the teacher students rated best in the overseas-test department; three years later, I spent a year preparing to leave New Oriental—because starting a business takes a great deal of preparation; then I found that a year wasn't nearly enough, so I spent another year earnestly looking for a direction; I've just finished laying out what I'm going to do this year…… (Funny to say, for so many years, for me, April Fools' Day each year has been the start of my year.)

A plan is a must, and the goal of course should be definite. Generally speaking, the shorter-term a goal is, the easier it is to make clear. The clearer a goal is, the easier it is to achieve. Ideals of course should exist, but ideals are often too remote, so much so that we can never see them clearly. Still, fortunately, as they say, a journey of a thousand li begins with a single step; what we have to do is take every step well and tread solidly enough. As for the destination a thousand li away, since we can't even see it, there's no need to spend time thinking about it; thinking about it is useless. Just keep optimistic by every means—optimism is experience that can only be accumulated through effort and struggle.

So I simply draw, from my own experience, the conclusion that suits me: nobody can do career planning for me. Besides the fact that my stubborn personality makes it impossible for me to hand my fate to someone else, there's another reason: the hard truth experience has taught me is that life itself is full of surprises, and always surprising to the utmost.

Reading always brings pleasure. Just as I was thinking about this, an article the Google search engine brought me mentioned John Krumboltz of Stanford University, who wrote a book, *Luck Is No Accident* (Luck is no accident). (This old man has written who knows how many books in his life; you might as well go look at his book list on Amazon.) Speaking of himself in this book, he says, "My whole life and my whole career have been influenced by unpredictable events." And his survey found that people who at thirty-five were still doing what they most wanted to do at 18 made up such a small proportion of the whole sample group as to be negligible.

So, when making plans, know this: making long-term plans is obviously correct and necessary, but not everyone has the ability to make long-term plans. It's an ability, and almost one of the most important abilities, but it takes struggle, takes effort, takes starting bit by bit. Don't start right away by making excessively long-term plans. Even making a one-week plan isn't an easy thing—if you've really started practicing, you'll know, just as I did back then. Don't be ignorant and therefore fearless. But there's no need to be anxious either: this is an ability that can certainly be gained as long as you put in effort—rest assured, nobody is born with it; everyone acquires it.

So, if you're full of confusion about your future, believe me, you're not alone. But being full of confusion doesn't in itself mean you have to be at a loss. Looking at flowers through fog, nobody can see clearly, and God didn't give us any extra special equipment when we were born. But I believe that as long as you keep walking forward, you can always reach a place where flowers are in full bloom, and there, no matter how thick the fog, you can always see those flowers, because you're close enough—and when you're close enough, even if you can't see the flowers, you can still smell their fragrance.

**(3) Sometimes a plan is unnecessary**

Presumably nobody would deny the importance of planning. All time-management books introduce in detail the basic steps and techniques of making plans and executing them. But the question is, why is it that you've bought so many books like this and prepared so many times to follow those experts' advice, yet in the end, without exception, it all came to nothing? There are many, many reasons, and one especially important possibility is this: planning is important, but action is more important.

If you want to get things done, of course you have to act. Action is the most effective and direct of the many ways to change yourself. Very often, as long as you start acting, even with no prior plan, you often gain something. But conversely, a plan lacking action is certainly meaningless.

The reason that very often there's actually no need to make a plan is that most plans are actually very simple. For example, if you want to exercise, the plan may be stated clearly in a single sentence: "Jog for an hour every morning." There's no need to think further, "How long should I keep it up?" Because the answer is very simple: for life, or for as long as you can keep it up. Another example: if you want to memorize vocabulary, the plan is also very simple: "Memorize 50 words a day"—this is even simpler, because you don't need to keep it up for life; if you're a sophomore, then probably after thirty days you can pass the College English Test Band 4, because you don't need, and probably can't get, a perfect score anyway; if you're a junior, then after six weeks you'll probably already have the ability to get a high TOEFL score, since it's not as if you only started studying when you became a junior. —But what actually happens? Two months pass, you look back, and you've memorized only 150 words……

Sometimes a plan may be a bit more complicated. For example, if you want to lose weight, then besides doing aerobic exercise such as jogging every day, there may be some other requirements. For example, don't eat fried food (but all fried food smells so good!); eat small, frequent meals (but feeling hungry is really unpleasant!); replace staple foods with fruits and vegetables (but I want to eat meat!); go to bed on time (but in the early hours today there's the global broadcast of the Oscars ceremony……). After two months pass, you'll find that because you were hooked on sleeping in you hardly went running; behind your trainer's back you secretly ate quite a lot of fried food; because your eating was irregular there were always times you ate until you nearly burst; when friends treat you, how can you spoil the fun, so you went to barbecue restaurants many times; and of course, not only did you watch the broadcast of the Oscars [Translator's note: the original writes 奥斯颁奖仪式, dropping the 卡 of 奥斯卡 (Oscars); translated by the intended sense] ceremony, you also watched a lot of American TV series, and so had to stay up late to finish what you had to do…… And of course, the next day you certainly had to sleep in because of it!

See? Whether the plan is simple or complex, a lack of real action is doomed to failure or ineffectiveness. My personal experience is that sometimes deliberately making no plan at all is actually beneficial. When I started going to the gym a few years ago, I didn't set any goals or plans. Because there wasn't much need to think about that. Anyway, exercising is always better than not exercising; health is most important. So I did only one thing—persist. There were a few short interruptions along the way, because I really couldn't spare the time and energy, but once the stage of being so busy my heels hit the back of my head was over, I started going to the gym regularly again. There were also times in between when I didn't want to go, but I knew that was just my brain's idea, and shouldn't be my idea—as long as I realized this, there was no struggle; I just set out from home and headed to the gym.

Today, a few years later, I feel I need to make a fairly professional fitness plan for myself. Because I want to make good use of the rare and precious time I can freely dispose of in the last few months (after thirty, the time you can freely dispose of gets less and less). When I took out pen and paper and kept listing specific details, I realized an important fact: actually, when I first started working out a few years ago, I in fact had no ability at all to make an effective fitness plan! Back then, I couldn't possibly know which of my muscle groups were relatively strong, so that normal training would do; which muscle groups were my weak points and so especially hard to train, but now had to be consciously strengthened. And today, a few years later, I've long known how I should sensibly arrange the ratio of aerobic to anaerobic training, and also know during which period of time my condition is at its best……

I give this example to make one thing clear: very often there are two reasons there's no need to make a plan: besides the "most plans are actually very simple" mentioned earlier, the other is "in the initial state, we often actually don't have the ability to make a reasonable, effective plan." Because in doing anything, we may all have to go through the same process: gradually getting familiar, cautiously feeling our way, failing, failing and failing again, reflecting seriously, making a comeback, until success. And at the very beginning, when we don't even have basic understanding, a plan we make is, nine times out of ten, nothing but empty talk.

So, in most cases, my advice is this: if you want to change yourself, or your current unsatisfactory situation, then keep everything simple—find one action you think should bring you change, and then just do it. Don't be afraid of running into walls, don't be afraid of failure; that's a process you must go through. As I said, failure isn't frightening, because you're always going to fail many times, and it's not as if you're the only person in the world who fails—what's there to fear? The key is whether you can learn a lesson after each setback. As long as you can learn a lesson and then adjust yourself, that's progress. Most things we do in life are a process of trial and error (try trial and error); for life, nobody can give a universal formula the way one explains mathematics. Always remember: acting immediately is the most important thing.

Of course, sometimes you have to delay your action. For example, when you decide to buy a trendy cell phone, deliberately delaying three months will let you enjoy a lower price; if you decide to buy a luxury car you really like, deliberately delaying a year may make you realize that your aesthetic taste back then was actually quite problematic. My personal experience is that, for me personally, in all large purchases, and even in all other activities involving money such as investing, the advice to "act immediately" certainly doesn't apply. On the contrary, in such cases you must delay, and the longer the better—just my personal experience.

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