The Planning Paradox: How Too Much Planning Can Hurt An Introvert

I’m a huge advocate for a plan. Never without one to be honest, be it written down or in my head. In fact the moment I have an idea my temptation is dive right into the planning stage.

No one can dispute that planning is an essential aspect of human life and it’s been around since the dark ages. From planning hunting trips to organising businesses, planning has always been a tool for achieving success. But it can have both positive and negative effects so let’s explore this further.

As someone who works with introverts there is no doubt that planning can really help overcome some of the challenges we face particularly in the workplace.

Having a plan for networking, for meetings and conference calls. For office socials, presentations and performance reviews. There’s no question that this strategy has merit.

Let’s break down the pros of planning:

1. Helps to achieve goals: Planning helps to identify goals and develop strategies to achieve them. It provides a roadmap for success, outlining the necessary steps and resources required to achieve the desired outcome.
2. Increases efficiency: Planning helps to optimise resources, such as time, money, and manpower. By planning in advance, you can and identify potential roadblocks and develop contingency plans to overcome them, thereby increasing efficiency.
3. Enhances decision-making: It helps you to make informed decisions based on available data and resources. It also reduces the risk of making hasty or impulsive decisions that may result in undesirable outcomes.
4. Reduces stress: Planning helps prepare you for potential challenges, reducing stress and anxiety related to uncertainty and unexpected events.

Now let’s consider an alternative viewpoint. There’ll never be a time when I suggest having a plan is a bad idea (I can’t think of one anyway), but planning needs to be considered and controlled.

Imagine this scenario.

You’ve just been told that you’re going to present at a large conference. You hate presenting. You’re knees knock at the very prospect of it. So you start planning. It’s 3 weeks away but you’re hasty to get a head start on this to make sure you have all bases covered.

So the first thing you do is come up with a theme for your talk. Then you chat this through with your manager. Only your manager is off sick for the foreseeable and you have nobody to bounce your ideas off. OK, so you meet with a peer to share ideas and do your planning together.

The content seems to be coming together and your planning sessions are paying off. What isn’t improving is your undeniable fear of standing up in front of your peers, direct reports, seniors and partners. The bright lights of the stage resemble an on-coming train and you’re about to get squished.

So you try something you’ve never done before. Alternative therapy. Hypnosis to be precise. Three sessions with a recommended hypnotherapist, content done and rehearsed. You’re all set.

The night before the event you arrive at your location. You meet your colleagues for dinner, share a polite drink and head back to your room to practice your pitch once more before taking yourself off to bed for a good nights sleep.

Only you don’t sleep. Not a wink. In fact you are awake all night, trying to memorise your script. Every possible scenario about what might happen is like a tornado in your head.

Dawn breaks and you drag your sorry backside out of bed, and head off into the eye of the storm. Lack of sleep renders you completely depleted of all physical and mental energy. Then you have a bright idea. Coffee! Lot’s of it. Just for the extra belt and braces you down a caffeine drink and a couple of pastries won’t go amiss (the sugar is bound to help).

It’s time. Your about to take centre stage. Your heart is racing, your hands are shaking and you’re struggling to control your breathing. As you look out to the sea of faces you just know in your heart that this is going be the worst experience of your life.

You weren’t wrong.

That nervousness, irritability, lack of focus and uncontrollable breathing is compounded by the lack of sleep and overdose of caffeine.

The humiliation is too much.

That’s a true story. It happened to me the first time I delivered a presentation that actually meant anything, that was career affecting. More than 20 years later I still cringe when I recall the experience.

What went wrong? It was all in the planning. It’s a perfect example that when we over prepare we can undermine the intended benefits.

Cons of planning

1. It’s time-consuming: Planning requires time and effort to develop a comprehensive strategy. But excessive planning can result in neglecting other commitments and missed opportunities.
2. It leads to rigidity: Over-planning can result in becoming so fixed on a rigid structure that there’s no space for flexibility and creativity. It’s also limiting and prevents you from adapting to changing circumstances or unplanned events.
3. It leads to anxiety: Planning to the point that you have to know everything down to the last detail is an unattainable goal. It’s perfectionism at it’s extreme and impossible to master. It results in a lack of faith and trust in your own ability to think freely and respond to the situation authentically.
4. May result in complacency: Over-reliance on planning can lead to complacency and a false sense of security. You become blinkered and overlook potential risks or fail to respond effectively to unexpected events.
5. It’s a barrier to results: The danger is you get so lost in the detail that you never actually start the project. Paralysis by analysis is common for people who are detail orientated.

Planning comes naturally to many introverts. In fact research suggests that the part of the brain responsible for planning and problem solving is notably more active in introverts. For many of us, we just can’t stop thinking about what lies ahead because we want to be prepared for it (especially if it involves talking to people).

The answer lies in striking a balance between planning and flexibility. Having no plan can leave you high and dry, exposed to all sorts of disastrous consequences. Too much planning leads to overthinking every possible consequence or outcome.

One really great tip that I’ve adopted throughout my career is time limiting my planning. I set aside a reasonable amount of time for planning and stick to it. I take regular breaks away from the project which allows my mind to absorb the detail. Then I switch my focus to something completely different. This approach takes away the obsessive thought patterns that lead me to being immersed in one thing at the expense of everything else, and takes the pressure off. Rather than one thing becoming all consuming the balance of power changes and it soon becomes another task of equal measure and importance as my other commitments.