The Middle Way Method

Planning is something we do whether we have a formal system or not. We make appointments, accept responsibilities, decide what needs to be done, and try to find time for the things we want to accomplish. Some of those decisions are made deliberately, while others are responses to whatever happens...

Planning requires us to make decisions before we know exactly what will happen. In Teaching Children to Manage Their Time, I used the example of estimating how long a task will take and then comparing that estimate with the actual result. The difference between the two provides information that can...

Learning to manage our lives means bringing together Top-Down direction with the responsibilities, commitments, Roles, and Relationships that emerge from the Bottom Up. Reviews help keep those sources aligned with the time and attention we actually have. But learning to manage all of that takes practice, and those skills don’t...

Last week, in Reviews Keep Execution Aligned, we looked at how Daily and Weekly Reviews keep Execution connected to both established direction and changing reality. Execution changes the conditions around us as work is completed, new information appears, and responsibilities change. Reviews give us regular opportunities to examine those changes,...

Execution is where plans encounter reality. A Planning System can identify meaningful work, organize commitments, and establish direction, but the work still has to be done in changing circumstances. Responsibilities, commitments, maintenance, and unexpected demands continue to arise alongside planned work. Tasks take longer than expected, deadlines shift, and new...