Not really up to 37 Signals' standard. It seems they've confused a detailed, rigid bible of a plan with being the only way to direct yourself. I think they're d

Not really up to 37 Signals' standard. It seems they've confused a detailed, rigid bible of a plan with being the only way to direct yourself. I think they're doing this on purpose though. As has been said, a plan is a statement of intent. It attempts to anticipate what it can in an attempt to make choices easier when you are "in action". You are doing it wrong both if you have no intent at all and if you attempt to account for every conceivable scenario; if you do that, you never achieve your intent ~ duh!. Here is my plan to rent a movie this weekend: 1. My objective is to secure a movie on DVD and watch it Friday night with my wife, generally enjoying the night. (See - a goal, a method and a deadline.) 2. I intend to do this by getting into my car and driving to the video store. (This is a general statement of action. I don't bother anticipating whether there is a roadblock on my street, or whether my car will start or not. That would be over-planning, and as 37S suggests, stupid.) There will most likely be things that will need to be adjusted, some big, some small. 3. Assuming the original objective remains viable, I'll rent the dvd and return home. (Note here that I am not aimlessly evaluating video stores, romping off to best buy to upgrade to blueray, or stopping at starbucks for a latte on my way to get the movie. The plan allows me to frame the actions within the realm of achieving the objectives! It helps me to make decisions. I have assumed that the objective is valid for whatever reason. Your plan helps you test that assumption, nothing more, nothing less. Edit: Adding number 4: If, while carrying out my plan I find out that the video store is on fire, or that my wife would rather go to the theatre instead of renting, I adapt to the changing reality. I do not stubbornly insist that I follow my predefined plan. I incorporate the new variables into it. In certain cases, this does in fact mean changing the objective. However, I reassess the situation and re-plan from there. Not having any plan is about as dumb as planning to the nth degree, IMO. Even worse, I think 37S understands this perfectly.