In Part 1 of this series, we explored how Reviewing helps you understand where you are. In Part 2, we looked at how Visioning clarifies where you want to go. Now we turn to the third phase: Planning, the process of charting your course between the two.
Some people naturally live in this phase. If you've taken our Momentum Quiz, you might recognize yourself as a Designer:
📋 Designer: Master planner who thrives on mapping out the process. Designers love creating plans but may find it challenging to choose where to focus — or to move from planning to doing.
Others struggle with this phase. Visionaries (big-picture thinkers) may resist getting into the details, wanting to stay in the realm of endless possibilities. Creators (action-oriented doers) might want to skip planning entirely and jump straight into execution, preferring to figure things out as they go.
But here's the truth: all roles are needed in the planning process. And just as skipping Reviewing or Visioning creates problems, skipping Planning leaves you without a roadmap:
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Reviewing: You know where you are, but have no clear path forward
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Visioning: You know where you want to go, but don't know how to get there
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Executing: You're taking action, but without direction or sequence — often creating more work than necessary
Planning bridges the gap. It's your roadmap for the journey.
Planning requires two things:
Before you can map your route, you need to understand the landscape of your project.
Define what done looks like. Get specific about the outcome you're creating. What exactly will you deliver? What does success look like for this project?
Assess what you have. What's already available to you? Consider your time, energy, skills, tools, and support. Understanding your current resources gives you a realistic starting point.
Identify what you need. Compare what you have to what the project requires. Do you need to build a team? Acquire tools or training? Secure budget or time? Understanding this gap helps you either acquire what's missing or adjust your plans to match reality.
Once you know what you need, it's time to map the route.
Break it down. Chunk your project into manageable pieces. For longer journeys, identify the major milestones. For each milestone, determine the discrete steps. Acquiring those resources you identified? That becomes one of your steps.
Put it in order. Take your vertical list of steps and lay it horizontally so you can sequence what happens when. Some steps must happen before others. Some can happen in parallel. This is where you create the logical flow from start to finish.
You might create a perfect plan for your project. But when you try to fit it alongside everything else you have going on, constraints become visible.
This is where the scoping and roadmapping work pays off. Without understanding what your project truly needs and how much space it requires, you'll keep overcommitting and wondering why nothing gets done.
Tools like our Momentum Planners force the reality check. They make you see all your plans together in one place. The planners follow the Five Projects Rule, which creates necessary constraints. If you're like most of us, you'll find that not everything will fit. That's valuable information you can use to make conscious choices about what you'll actually do rather than unconsciously overcommitting.
Below you'll find resources to help you create plans that actually work:
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Get Your 2026 Momentum Planners – The planners that help you see all your plans together in one place
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Momentum App – Our digital app takes the Momentum Planning Method and adapts it for screen-based planning with features like easy task management and device flexibility
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Momentum Planning E-Course Overview – Get step-by-step guidance through our complete planning methodology (full course available to paid subscribers)
Now that you know where you are (Reviewing), where you want to go (Visioning), and how you'll get there (Planning), it's time to start moving. Part 4: Executing is coming soon.
Struggling to create plans that actually work? Or finding yourself stuck in endless planning without moving forward? Our Productivity Coaching can help you develop planning practices that match your style and support real progress. Learn more about Productivity Coaching.
