Check Your Tools

We are halfway through January with some of us still working on our plans for the year. Creating a detailed plan isn’t the easiest thing to do but for those that push through to create a plan, what next?

Once you create a plan, what else do you focus on? We are told create a plan and work it, which makes sense, but there is something else that is equally as important and that is the toolkit to get the job done.

There are some key questions that we must ask to help us have the right tools for executing our plans.

What is the most important tool?

Most of us don’t have the luxury of having every type of tool that we need but there is always an essential set that is required as a minimum. Figuring this out is key for us to make meaningful progress. Invest in the wrong tools and you might as well not have any tools at all.

I love to cook and one of my most important tools in the kitchen if not the most important is the right set of knives. The right set helps you to breeze through your tasks helping you to enjoy the process whilst the wrong knives frustrate you. Chefs don’t scrimp when they buy their knives because they know the true return on investments.

Majority of people would frown on spending a lot of money on knives that they use for prepping every meal not realising the trade off that is time lost and frustrations that come up multiple times every day.

Learn to use your tools

Having the right and essential tools doesn’t come with an automatic guarantee of success; you still need to learn how to use them.

Back to my kitchen tool analogy, the right set of knives are extremely sharp with the ability to shed your blood before your brain realises you’ve had a cut. This is why chefs in training are taught knives skills, not just to create intricate cuts but to learn safety first.

Sharpen your tools

Even the best knives become dull over time and that is why a decent knives set would come with a sharpener. It is important to recognise when to sharpen your tools and we do this by simply paying attention.

Recognising that it is taking longer to get a task done is an indication for us to do some problem solving which can point towards our tools.

Abraham Lincoln, former U.S President said, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”

Take care of your tools

A tradesman without his tools has nothing to offer in terms of getting the job done. Having our tools constantly available to us is key to working our plans and achieving our goals.

Imagine a painter who can’t be bothered with cleaning his paint brushes at the right time, leaving them to dry out; what happens the next time he needs them?

I’m not a professional painter but I learnt this lesson years ago while completing some ‘do it yourself’ (DIY) project. I soon realised how important it was to wash the brushes until the last drop of paint is gone. Because I knew it had to be done, I adjusted my tasks and plans to always allow time for this to happen.

Maintaining our tools isn’t an optional add-on but an absolute necessity. The continuous investments in maintenance saves time and it is cheaper in the long run.

Add to your tools

Remember I said no one has all the tools that they need but smart people always have plans to add to their tools. That means they never lose sight of the additional tools that would enhance their jobs and their ability to deliver results.

So as they make money, they set some aside to buy the next essential tool.

For many of us our toolkits comprise of skills rather than hardwares, but the message is still applicable. We have to be smart in adding the right skills to our existing set.

As we strive towards our goals for this year, focus on your tools and skills set; and make smart decisions.

Thank you for reading and sharing my post. Here’s to having the year we are willing to work for.