As yet another deadline looms it’s so easy to lurch from one urgent task to another with an increasing sense of struggling to cope and an ever present feeling of “phew – another crisis narrowly avoided”.

I’m convinced that some people are adrenalin junkies who need the thrill of near misses to keep them going. Trouble is for those of us who prefer to swim in calmer waters it creates a stressful and negative environment in which to try to manage. Of course in some work situations meeting constant urgent deadlines are part of the job and systems and structures are put in place to ensure that the team knows what to do and can meet those deadlines efficiently and smoothly.

However in most work environments there should be few unforeseen urgent deadlines if staff and trustees set time aside to focus on planning – ideally together – and then review on a regular basis. Making plans won’t avoid surprises happening but they will become the exception to be dealt with rather than the norm.

It’s a downward spiral when there is no planning time since people become so involved in rushing from one unplanned activity, and its often unexpected consequences, to another that they then have no time left to plan. Without planning, things happen to you rather than you taking charge and making things happen. Planning, alongside communication, is the key management tool to achieve effectively.

I’ve heard it said that many of the voluntary sector’s chief executives are doers and not planners and one can see why an organisation dedicated to making change happen will attract activists. Without the strategic overview though many organisations are missing opportunities and failing to reach their potential and the needs of their beneficiaries.

Without planning how can trustees and staff know whether they are on the right track? To quote the old adage: “If you don’t know where you’re going, how do you know when you get there?”

So make today the first day of taking control. Check that you already have an agreed set of aims and objectives for your project and then:

1. Set time aside to agree your work programme for the next year and the expected outcomes;
2. Plan in any key decision points and who will be responsible for what;
3. Agree when the trustee meetings will take place and what the key decisions are that need to be timetabled into each meeting;
4. Each member of the team, with the support of their manager, should write down their own work plan and take responsibility for ensuring that they know when and what they are required to do;
5. Write it all down, share it with all the trustees and staff, and review progress regularly.

Do ensure though that your planning doesn’t replace your doing. Having planned you do need to implement the plans and staff need to be measured against how well they have achieved their part in those plans.

At the end of the working day, being in control is so much less stressful than freefalling from one crisis to another.