⏮️ How to Plan in Reverse

Why planning in reverse works, and how to do it — in less than 5 minutes.

Author

Flocus
January 05, 2025

Hey there! Welcome back to The Flow by Flocus. If you’re new around here, welcome! 👋  You can catch up on our previous editions right here.

Happy New Year! 🥳 

This week: We’re kicking off the year with a fresh new concept! If you struggle with planning ahead, try planning in reverse instead. Let’s explore what it is, why it works, and how to do it.

🤔 What’s Planning in Reverse?

Planning in reverse basically means pausing to plan your tasks after you’ve already started working.

For many people (ourselves included!), planning ahead often backfires for 3 main reasons:

  1. 🤷‍♀️ You don’t know what you don’t know. When learning something new, sometimes you won’t know what you need to do, making it impossible to plan ahead.

  2. 🛣️ Plans often change. It can be frustrating to spend lots of time planning the tasks you think you’ll end up working on, only for things to get disrupted.

  3. ⏳ Designing your plans can take a long time. Decorating your planner is a rewarding creative exercise that can motivate you — but it’s also time-consuming and not always practical.

With these limitations in mind, let’s take a closer look at why planning in reverse works so well.

🌟 Why Planning in Reverse Works

  • 🛠️ Lets you jump straight into a project and start practicing new skills

  • ⌛️ Reduces the time it takes between a new task popping up in your brain and you starting to work on it

  • 🚧 Helps you identify roadblocks and figure out how to solve them

  • 📈 Gives you clarity on how much of the work you’ve already done

All these benefits add up to boost your self-trust, confidence, and overall emotional state.

It’s not easy to recognize when you need to step back, change course, or try something different. Being able to do this — and solve problems in real time — is huge for your growth!

Now that you know how planning in reverse can benefit you, scroll on to learn how to do it.

👉 How to Plan in Reverse

Before we jump into the step-by-step guide, a quick disclaimer: Planning in reverse doesn’t always mean you won’t plan ahead at all. This is just another method you can try in addition to what already works for you.

🧑‍💻 Step 1: Start working on a task or project

We know “just start” isn’t always helpful advice, but it truly is the first step.

That said, some level of planning ahead might be involved here, especially for people who are neurodivergent. You might need to set reminders, practice boundaries, or do what works for you before you’re able to start.

🧠 Step 2: Work until you get stuck or overwhelmed

Once you’re stuck in, focus your full attention on your task. Your goal for this step is to get into a “flow” state, if possible. (We understand that doesn’t work for everyone’s brain, though, so you do you!)

Also, don’t forget to take plenty of breaks — at least one every 2 hours — to keep your brain in top form.

⏮️ Step 3: Pause and plan in reverse

Alright, so you’ve hit a roadblock, or you’re feeling so overwhelmed that it’s distracting you from getting things done — now it’s time to plan in reverse.

You’ve already done a chunk of the work, so pause to check in with yourself:

  • Dump out some (or all) of the tasks you’ve already done and tick them off, if it helps.

  • List all the tasks you still need to do.

  • Indicate which tasks you’re having trouble with and why (it’s okay if you’re not sure).

  • List your top goals and priorities for the work you’re doing. From here, work backwards to uncover which tasks require your immediate attention and which can get moved to the backburner.

  • Review your top tasks and consider the types of obstacles you may or already have encountered. Jot down some ways to work around the most urgent ones.

  • Listen to your feelings. Emotions can get in the way of work, so take a moment to process and address them, if needed.

While you can do some of this in your head, you might need to do some lite journaling here to get the answers you need.

🤏 Step 4: Pick a small task and start working

Now that you’ve got your list and you’re feeling calmer, pick something small and get back to work. (Or, take a break before coming back.)

It can be hard to jump right back in after feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or defeated — that’s why we recommend starting small and slow.

But if going slow doesn’t tend to work for you, set a timer and “race yourself” to see how much progress you can make in the allotted time.

🪅 Flocus Picks

A curated list of things worth sharing.

✨ Flocus: Your Personal Productivity Dashboard

Kickstart your year with Flocus — we’re here to help you tackle daily tasks across your work, studies, and personal life. Whether you’re planning ahead or practicing the art of reverse planning, we’ve got you covered with an aesthetic, personalized approach to productivity.

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Brands like Writer support our tiny team at The Flow, allowing us to continue delivering value to your inbox. Thanks for checking them out!

🗳️ POLL: How ready are you to tackle 2025?

Any other thoughts? Let us know in the comments!

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Planning is never a one-size-fits-all process. No matter how successful you are with planning ahead, planning in reverse can benefit you at any time during a task or project.

What did you think of this concept? It’s one our team uses regularly, so we’re keen to hear your thoughts!

Until next Sunday,

Flocus Team