Planning for Action

(from the coursera course Creativity, Innovation, and Change by Dr. Jack V. Matson, Dr. Kathryn W. Jablokow, Dr. Darrell Velegol)

By Enrique Posada

Nada te detiene, vida. De las duras rocas, surges más altiva

¿Cómo crear conciencia

sobre el papel de los

arbustos, de las

malezas y de las

yerbas en el

ecosistema?

Planning for Action

Introduction: 

Once you have something you want to implement, it can be intimidating to figure out where

to begin – what to do first, second, third, and so on. In this exercise, we’re going to show you

one way to get started. The general idea is to prioritize your action steps using short,

medium, and long term thinking – and then to build some structure around your expectations

for each action step. Speaking of action … let’s get started!

Instructions:

Step 1: Identify. Identify the specific idea or solution that you want to

implement. It could be and idea you generated in this course, or it may be another

solution that you have in mind.

Step 2: List. Generate a list of action steps that will be needed to bring your

solution to life. Don’t worry about making this list absolutely complete or putting the

action steps in precise order. Just do your best to identify key actions that will need

to be taken. You can always add more action steps later!

Step 3: Define. Determine what “short”, “medium”, and “long” term mean in

the context of your situation. For example, short term to a research scientist might

be 1 year, medium term may be a decade, and long term may be 50 years. For a

teacher, short term might be at the end of the current instructional unit, medium

term might be the end of the semester, and long term might be the end of the

school year. For a parent, short term might mean a few hours, medium term might

mean the end of the week, and long term might mean the end of the month. Be

clear about what you mean by short, medium, and long term before sorting your

action steps.

Step 4: Sort. Now, sort your actions using the following phrase: “What I see

myself doing in the short term is ...” Make this specific by replacing “in the short

term” with whatever you have decided is “short term” for you. Identify all the steps

from your initial list that fit with this phrase. Now, move to your personal definition of

medium term and repeat the process: “What I see myself doing in the medium

term is …” Then move to your long term action steps. Add more action steps as

needed along the way. To jump-start your efforts, be sure to include at least one

short-term action that can take place in the next 24 hours.

IMPORTANT: As you move through this process, WRITE DOWN YOUR ACTION

STEPS! Action steps are just like all ideas: if you write them down, you are more likely

to do them.

Step 5: Order. Now, take the action steps in each category (short, medium,

and long term) and see if you can put them in order from soonest to latest, or from

least to most important – whatever makes sense for your solution. Compare across

categories to make things consistent.

Step 6: Own. For each action step in each category, write down these details:

a. Who is responsible? – Is this an action you must take yourself, or do you

need someone else to do it for you? If you need help with this step, who will help

you?

b. Target dates – Begin and End dates for the action step. When will you start

and finish it?

c. End product/Measurement – How will you know when the step is

complete? How will you measure success?

d. Status – Finally, identify a way to keep track of the status of each action

step. Is it completed? Partially done? Just started? Update this information

regularly, so you can see your plans moving forward, even if progress is slow. 

Step 1: Identify. Identify the specific idea or solution that you want to implement. It

could be an idea you generated in this course, or it may be another solution that you

have in mind

Impulsar la idea de que el pequeño arbusto y la maleza son elementos

importantes en el ecosistema, tanto o más que los árboles.

Promote the idea that small bushes and weeds are important in the ecosystem, as much or more than the big trees.

Step 2: List. Generate a list of action steps that will be needed to bring your solution

to life. Don’t worry about making this list absolutely complete or putting the action steps

in precise order. Just do your best to identify key actions that will need to be taken. You

can always add more action steps later!

Leer sobre los pequeños arbustos y las malezas Dibujarlos y hacer obras de arte sobre ellos Escribir poemas sobre los pequeños arbustos Tomar fotos sobre pequeños arbustos, malezas y pastos Relacionar la fauna que vive en las malezas con el ecosistema Identificar especies que dependen de los pequeños arbustos Identificar y conocer aspectos de la radiación solar y la respiración de los

pequeños arbustos y las malezas Conocer los nombres de 20 malezas y pequeños arbustos, incluyendo yerbas y

pastos Estudiar sobre su importancia en el arte y en las expediciones botánicas Proponer acciones legislativas Proponer acciones educativas Escribir un ensayo

Read about small bushes, weeds and herbs Draw and make art about them Writing poems on small shrubs Taking pictures of small shrubs, weeds and grasses Relate the wildlife that lives in the weeds with the ecosystem Identifying species that depend on small shrubs Identify and understand aspects of solar radiation and respiration of small

shrubs and weeds Know the names of 20 weeds and small shrubs, herbs and grasses Find out about laws that apply to these species and their protection Study of their importance in art and botanical expeditions Propose legislative actions Offer educational activities Write an essay

Step 3: Define. Determine what “short”, “medium”, and “long” term mean in the context of your situation.

Short

Leer sobre los pequeños arbustos y las malezas Conocer los nombres de 20 malezas y pequeños arbustos, incluyendo yerbas y

pastos

Medium

Dibujarlos y hacer obras de arte sobre ellos Escribir poemas sobre los pequeños arbustos Tomar fotos sobre pequeños arbustos, malezas y pastos Estudiar sobre su importancia en el arte y en las expediciones botánicas

Long

Relacionar la fauna que vive en las malezas con el ecosistema Identificar especies que dependen de los pequeños arbustos Averiguar sobre leyes que se apliquen a estas especies y su protección Proponer acciones legislativas Proponer acciones educativas Escribir un ensayo

Step 4: Sort. Now, sort your actions using the following phrase: “What I see myself doing in the …term is ...”

Lo que me veo haciendo en el corto plazo es averiguando más sobre lo que son los arbustos, las malezas y los pastos y sus características ecológicas y ambientales

Lo que me veo haciendo en el plazo mediano es sensibilizarme más personalmente aproximándome a ellos a través del arte, de mi contacto con ellos mediante la representación de imágenes y el conocimiento de imágenes y escritos que otros han hecho

Lo que me veo haciendo en el largo plazo es lograr un buen conocimiento y una sabiduría personal que me permitan hacer propuestas de impacto social y educativo, respaldadas por mis actividades de sensibilización

What I see myself doing in the short term is finding out more about the bushes, weeds and grasses and their ecology and environmental features

What I see myself doing in the medium term is to have a more personal contact and feeling for them, approaching them through art, trough my contact with them by representing images and trough the knowledge of images and writings that others have done

What I see myself doing in the long run is to get a good knowledge and personal wisdom to allow me to make proposals for social and educational impact, backed by my awareness activities.

IMPORTANT: As you move through this process, WRITE DOWN YOUR ACTION

STEPS! Action steps are just like all ideas: if you write them down, you are more likely

to do them.

Actions steps:

Read twice a week

Take pictures twice a week

Write poems twice a week

Talk to friends about this

Write conclusions every two months

Prepare a presentation every three months

Write an essay at the end of the first six months

Set back weekly and examine advances

This is a program that will take about a year to be finished

Conclusions

If I outline ideas, the process improves a lot, more ideas come. Planning can become a more interesting exercise in this way.

Although I tend to get involved and do things, this process could become an useful tool.

Overall feed back

It is good to take some time for planning. It is part of a feedback buckle.