POLC and the individual
... theory – I sometimes even catch myself defining a simple layman's explanation with a mathematical equation X_X) to adapt POLC to everyday life, and how it can improve one's personal welfare. Starting off with planning, the person must first know, qualify, and perhaps quantify the goals and objectives he has (be it for the short term or the long term) and establish well laid “target points” that would measure progress (I would call it “milestones,” but I don't like how it connotes a descriptive attitude towards the targets; I prefer to think of the target as an active goal to shoot for). It's like drawing your desired future and painting “bull's eyes” on the key areas which open up that future. Of course, plans are simply plans if nobody acts on it. The person needs to organize his personal resources to achieve the plan he made. For example, if the plan calls for getting a 1.0 in his MBA course, and the means to achieve that is to study for 13 hours each day (as per Ma'am Racelis' suggestion) he needs to set aside that amount of time for study, possibly swapping out and rearranging schedules for leisure. In other words, organization means proper allocation of resources according to priority, to achieve the given plan. Regarding leadership, you may ask “but how does one lead himself?” Well, if you extract the essence of leadership, it boils down to motivating (not coercing) your followers to do something. Folding that back into a single person, that means setting up a motivation system (a rewards system perhaps where you treat yourself with a budget set especially for that occasion?) to help him achieve the objectives stated in his plan. It's basically providing yourself tools to help in self-control; for example, if procrastinating is much more enjoyable than writing a feedback folder entry for HBO (not to say such is true), a simple pledge to self that he will be rewarded with a gulp of Yakult (his favorite drink) for every paragraph written would suffice, as long as that gulp of Yakult actually motivates him to finish the paper. Controlling involves regular checks whether after going through all those planning, organizing, and leading activities, are the objectives still being met? Is the person still headed in the right direction (that was set during the planning stage)? Continuous feedback is given in this stage, comparing performance with the set objectives. I don't think it's a binary done or not done checklist, but rather more of an evaluation of progress. For example, if the goal was to get a 1.0, but he only got a 1.25, then he must have been doing something wrong and only a few areas needs improvement. These areas are identified and given attention. Also, feedback gathered is fed back into cycle, when the person sets his plans anew, considering his succ...