Main Difference
The main difference between Plan and Idea is that the Plan is a outline of a strategy for achievement of an objective and Idea is a mental image or concept
Plan
A plan is typically any diagram or list of steps with details of timing and resources, used to achieve an objective to do something. See also strategy. It is commonly understood as a temporal set of intended actions through which one expects to achieve a goal.
For spatial or planar topologic or topographic sets see map.
Plans can be formal or informal:
Structured and formal plans, used by multiple people, are more likely to occur in projects, diplomacy, careers, economic development, military campaigns, combat, sports, games, or in the conduct of other business. In most cases, the absence of a well-laid plan can have adverse effects: for example, a non-robust project plan can cost the organization time and money.
Informal or ad hoc plans are created by individuals in all of their pursuits.The most popular ways to describe plans are by their breadth, time frame, and specificity; however, these planning classifications are not independent of one another. For instance, there is a close relationship between the short- and long-term categories and the strategic and operational categories.
It is common for less formal plans to be created as abstract ideas, and remain in that form as they are maintained and put to use. More formal plans as used for business and military purposes, while initially created with and as an abstract thought, are likely to be written down, drawn up or otherwise stored in a form that is accessible to multiple people across time and space. This allows more reliable collaboration in the execution of the plan.
Idea
In philosophy, ideas are usually construed as mental representational images of some object. Ideas can also be abstract concepts that do not present as mental images. Many philosophers have considered ideas to be a fundamental ontological category of being. The capacity to create and understand the meaning of ideas is considered to be an essential and defining feature of human beings. In a popular sense, an idea arises in a reflexive, spontaneous manner, even without thinking or serious reflection, for example, when we talk about the idea of a person or a place. A new or original idea can often lead to innovation..
Plan (noun)
A drawing showing technical details of a building, machine, etc., with unwanted details omitted, and often using symbols rather than detailed drawing to represent doors, valves, etc.
“The plans for many important buildings were once publicly available.”
Plan (noun)
A set of intended actions, usually mutually related, through which one expects to achieve a goal.
“He didn’t really have a plan; he had a goal and a habit of control.”
Plan (noun)
A two-dimensional drawing of a building as seen from above with obscuring or irrelevant details such as roof removed, or of a floor of a building, revealing the internal layout; as distinct from the elevation.
“Seen in plan, the building had numerous passageways not apparent to visitors.”
Plan (noun)
A method; a way of procedure; a custom.
Plan (noun)
A subscription to a service; e.g., a phone plan, an Internet plan.
Plan (verb)
To design (a building, machine, etc.).
“The architect planned the building for the client.”
Plan (verb)
To create a plan for.
“They jointly planned the project in phases, with good detail for the first month.”
Plan (verb)
To intend.
“He planned to go, but work intervened.”
Plan (verb)
See plan on.
“I was planning on going, but something came up.”
Plan (verb)
To make a plan.
“They planned for the worst, bringing lots of emergency supplies.”
Idea (noun)
An abstract archetype of a given thing, compared to which real-life examples are seen as imperfect approximations; pure essence, as opposed to actual examples. from 14th c.
Idea (noun)
The conception of someone or something as representing a perfect example; an ideal. 16th-19th c.
Idea (noun)
The form or shape of something; a quintessential aspect or characteristic. 16th-18th c.
Idea (noun)
An image of an object that is formed in the mind or recalled by the memory. from 16th c.
“The mere idea of you is enough to excite me.”
Idea (noun)
More generally, any result of mental activity; a thought, a notion; a way of thinking. from 17th c.
Idea (noun)
A conception in the mind of something to be done; a plan for doing something, an intention. from 17th c.
“I have an idea of how we might escape.”
Idea (noun)
A purposeful aim or goal; intent
“If you keep sweet-talking her like that, you’re going to talk her right out of her pants.”
Idea (noun)
A vague or fanciful notion; a feeling or hunch; an impression. from 17th c.
“He had the wild idea that if he leant forward a little, he might be able to touch the mountain-top.”
Idea (noun)
A musical theme or melodic subject. from 18th c.
Idea (noun)
a thought or suggestion as to a possible course of action
“recently, the idea of linking pay to performance has caught on”
“it’s a good idea to do some research before you go”
Idea (noun)
a mental impression
“our menu list will give you some idea of how interesting a low-fat diet can be”
Idea (noun)
an opinion or belief
“nineteenth-century ideas about drinking”
Idea (noun)
the aim or purpose
“I took a job with the idea of getting some money together”
Idea (noun)
(in Platonic thought) an eternally existing pattern of which individual things in any class are imperfect copies.
Idea (noun)
(in Kantian thought) a concept of pure reason, not empirically based in experience.