LIFE is a veritable rabbit warren. No sooner do we make a fresh and real discovery that sets us free than we realise our “solution” was merely a hoax for a different problem; the chess pieces of life have moved as they always do. Planning and its pros and cons are an ideal example.
I’ve been using a structured, professional planning system now for over two years. Initially it proved a godsend. It allowed me to compartmentalise my life: work, home, interests, important engagements etc. But with it, my thinking too has changed. I’m unsure whether this is a good thing or a bad thing. It has its benefits, yet there are things that detract too. I am focused but perhaps at times too focused.
What is the purpose of planning? Surely it’s to assist us deliver desired outcomes.
But, I’ve found myself compelled to checking lists and fixed to a rut of planning. So much so, that part of my New Year’s resolution was to ‘plan little,’ trusting that if I did some planning that’s better than none. I did this to resolve the propensity to over-plan things and therefore become too rigid and inflexible. I’m trying to balance my approach.
Planning should help us bring about balance in life whilst assisting us to achieve all the important and urgent things, in correct priority order, that compete for our time.
Planning Little
I’ve resolved that I’m diligent enough not to need to plan every last thing. I think most of us are. We should trust ourselves and our memory’s as much as we’re able to. The only way we can do that is by ever so gently releasing the reins, allowing as much of life to happen as spontaneously as possible.
After all, too much planning can sap much of the joy out of the simple things of life which ordinarily don’t require planning. Planning little is an approach to planning necessary for the achievement of the important goals in life. Other than that, let’s let life “happen” to us more.
© 2010 S. J. Wickham.
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