As I was chatting with a new friend the other day, she
asked me what I did for a living. When I told her I
helped others get organized, she said, 'Oh, I don't have
time for that planning stuff...it's just not fun. I'm a
spontaneous person.' She then spent the remainder of the
conversation telling me how she can't get anything done,
that her house looks like a tornado went through it and
that she's always exhausted from running around to and
fro.In her mind, she feels that planning is not fun. So, she doesn't plan. In the meantime, she chronically complains at the problems that could be resolved--if only for a little bit of planning.
Did you know that planning can actually help to make your life more fun and enjoyable? I can't imagine I'd have as much 'play time' as I do, without planning out my schedule.
When I plan my schedule for the week, I actually schedule in time for fun. No, I don't plan exactly what fun thing I'm going to be doing every single time. However, when I land on a 'play time hour' on my schedule, I can pick and choose whether I lounge in the backyard reading a book, go to the park and run around with my daughter or work on my latest scrapbook or sewing project.
By planning my cleaning and organizing schedule ahead of time, I spend no time doing things I don't like to do, such as searching for a lost bill, duplicating work or picking up laundry strewn about.
When I plan, I'm also anticipating possible problems. For instance, instead of expecting my daughter to not follow her chore schedule, I think ahead and reward her even better for remembering to follow her chore schedule on her own. This works out to my benefit, as most of the time, she does her chores without being asked. And I'm not always caught up in a struggle to get her to do it.
When my husband and I plan vacations, we make dinner reservations ahead of time, so we're not wasting time standing in line. We check restaurants, event locations, hotels, etc. before we go, so we're not there at the busiest time, when something is closing or caught without something we might need at that particular place. This ensures less sidetrips to Walgreens for forgotten toiletries and less 'I don't like anything on the menu' proclamations because we didn't bother to spend a few minutes checking out a restaurant's web site.
Planning allows for spontaneity. Even though I have a schedule that I abide by 95% of the time, I do allow for flexibility. I may not do a project or two at the time I originally scheduled if something comes up unexpectedly. Of course, I then re-schedule that project--and I can easily do so because I planned ahead to ensure my schedule wasn't jam-packed and that there was time for this sort of flexibility in the first place.
It's because of planning, that I've been able to reach my goals. It's because of planning, that I'm able to strive for new goals that I know I will accomplish. For me, planning is a way of life--and I wouldn't want it any other way. For me, planning IS fun.


My latest summer book read is 'Loving Frank' by Nancy
Horan. It's the love story of famous architect, Frank
Lloyd Wright and his mistress, Mamah Cheney. I'm about a
quarter of the way into the book, and so far, very good.
We took a family movie day this past weekend and went to
see 'Up'. What a lovely, inspiring movie--that my husband
and I enjoyed probably as much as, if not more than, our
5-year old daughter.
If you have school-age children at home, you're likely
getting ready for summer vacation--and having the kids
home for the next few months.


