I'm a planner. Not so much with my friends, but when it comes to me, my family, and my job, I like to plan. I also like to see my
plans. I haven't even brought myself to put my calendar in my phone because I like to see the whole month laid out, color coordinated by person. I love excel spreadsheets, to-do lists and even the occasional sticker chart for myself to see how my plans are going. But herein lies my problem…the follow through.
A typical day for me looks something like this…
PLAN to wake up 30 minutes early so I can get 20 minutes in on the treadmill and not be rushed getting us all out the door.
REALITY…Hit snooze three times, wake up 30 minutes late, and rush out of the house in a tizzy, frustrated with everyone.
PLAN to eat a nutritional breakfast at home before I leave.
REALITY…(see #1) go through Chick-Fil-A
PLAN to have a positive attitude and lots of patience for the kiddos.
REALITY…my breakfast duty does me in.
PLAN to pack healthy snacks for the day.
REALITY…(see #1) parent brings cupcakes for Johnny’s birthday and cafeteria makes too many cinnamon rolls so I eat them as to avoid hurting anyone’s feeling for refusing(ok, so that’s not really why I ate them!)
PLAN to check 5 things off on my work To-Do list.
REALITY…a parent calls, two kids get in an argument, we have a fire drill, Jane is sad because Susie has a new best friend, so I add something to my To-Do list I’ve already done so I can enjoy that wonderful feeling of marking through it with my red sharpie!
PLAN to bring a healthy lunch.
REALITY…(see #1) eat steak and gravy and a roll from the cafeteria.
PLAN to drink four bottles of water at work.
REALITY…get a caffeine headache and grab a Diet Dr. Pepper from the drink machine.
PLAN to go to the gym after work.
REALITY…friend calls for happy hour. Tell her I have to work out. Haha, just kidding. Go to happy hour.
PLAN to walk the dog when I get home.
REALITY…too cold.
PLAN to use one of the 100 crockpot recipes I’ve pinned on Pinterest for dinner. REALITY…(see #1) forgot.
PLAN to do 1-2 loads of laundry every night to keep up.
REALITY…too tired.
PLAN to wash my face with the 43 different products I have bought to ease the aging process.
REALITY…who cares.
PLAN to get 7-8 hours of sleep so I can get up 30 minutes earlier!
REALITY…lay in bed feeling like a big, fat loser because all my planning resulted in a bunch of nothing. So, I’m still awake at midnight planning how I can eat less, exercise more, be more productive at work, keep up with the house better, drink more water, spend more time with the dog, look younger, and get my beauty sleep.
Shew. The truth is, if I put half the time into DOING as I do PLANNING, I’d accomplish
more in a day than I do in a week! Planning is necessary, but achieving is what makes each of us feel proud and why we even plan in the first place. Sometimes you just have to stop thinking and start acting! That's hard for me. I'm a thinker. Actually, an overthinker. I believe my need to plan probably goes hand in hand with my worrying (see Don't Worry...Be Happy post). Planning make me feel like I have some control and, in all honesty, it's much less scary to plan than it is to actually do. But I'm ready to change that. So that’s my plan on this April 1…less talk and more action! What do you need to stop planning for and just start doing? What’s holding you back?
plans. I haven't even brought myself to put my calendar in my phone because I like to see the whole month laid out, color coordinated by person. I love excel spreadsheets, to-do lists and even the occasional sticker chart for myself to see how my plans are going. But herein lies my problem…the follow through.
A typical day for me looks something like this…
PLAN to wake up 30 minutes early so I can get 20 minutes in on the treadmill and not be rushed getting us all out the door.
REALITY…Hit snooze three times, wake up 30 minutes late, and rush out of the house in a tizzy, frustrated with everyone.
PLAN to eat a nutritional breakfast at home before I leave.
REALITY…(see #1) go through Chick-Fil-A
PLAN to have a positive attitude and lots of patience for the kiddos.
REALITY…my breakfast duty does me in.
PLAN to pack healthy snacks for the day.
REALITY…(see #1) parent brings cupcakes for Johnny’s birthday and cafeteria makes too many cinnamon rolls so I eat them as to avoid hurting anyone’s feeling for refusing(ok, so that’s not really why I ate them!)
PLAN to check 5 things off on my work To-Do list.
REALITY…a parent calls, two kids get in an argument, we have a fire drill, Jane is sad because Susie has a new best friend, so I add something to my To-Do list I’ve already done so I can enjoy that wonderful feeling of marking through it with my red sharpie!
PLAN to bring a healthy lunch.
REALITY…(see #1) eat steak and gravy and a roll from the cafeteria.
PLAN to drink four bottles of water at work.
REALITY…get a caffeine headache and grab a Diet Dr. Pepper from the drink machine.
PLAN to go to the gym after work.
REALITY…friend calls for happy hour. Tell her I have to work out. Haha, just kidding. Go to happy hour.
PLAN to walk the dog when I get home.
REALITY…too cold.
PLAN to use one of the 100 crockpot recipes I’ve pinned on Pinterest for dinner. REALITY…(see #1) forgot.
PLAN to do 1-2 loads of laundry every night to keep up.
REALITY…too tired.
PLAN to wash my face with the 43 different products I have bought to ease the aging process.
REALITY…who cares.
PLAN to get 7-8 hours of sleep so I can get up 30 minutes earlier!
REALITY…lay in bed feeling like a big, fat loser because all my planning resulted in a bunch of nothing. So, I’m still awake at midnight planning how I can eat less, exercise more, be more productive at work, keep up with the house better, drink more water, spend more time with the dog, look younger, and get my beauty sleep.
Shew. The truth is, if I put half the time into DOING as I do PLANNING, I’d accomplish
more in a day than I do in a week! Planning is necessary, but achieving is what makes each of us feel proud and why we even plan in the first place. Sometimes you just have to stop thinking and start acting! That's hard for me. I'm a thinker. Actually, an overthinker. I believe my need to plan probably goes hand in hand with my worrying (see Don't Worry...Be Happy post). Planning make me feel like I have some control and, in all honesty, it's much less scary to plan than it is to actually do. But I'm ready to change that. So that’s my plan on this April 1…less talk and more action! What do you need to stop planning for and just start doing? What’s holding you back?
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