The Slip. The Lesson. The Reset.
The entire month of October I felt like I was running through the woods, blindfolded, with a stack of logs on my back. Worked piled up, anxiety was higher than normal, nothing seemed to get done in a timely manner, and that, for me, is disastrous.
So for the whole month of November, I went out to find another planner to solve all my problems. I laugh with my friends about it now, after spending over $75 on new digital planners that guess what, didn't have everything I needed. These planners ranged from overly complex pages, with every plannable category imaginable to a simple hourly logs and a to do list pages; but as to be expected it didn't change anything in my day to day life. In fact, it did the opposite. I was so consumed with how to use it and what to add to each and every section that I never actual made any plans, then I just gave up. I think I may have planned two full weeks and seven days of the entire month of November. And yes, the worked stilled piled up, my anxiety remained high, and nothing still seemed to get done in a timely manner.
Lesson learned. The problem is me. Me and my bad habits. They say weeds grow faster than flowers, it so easy to allow bad habits to form and over power what you are actually trying to grow. One day unplanned, turned into a week, turned into thirteen; and before you know it, it's December.
But my planner didn't fail, my planning habits did.
Why My Planning Habits Failed
1. I Became Too Relax
Somewhere along the way, I slipped into autopilot. My routine too comfortable. I stopped checking in with and stopped let my planner sit opened on my desk during the day, I stopped tracking good habits. When you stop being intentional, even the best planning system can start to fall apart. Consistency really is the glue that keeps habits together.
2. I Planned for a Perfect Day, Not My Actual Day
I created beautiful plans that reflected the day I wanted, not the day I actually had. My lists were packed, my schedule was tight, and my expectations were unrealistic. On Sunday, I made a To Do List for Monday with everything that needed to happen duirng the week, instead of creating a doable list, I crammed all the things itno on day, and then became overwhelmed by everything that wasn't done. Perfection planning looks good on paper, but it doesn’t hold up in real life. I have to remember to honor my real time, my real energy, and my real capacity. Setting a schedule that is productive but also acheivable. The whole point of this is not curve the anxiety, not build it.
3. I Failed to Adjust My Plans to Keep Up With My Life
When things got busy, messy, or unexpected, I didn’t adjust, instead I just abandoned the plan. Instead of reworking my day or moving tasks realistically, I let everything pile up. Flexibility is a planning skill, not a failure. But this month, I forgot to pivot. And without any adjusting, my plan became irrelevant. Another reminder that when the plan breaks, I don't have to break with it.
I am not perfect in any way, my planner isn't either. Even with years and years of planning experience, there are still times when I let the weeds creep in. That's what happened in October, by November the entire garden was covered; it didn't take long to undo everything. But it happens to everyone one. Fortuantly, I am blessed with a new month, and new chance to practice better habits. This time, I will be sure to plan accordingly.