I Have Stopped Making Any Concrete Plans Or Schedules
Here's What I Do Instead
I hate the question - What's your five/ten-year plan?
Woman, I don't know what I am doing tomorrow. How am I supposed to know what's in store for me in the next five, ten years?
Most of us ask and answer this question because it makes us feel that we control our time and years.
Well, if the last two years of HE-WHO-SHALL-NOT-BE-NAMED didn't make you realise that life is not in anyone's control, then I don't know what will.
I have been self-employed from the day I graduated. I knew if I wanted to get a decent amount of work done in a day, I should have a routine. So I gave it a shot.
Every productivity guru out there will tell you the following:
If it's not on the calendar, you won't do it.
You have to schedule every task.
You must time block.
You must batch similar tasks.
You should know your end goal before taking the first step.
Wake up at 5.
Exercise for one hour.
Take this supplement.
Make a to-do list.
Do bullet journalling.
And on, and on, and on...
For five-plus years, I have tried it all. And I can tell you that instead of being productive, I became tired. Burnout.
They don't work for me.
One thing I realised was that I am made different.
My nature is that I can't work while keeping an eye on the clock or the calendar.
Scheduling and planning may work for others, and I am happy.
But I am cut from a different cloth.
Of course, I have goals I would like to achieve.
I want to write and publish my novels.
I want to write and publish my non-fiction books.
I would love to travel and see places of historical significance.
I am desperate to get a dog.
But I cannot put a time stamp on them.
Why? Because that's life.
Life laughs and turns over the table when you try to make plans set in stone.
When I started on my writing journey, I made a goal to write a book in a year. I felt like a failure when I didn't achieve it and believed I would never succeed.
Now, I don't know about you, but I don't want that kind of negative self-talk in my life.
Anyway, the world triggers and influences us to think we are less than in every aspect of our lives. We don't need to add more spice into that mix.
So what do I do now? I run my own race at my own pace.
When it comes to planning and scheduling, I consider my energy levels. This will include my physical, mental and emotional energies.
As I mentioned earlier, I have goals but without time stamps. The condition is that I take a small step towards it at least five days a week.
As for the daily to-do, I try to boil it down to the primary three tasks that need to be done for that day. I also have a set of non-negotiables that I would love to work on every day.
It doesn't matter if I tick all the boxes every day. Even if I get a tick in one box, the day was successful.
I also keep open spaces because distractions, disturbances and emergencies need to be considered.
Finally, I have realised that my human plans and schedules can go off-track. But I should remember that my spiritual plans and schedules are on track. Always.
As long as I keep doing the work, no matter if it's at a slow pace.
