There was a time in life, many, many moons ago when I was a carefree spirit. I acted on impulse. I made rash decisions. I did what I wanted when I wanted. I’d pick up at the drop of a hat to take off on some new adventure. But then the universe decided it would be funny to make me a mom. Boy, was I in trouble now! Once you become a parent or even an adult, you learn the importance of planning.
Life Without Planning
When I was younger, I used to make fun of the people who had their lives all planned out, right down to the hour, every day. It made no sense to me. Life was about living; about experiencing. You couldn’t do that by following a schedule. I thought if you wanted to enjoy life, you had to learn how to seize the moment. Not plan it out months in advance.
We’re blessed with youthful ignorance as children. I remember I used to think adults had it made. They didn’t have a bedtime. Adults got to do whatever they want, without rules. You can buy anything anytime. If you don’t have the money, take out a loan. Or charge it to your credit card and pay for it later. And it never once dawned on me to think about bills.
Life has a funny way of taking everything you think you know and smashing it to smithereens. When I turned 18, I just knew I was a full-grown adult. I was ready to live my own life, without anyone interfering. I made the typical young adult mistakes. I opened a few credit cards I couldn’t afford. I went on shopping sprees. Blew my paychecks. I was doing what I wanted.
Learning to Manage
Then the powers that be thought it would be funny to gift a 19-year-old child with a baby – my first son was on the way. And suddenly, I realized. I had NO idea what to do! I was barely managing to take care of myself, never mind a helpless infant. It was time to figure my crap out. I read all the baby books. I researched online. I tried everything as I was raising an infant while already being pregnant with number two at just 20 years old. (My oldest two children are one year, five days apart).
It took me a few years to figure out the secret to being an adult, and for raising multiple kids. Goodbye impulse. Hello, scheduling. Let’s fast forward 15 years. Now, I’m somewhat of a professional parent. Even though I still have zero clues about what I’m doing, I’m successfully raising four great kids. And, planning is my secret weapon to staying sane with all the chaos around me.
Importance of Planning
There’s probably a lot of you out there who feel the same way I did. Life is more fun when you’re free to enjoy it as it happens instead of going off a plan. But when you decide to do something without preparing for it, you could end up in complicated situations that don’t turn out the way you want them.
It would be hard to take a road trip across the country if you haven’t saved up enough money to cover the expenses of the trip. And you wouldn’t be able to drive thousands of miles without a car. A reliable vehicle that you can count on. As it turns out, I can’t even take my truck an hour away without experiencing malfunctions.
Planning allows you to have your affairs in order so you can be prepared. It helps you know what you have finished and what you still need to get done to achieve your goals. I’m sure you have a vision of your future. You can clearly picture what you want. Planning is your way of getting there.
Benefits of Planning
If you want to be successful, you have to learn how to plan. Ask any powerful businessman or woman how they got to the top. I guarantee they won’t say it just happened randomly. These people paid their dues. They worked hard. They had a plan, and they executed. It paid off, and they’ve obtained their goals.
Planning is crucial in your personal life, as well. It would be hard to take a random week’s vacation to the beach without making arrangements first. Most of us would need to have time to save up the extra funds to cover the expense of an impromptu vacation. You might also have to take time off work. Arrange for a dog care service or babysitter. Find a place to stay at your destination. Reserve a means of travel – car, bus tickets, flights.
It is possible to get through life without having to learn how to plan. But it’s not a move that most life coaches would recommend. Life is short, and you want to have the chance to live it to the fullest. Learning how to implement planning into your life can help you be sure you’ve lived out all your dreams. The following examples show the importance of planning.
Planning Helps Dreams Come True
Having big dreams is part of human nature. We all picture ourselves in a lavish lifestyle where we never have to worry about money or working again. But for the majority of us, this dream will never happen, at least not until you’re old enough to retire and enjoy living off your pension – which probably won’t get you far these days.
But ask anyone who’s had their dreams come true, “How did you do it?” Chances are, they aren’t going to say they just got lucky. Or that it just sort of happened. For most of us, if we’re working to achieve our goals and dreams, we have to bust our butts. You have to pay your dues, earn your place.
If you want to be successful at reaching your goals, learn how to plan. Significant goals usually have to be worked towards in pieces. If you want a trip to Europe, you’ll need to develop a plan.
- Dates of vacation
- Places to visit
- Costs
- Reservations
- Passports
- Packing
- Transportation
- Vaccinations
These are just a few of the hundreds of things you might have to do before you can start your trip across the pond. Planning lets you get these things done correctly and on time, so you’re all set when the day comes for your big vacay. Don’t risk taking your trip without doing a lot of planning first.
Planning Motivates You
When you have a goal for the future, it can make you feel pumped. You get excited thinking about all the different ways your life is going to change once you’ve got what you want. It can inspire you to work harder so you can reach your end goal faster.
When you’re flying by the seat of your pants, you are open to experiencing once-in-a-lifetime scenarios that might be something you talk about for the rest of your life. But winging it can also cause a hiccup if you run into problems you weren’t prepared to encounter.
Let’s say you’ve decided to take a road trip across the country to take in all the beautiful and unique sights the Land of the Free has to offer. But halfway through your trip, your car breaks down. It needs new headlights, which cost $1800.
If you just jumped in your car and started driving, you could find yourself in a prickly situation if you don’t have the extra money saved up. You might have to give up on your trip, borrow money from someone, or postpone while you work off the costs.
If you had planned before you left for your trip, you would have been able to have enough money saved up for a rainy day fund, which from experience, you’ll always need. Planning allows you to feel inspired by your dreams. You don’t just imagine what it would be like to experience it. You make plans, the goals, to obtain it.
Planning Keeps You on Schedule
I never thought I’d be the type of person to live by a schedule. But let me tell you, it makes life so much easier. I knew from an early age I wasn’t meant to punch the clock for a regular 8 to 5 job. My life is too chaotic to work inside a strict time frame. Things always come up. Thank God as a writer, I can work whenever and wherever I please.
As I’m typing this, I’m sitting outside in my truck, begging time to speed up. You see, my two girls are cheerleaders, and today, Sunday, they had a stunt clinic. So, as a good parent, I’ve brought my daughters to their event, where I will be stuck bored out of my mind. It’s too far away from our house just to drop them off and come back.
If I hadn’t made plans, there are several ways this day could have backfired on me. If I hadn’t thought about the fact that I would be here ALL day, I wouldn’t have brought my work materials with me so I could reach my deadline on time. If I fail to deliver, I don’t get paid and could lose my client.
I might have been late getting the girls to their practices, which the coach wouldn’t have even noticed because she’s used to it. Despite my exceptional planning skills, I still run late for every darn thing. I joke that I’ll be late for my funeral, but I really do believe it will happen!
Planning allowed me to remember to fill my truck up the night before, so I didn’t have to stop for gas on the way. However, as I’ve realized many times before, planning doesn’t prevent the unexpected. Such as my alternator going out in my truck when I’m so far from home. My boyfriend’s under the hood right here in the parking lot as I’m working trying to get it fixed. Good thing I’ve got my rainy day funds saved up cause the water’s getting deep here.
Planning Keeps You Organized
Anyone who has children can tell you that it can be your worst nightmare trying to rush your kids out the door so you’ll be on time for something, only to realize they’ve forgotten something inside. When you learn how to plan, you can become more organized. Trust me, people, being organized, will save your life and your sanity.
If you know you’ve got something coming up, make a plan so you can be sure you’re ready. Are there things you’ll need to take with you? If so, write everything down, so you don’t risk forgetting it later. Don’t count on your memory. How many times have you left your grocery list sitting at home when you knew you were going grocery shopping? Exactly.
When you’re stressed or in a hurry, it’s easy to forget even the most essential stuff. I’ve left without my kid before. I made it to the driveway next door to our house before I realized it, so it wasn’t like I’d completely forgotten about her. I just thought she was already in the truck with her headphones on. I found it funny. Her, not so much. Especially when I drove two blocks around the neighborhood before I came back, just to irritate her. Hey, what are parents for?
Being organized allows you to be prepared. When you know where everything is, and you have confidence that you have everything you need, you’ll feel better prepared for working towards your goals. You can face what comes next because you took the time to make plans and get organized.
Planning Can Reduce Stress
As a parent, stress is a daily factor for me. I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t feeling some sort of pressure. I don’t know what I would do if things went as expected for once, and I wasn’t feeling some kind of burden of stress. But I think that’s part of adulthood. I don’t know many adults, or parents, who aren’t feeling some type of anxiety.
Planning allows you to feel a sense of control over your life. When you feel in control, you experience less stress. But why wouldn’t you? If you’ve got things planned out, so you know what to expect, there are no surprises. There’s nothing that would foil your plans, so you don’t have to worry about the unexpected.
As great as it would be if that were true, I say you should always expect the unexpected. Life wasn’t meant to be a consolation prize sport. You don’t get a trophy just for participating. Instead, think of life as more like a carnival game. You have to put in a lot if you want to get any sort of reward. The universe will test you at all times.
When you make plans, you often think of all the outcomes and have backup ideas in case things go wrong. When you’re prepared for the unexpected, you’re reducing the chances of becoming stressed if things go wrong or not as planned. Life is stressful enough as it is; don’t make it worse by not making plans. Winging it will only get you so far.
Planning Lets You Live Your Right Life
Many people venture through life without an idea of what they want to accomplish. Others, like myself, know what they want to achieve in their lifetime and spend the rest of their time working towards that goal. For me, I’ve always wanted to be a professional writer. And I do mean always. I was three when I discovered my dream, and I’m still chasing it thirty-some-odd years later.
Dreams are meant to be lived. If you don’t have aspirations, are you living your life to the fullest? We all have a talent, a purpose that makes us different from others. You may be laughing at me right now. After all, I’m a writer, and there are millions of those. It’s not hard to find an amateur blog online from someone who dreams of being a writer and thinks pouring their whining thoughts out to the world makes them one.
But just because we’re both writers doesn’t mean we’re the same. A good writer writes what they know. I believe in sharing my life experiences with my readers because I’ve overcome so much in my life, and I know it can serve as inspiration for others. But my experiences give me a different perspective, a different way of addressing topics.
Making Your Dreams Count
Even if another writer and I talk about the same stuff, the audience is getting two very different pieces. At least, they should if everyone is doing their thing instead of stealing others’ work, which happens occasionally but not too often.
Take time to figure out the life you want to live. Are you happy on your current path, or do you want to achieve something else in your time on Earth? Y’all, life is short. You never know when your time is going to be up, so stop wasting today, thinking you’ll have the chance tomorrow. Live your best life now, even if it means making changes. If you make a plan, it’s easier to fulfill your dreams.
Planning Saves Time
Whoever decided there should only be 24 hours in one day, seven days in one week, and only two days for a weekend needs to be kicked in the shins for all eternity. I swear I need an extra six hours every day to accomplish everything I need to get done. With four kids, there’s always something coming up. A new game, a school event, friends, holidays, illness, basic everyday care.
I’m exhausted just thinking of all the things I have to do as a parent. And that’s not even mentioning all the stuff that goes along with being an adult:
- Housework
- Laundry (the bane of my existence, my arch-nemesis, my Kryptonite)
- Doctor’s appointments
- Work
- Paying bills
- Cooking
- Taking care of the pets (two dogs and a snake)
- Staying connected to friends, family, my spouse
With so much going on, it’s super easy to become overwhelmed. When you face a to-do list that seems impossible to complete, many of us collapse under the pressure. There have been days when I’d get so stressed out; I would just sit in a ball on my couch and stare into space. I knew I had to get things done, but there’s so much. One person couldn’t possibly handle it all.
Once I learned how to plan, I realized that things aren’t as complicated as I was making them out to be. Yeah, there’s always a lot to get done. But when you prioritize, when you allow time for each goal, it becomes easier to get your jobs done, on time, and correctly. Take the time to figure out a plan that works for you. You’ll thank yourself one day. And hopefully me as well!
Planning Lets You Find Balance
Since the day I became a mom, my whole life has revolved around my children. Due to the rising costs of childcare, it made more financial sense for me to be a stay-at-home mom while my children were younger. The prices of daycare are horrifying – $150 a child per week (mind you, I have four). It made zero sense for me to get a job and pay someone else to raise my kids. That’s all my paycheck would have been going towards.
But nineteen months ago, my life was thrown into chaos. I found myself on my deathbed at just the age of 33, terrified and alone. My children were with my parents. I didn’t want them to see me in a hospital bed. My ex-husband, who should have been at my side, was off having an affair. I swore to myself if I made it through, things were going to change. It was time to put my life back on track.
As you can see, I pulled through. And I kept my word to myself and to the higher powers that were listening in. I made a plan to reinvent my life. I kicked my abusive ex out and started the process to ensure he could never harm us again. My children and I moved back in with my parents while my health recuperated. And I threw myself into finding a way to make my passion, writing, into a career.
I became so obsessed with being financially independent that I became a workaholic. I quit wanting to do anything except work. I was greedy. But my personal life with friends, family, my children, was suffering. With some careful planning, I managed to arrange my life so that I now have balance. I make enough money to have everything we need. But I still have fun and enjoy all that life has to offer. Make a plan to ensure you have balance in your life. If you don’t, you could end up suffering in one area more than others, as I did.
Planning Keeps You Prepared
I’m sure you’ve heard the line, “Always be prepared.” At one point in time, I used to disregard this statement as paranoia. Why should I spend my time worrying about things that probably won’t happen? I needed to focus on the stuff that will occur. I thank my lucky stars that, as humans, we’re able to evolve and grow past our primitive thoughts.
When you take the time to prepare, you’re reducing the chances of things going wrong. You have a plan to fall back on in case things don’t go the way you expected. It’s like having a safety net, which trust me, you want to have. It can hurt falling from the top and hitting rock bottom. Take it from my personal experience.
If you want to take a vacation, chances are you aren’t going just to jump up and take off. You have to make arrangements, such as requesting time off work, making reservations, and even saving up enough money. If you try to take a trip without doing these things, you could face drastic consequences.
Maybe your boss doesn’t like that you didn’t get permission to take off, so he fires you. Or you don’t make reservations, so you don’t have a place to stay. Or worst of all, you don’t have the money to do anything fun while on vacay. Making plans ensures that you’ve crossed your T’s and dotted your I’s so everything is ready and taken care of before you step into action.
Planning Makes Life Easier
Life is stressful. No one said it would be easy or fair. If you want to thrive, not just survive, you have to learn how to use tools like planning to make sure things go as expected. No matter how well you prepare, things are going to happen that might cause problems.
When you’ve planned properly, you have the tools you need to get through the disruption so you can continue with your goals. Make your life happier by learning how to plan appropriately. You won’t be disappointed. Happy living.