by LK Weir

I spent today planning my life. I would like to tell you that it had some meta-spiritual purpose relating to the full moon, or the start of a new month, or even a profound new sense of purpose. But that would be a lie. The truth was…I really, really wanted to hang up my new whiteboard. 

Crisp and empty, it was ready to be filled to the brim with all the things I haven’t done yet but intend to do. All those beautiful instructions for me to follow…yes, I am in love with planning. 

I am a schemer, a plotter, a list-maker and a to-do writer. I get a kick out of setting goals, breaking them down into tasks, and sub-tasks. Maybe even sub-sub-tasks, but never sub-sub-sub-tasks… except sometimes. 

Deadlines, time-limits, and calendars—oh my! 

The perfect way to spend a day indoors.

I wasn’t always like this. I used to be the very opposite of a planner; disorganized, chaotic, and quite frequently confused. Most who knew me would say I was the very definition of haphazard. I missed appointments, scrambled for deadlines, struggled in school, and nearly forgot work shifts. I was always late and rarely finished what I started. 

I hated it. I didn’t want to be the person who couldn’t be relied upon, the person who had bad grades and constantly made up excuses.  But most of all, I didn’t want to spend my entire life not making my dreams come true. The problem was, I didn’t know I could be better. 

Then, I tried planning. 

I was given a free organizer and instead of tossing it into my backpack, to let it rot with the orange from two weeks ago, I opened it up and marveled at its blank pages. I started by entering my exam dates. And then the dates of my assignments. And then my shifts at work. And then I started to plan when I would work on my assignments before they were even due. And then…oh my…I was hooked. 

So, why do I plan?

By nature, I am a serial procrastinator. Nothing would ever get done if I didn’t plan for it. 

“For me, not having a plan is like wandering the woods without a map. There is the tiniest chance I will find an oasis with tiny forest people to feed me supper, but it is far more likely I will end up in the dark with a hungry belly.”

– LK WEIR

At first, I found it overwhelming to write down all the things I had to do. But, one-by-one I accomplished things and crossed them off the list. My goals got bigger, my task list longer, and suddenly I had finished writing a novel (PrismCityPress.com), moved countries twice and travelled throughout Europe and India. 

And the only reason I could do all of this?

Because I had planned to do so.   

So, wipe off your whiteboard, dust off your organizer, take a day, and set to planning. Build yourself a map to your future. I promise, it feels pretty damn good to plan your life.