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Do you plan?

Discussion in 'General Discussions' started by genuinemommy, Mar 9, 2015.

  1. genuinemommy

    genuinemommy Moderator Staff Member

    How much do you plan ahead?
    If there's a big party or trip coming up, do you enjoy planning it out just as much as you enjoy the event itself?

    Do you plan your meals in advance?
    Or maybe you coordinate meals out with friends.
    Do you consider yourself a planner?
    Or maybe you despise planning?

    This has been on my mind a lot of late.
    My mother is a major planner. She lives to plan - spends months putting together binders of historical stuff to read and enrich the experience for each family trip. She plans meals weeks or months in advance. She budgets and plans for what seems like every little thing. It is what propels her forward through life. As I age, I find myself adopting many if her habits - having a clear plan makes me less stressed overall, and frees up mental energy to enjoy the moment.

    My husband used to be far more spontaneous, and while he has mellowed, he is still very much this way. I have learned that it's actually a really fun thing to plan ahead, then throw those plans out the window in favor of one of his last-minute options. It took me a while to accept the fact that I like planning more than I like following those plans. It offers me a chance to daydream - to live those moments twice - once in planning and then again in the reality. Often the clash of fantasy and reality allows the event to be more memorable overall.

    What about you? Where do you fit in on the spectrum of spontaneity?
     
    genuinemommy, Mar 9, 2015
    #1
  2. Borla

    Borla Moderator Staff Member

    The biggest thing I plan is vacations.


    I love doing the research for vacations. I like knowing what the top attractions or activities will be for our trip. I like planning out a good portion of the days we'll be on vacation with activities. Many times we'll pick a city or a locale many months ahead of time for a long weekend away or a full vacation, and I really do enjoy picking out where we'll stay, what restaurants we'll hit, what attractions we'll see, and usually have about 2/3 of the major events of the trip planned months in advance. However, I like leaving a portion of any vacation for spontaneous decisions. If we are going for a 7-8 day visit somewhere, I'll likely make major plans for 4-5 of those days, but I want a couple days for whatever strikes us in the moment.

    FWIW, we've taken a few vacations with other people. We have two trips planned this year with friends. One where we are on an 8-9 day trip and are joining another family for 3 days of it. Another trip is 8-9 days and we are going with two other families. For both trips I am ending up as the main planner. For the first it is because the other people we are going with are very passive, and I don't think anything would get laid out if I didn't do it. For the latter, the other two families planned the trip and invited my wife and I after they established the basics. They still asked me to finalize all the details, make the reservations, negotiate pricing, and relied on my opinions for the final decisions.

    At the end of the day, I feel I'm good at planning stuff like that and enjoy it. If anything, I work not to force my opinions on others.
     
    Borla, Mar 9, 2015
    #2
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  3. Speed_Gibson

    Speed_Gibson Hacking the Gibson

    Location:
    Wolf 359
    Vacations - Been I think 6 years since I had one of those and likely not getting one this year either.....but my "next vacation" will be planned around stops for photography, and be a "workcation" at that as I aim to capture pictures that can be sold for prints no matter where I go.
    Meals - Not at all. I tend to skip meals in the first place and not have much food at home in the second place.
     
    Speed_Gibson, Mar 9, 2015
    #3
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  4. martian

    martian Server Monkey Staff Member

    Location:
    Mars
    I make goals, and I set deadlines. I don't do itineraries or schedules. I don't worry about anything much except what I want to accomplish and how much time I have to do it in. I find that giving myself to improvise and make it up as I go tends to net me the best results.

    Part of me wonders is the planning vs spontaneous dichotomy is common in relationships. It certainly is here; Magpie is a big planner, and it's a continual source of annoyance for her that I rarely have any sort of detailed plans for things we do.

    When I did the household cooking my strategy was to just buy a bunch of ingredients (usually whatever was on sale that week) and then figure out what I could make with them. Magpie does detailed meal plans with lists and recipes and pictures and everything, and then shops for those. I don't know which is better, if either, but our styles of meal planning couldn't be more different.
     
    Last edited: Mar 9, 2015
    martian, Mar 9, 2015
    #4
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  5. ASU2003

    ASU2003 Very Tilted

    Location:
    Where ever I roam
    I used to plan vacations more then I do now. I took a trip to Washington and Oregon last Summer and wanted to have almost no plan except for the basic transportation (bike). I like the challenge and thrill a little bit I guess. It is kind of like being on the Amazing Race TV show and you need to be there and focused on exploring and figuring out what to do. Without worring about making sure you do everything on the checklist and being disappointed if you don't.

    I have a general plan for home projects, but things can change if a better idea comes up.

    I have a plan for a garden this year, and I am expecting it to get planted as I have planned it. :)
     
    ASU2003, Mar 9, 2015
    #5
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  6. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    I'm an ENTJ, the Fieldmarshal. Do I plan? Of course I plan. Can I also be flexible and fly by the seat of my pants? Well, I'm getting better at it. I can't say it's my strong suit, but doing what I do for a living has helped considerably.

    I like to see the forest and the trees.
     
    snowy, Mar 10, 2015
    #6
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  7. Stan

    Stan Resident Dumbass

    Location:
    Colorado
    I'm the planner, my wife is the dreamer, most of the time it works out OK. Occasionally, it does not.

    She comes up with some wild ideas, sometimes I can make them work.

    Planning meals is a losing battle, we have food in the house; but our appetites and ambition change constantly.

    We take some fairly ambitious vacations, they wouldn't happen without planning. I'm leaving on Sat to pick up a "build to order" camping trailer that has been in the works for over a year. Every piece has been overanalyzed, I'm dying to see how we did.
     
    Stan, Mar 10, 2015
    #7
    • Like Like x 1
  8. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    Even on days when I have no possibility of work, I have to have some kind of a schedule. I feel like I'm at loose ends without some kind of a plan.
     
    snowy, Mar 25, 2015
    #8
  9. ASU2003

    ASU2003 Very Tilted

    Location:
    Where ever I roam
    For the past decade I feel like I have had things to do every single day. It is too much like workaholism though.

    I'm not sure what I am working towards. I mean, do I really want to have nothing left to do and be bored?
     
    ASU2003, Mar 25, 2015
    #9