Why Planning Can Sometimes Be a Good Thing

6:00 AM

Let's face it: sometimes, we just don't want to do anything.

We all have a list of responsibilities. Things we must do, whether we like it or not. Get up, work, school. We have all these things that we do, even though we might not feel like it sometimes. But they're our responsibilities. 

What about the rest of it? 


What about the stuff we want to do, but just don't seem to get time for? What about the stuff that we kind of want to do maybe someday, but never actually plan on following through? What about that stuff?


There's a reason people have day planners. There's so much to do and see. We don't want to miss out! We've got to keep track of all these things going on, and still manage to make time for the things we love. Like reading and writing. 

Which leads me to my point. If you don't start writing stuff down, making note of the things you want to accomplish, be it critiquing someones work, reading that book that's been on your TBR for two years, or reaching chapter 20 in your WIP ... all those things will begin to swirl and swarm in the vast expanses of your brain, and soon they'll flutter far out of reach in the bounless folds of your cerebrum.

AKA. WE HAVE NOTEBOOKS FOR A REASON.



Now don't get me wrong. I'm an ENFP. Emphasis on the P. If you don't understand Myers Briggs, let's just say that letter "P" means I am not fond of making detailed plans and schedules. I feel more confined by them than helped.

But lately, with so much to do, I've needed a list. I've needed a blow by blow of all the things I need to get done, becuase if I don't make that blow by blow, if I don't make a list of at least one thing to do on a given day, I won't do anything at all.

And then boom. A day wasted.

Planning out a day, or a week, or a month, is so benficial because it helps you remember what all you need to do.

But it also has other perks. Take blogging for example. Blogging is something I didn't use to plan. I used to just whip out a post every Thursday/Friday night and put it up. I'd ponder it at the beginning of the week, but that was just it. Pondering. I'd toy with it.

Lately, though, I've been a bit more behind. I don't usually write posts until Midnight the night before. Which is totally not what I'm doing right now why would you ask that.

Becuase, like I talked about last week, sometimes inspiration doesn't strike. Sometimes I don't get a post idea during the week, and I'm left with zilp. I have nothing to post about, and I'm left spewing incoherent brain thoughts that I've likely already said in one form or another.

But when you plan, when you think things through, you don't have that problem. Instead, you can just look at a list of post titles and say, "Today I am blogging about this." And then that's that. You write the post for the topic you have. You're not left, helpless and clueless. You have a game plan.

Some might say that squashes all the fun. But here's my little secret.

A plan is not something you have to follow. It's just a fallback for when you don't have any other ideas.

This applies both to planning things like blog posts and book chapters, and it applies to making lists of those little things. If you end up getting time on a given day and you don't know what you're supposed to do, that list can serve as a fallback. You can find something there.


So there you have it. The spontaneous ENFP's method of planning for efficiency. I hope you enjoyed this and got some ideas from it!

I want to point you all in the direction of Scattered Scribbings because Savannah is hosting a giveaway AND  a writing contest in a month long celebration of her blogoversary which is just SO EPIC. Go join the fun!

Now tell me: are you a planner? What's your Myers Briggs type?

<3

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33 comments

  1. I'm an INFJ!!! Which means I don't mind a bit of planning. XD I have a calendar on a corkboard in my room, and while I mainly use it for schoolwork, studying, and life stuff, I often use it for blogging and writing. I also have sticky notes for all the different writing projects around it, and one simply labelled "Other: Search for Sanity." :D I was in a weird mood, okay?

    I hope your new planning method can help you feel more relaxed! <3

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    1. ooooh that's a really good idea! and like, do you remove each sticky note when you complete a task? DUDE YOU'RE SO SMART O.O *is probably going to steal that*

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    2. It depends! Sometimes when I'm low on sticky notes I write several tasks on one and just cross them off, then get rid of the sticky note when I've completed all. :) WHY THANK YOU. I give you permission to steal. ;)

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    3. YASSSS! *proceeds to cover the picture on my calendar with sticky notes*

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  2. I'm ENFP as well, and recently found out that I needed some sort of plan as well, in order to get stuff done! So this post was very well timed!!

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    1. Lol what do you know? And YAY ENFP! *hugs* Maybe every personality is like this, but I think we ENFPs are very full of contradictions XP (extroverted yet craving alone time, spontaneous free spirits yet often in need of a plan and some kind of structure, etc.)

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    2. Lol, YES!! We /are/ contradictions!! I totally agree with what you said!

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    3. Makes things a little complicated, doesn't it? XP But HEY, AT LEAST WE'RE COOL! :D

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  3. PLANNING. Ugh planning is normally 'all-or-nothing' for me. Either I'm going to plan EVERYTHING or I'm going to plan NOTHING. I'm actually an ISTP, but the 'P' just BARELY won out over 'J', so I dunno xD. But thank you so much for this post! It was epicness. <3 <3 <3 (AND ALSO YOU LINKED TO ME, YOU'RE THE SWEETEST *tackle hugs*)

    ~ Savannah | Scattered Scribblings

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    1. Ooooh that's interesting XP I'm completely the opposite! How often /do/ you plan? You outline your novels, right? *accepts tackle hug happily*

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  4. I'm an INFJ and list making calms my anxiety like nothing else, I never seem to accomplish what I plan.

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    1. Exactly! Just making a list can be beneficial, even if you don't end up sticking to it 100%

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  5. I'm ENFP, which you know, but because of my ADHD, I really really need lists. It's very difficult for me to get things done without them.

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    1. *hugs* And you've been /rocking/ it lately. I admire you, mother! <3

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  6. *shouts agreement from the rooftops* PLANNING IS THE BEST THING EVER. I might be a bit of an over planner, but I've found I can't NOT plan. Everything just gets mixed up in my mind and I usually forget the one thing I should absolutely remember.

    "A plan is not something you have to follow. It's just a fallback for when you don't have any other ideas." <-- THIS IS SO WONDERFUL. Awesome post <33

    audrey caylin

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    1. LOL XP Dude what's your Myers Briggs type?? INFJ? And I'm glad you liked the post! :D

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    2. I usually don't do MBTI much except for characters, but yep, INFJ through and through. How did you guess? ;)

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    3. IDK--maybe you write like an INFJ? I just ... felt it ;P My big sister is one, and you remind me of her a bit. Friendly and kind <3

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  7. What is this thing called "planning" that you speak of??? xDDD JUST KIDDING. I'm actually getting a little bit better at planning... at least planning work stuff. Lately life has been super crazy so I've sorta just been rolling with things but SOON. SOON I WILL GET MY SCHEDULE BACK TOGETHER. XD

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    1. AHHH YES, WORK. WHERE DO YOU WORK? AND DUDE YOU GOT THIS. I BELIEVE IN YOU *fist bumps for motivation*

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  8. I'm an INFJ, and I'm horrible at planning! I seriously need to get it together!!! XD

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    1. Lol try new methods if old ones haven't worked for you! Be creative :)

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  9. Yes.. this is so relevant to what I've been thinking about recently, namely making the most of time. I write lists each day of things to do, but I think I need to broaden that and plan each week and month in advance too. I like how you said it's something to fall back rather than something rigid we have to follow. Thanks for the wisdom! xx

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    1. Thank you! I know keeping that mindset (I don't HAVE to do any of it) gives me a better attitude and lightens the stress and helps me not be so hard on myself if I miss some of them (which I inevitably will)

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  10. I'm an INFJ and I'm a HUGE planner. I make to-do lists of to-do lists I need to make. XD Great post!

    Hailey
    www.haileyhudson.wordpress.com

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    1. LOL. You sound like my sister :P I bet you're uber productive!

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  11. I'm an INFJ (at least, last time I did the questions), but I'm much the same: if I don't have a to-do list, I won't get anything done! So planning is a big thing for me. (Except in writing. I HAVE NO IDEA WHY I CAN'T PLOT UGH)

    And YES, we have notebooks for a reason! ...well, one of my notebooks is my bullet journal/to-do list... the rest are... waiting. I still need them, though! For reasons!
    Jem Jones

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    1. Lol! Every writer ever :P Journals are so pretty. I really would like to try my hand at bullet journaling! I've kind of sort of not really done it? It looks like a really fun way to make to-do lists though! Part of the downside in my eyes, though, is how much more time it takes cause you have to make it pretty XP *sigh* The struggles of life. It'd be worth it though, once I got the hang of it.

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    2. Well... my bullet journal isn't at all like the pictures you'll see on Pinterest! Most of the pages are just to-do lists, with a pretty (but simple) subheading for the date. I wish I could do Pinterest-worthy ones too, but I simply don't work like that!

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    3. Ah, yeah, I wouldn't have time to show it off on Pinterest :P But THANK YOU FOR THE REMINDER that it doesn't have to be Pinterest worthy :D

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  12. I'm an INFP, but I am a HARDCORE planner. Like, I love it, and I feel super stressed out if I don't have a solid plan. Honestly, I don't know how I'm not a J?? But I get INFP every single time that I take the test, so I suppose I'm just a really weird P. xD

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    1. Ooooh that's really interesting! Lol I wonder what aspect of the P trait you have that overrules your hardcore planning...

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  13. Haha, I mistook you for an introvert. Sorry for the assumption! xD

    Ah, I don't really plan a lot (especially for stories). After all, I'm an INFP and you know that's basically the introverted version of you.

    However... my primary (elementary) school teacher made us plan for our stories and though it did diverge, it wasn't so bad... after all...

    Also, this year I'm doing a creative writing course and we have to plan. We'll see how this goes...

    I also have a bullet journal because I leave out so many things. Maybe I'll try to plan a bit more for my stories in the future.

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