how to plan

Hello, reader.  How are you doing?  Recently I sat down with Ming at an Indian food restaurant in Junction City, and we talked about how to plan.

I’m a big time planner–might be a Virgo thing?  Oh no, it’s probably my flavor of autism.  I can see a long way down the chain of cause and effect, and I need to prepare.  So much of life is out of our control.  The things I can change, I need to change.  I spend tons of time thinking and feeling about my life and what’s working / not working.

Meanwhile, Ming is on the other end of the planning spectrum and has been, the whole time I’ve known them.

delegate

Is that a moral thing?  In relationships we often delegate based on our skills and pleasures.  But sometimes it’s not nice if one person is greatly lacking a skill. Definitely I’ve been frustrated by Ming’s lack of planning.

And what if I suddenly die or am whisked away by creatures from my home planet?  That would be rude to leave Ming defenseless, lacking the skill of how to plan.

So we planned to plan, and at Aroma of India, we peered into my journal and talked about it.

how to plan

1. Be real about your life, what you need, and how you feel.
2. Identify a need.  Maybe you notice a problem stopping your progression, or stopping you from doing your life’s work.
3. Decide to do something about it.
4. Brainstorm a list of possible solutions.  Ask loved ones to contribute to your list.
5. Later, reread the list and circle three, four, or five solutions you might want to try.
6. Decide among those top contenders.
7. Make a “to do” list for one or two solutions to try.  If the solutions are simple, the “to do” list could be one item.  Elaborate solutions require many steps and longer timelines.
8. Ask for help, research, and gather materials might be on the “to do” list.
9. Some people need deadlines and timelines, and to see what they have done.
10. Implement the plan.  Some people need it on paper and to see that paper often.  Other people need calendar reminders, post it notes, phone alarms, accountability buddies, rewards for progress, threats, to tie a string around their finger, etc.
11. Decide how you know if the need is met.
12. Set a date to evaluate success and determine what more needs to be done.
13. Notice any stuck places where you might need help or fresh brainstorming for new solutions.

possible hazards

Ming can get stuck by low energy.  When tasks are too complex to complete quickly, they seem impossible.

A problem for me is when my need involves other people.  Often they don’t follow through, or they slow me down to a pace that stops my momentum.

questions for discussion

Do you find planning fun?

Is your process like the one I outline?

Where do you get stuck?

Is planning balanced or unbalanced, in your close relationships?

Do you feel agency?

Do you have many unmet needs?

Would you agree that failing to plan, is planning to fail?

What’s the biggest thing you ever planned?

Was it worth it?

thank you

Thank you for caring about how to plan, reader.  I can hold a lot of details in my head at the same time.  And I’m gifted with holding details and a broad overview at the same time.  My thinking is often layered.

But sometimes I get stuck at the beginning of how to plan, figuring out what I want or need.

“How do you know what you want?” I asked my dear friend.

“I don’t know,” they said.  “I try things out and see how it goes.”

events

The biggest thing I ever helped plan was the Sacred Peace Walk.  I helped for several years.  That lofty work of radicalizing, forming community, speaking truth to power, praying well with others, and direct action civil disobedience was undergirded by logistics.

• volunteer coordination
• mad lists
• delegation
• research
• budgetry
• conflict resolution
• phone calls
• emails
• gear wrangling
• remembering what went right and wrong the previous year
• and a hundred other things

It was always worth it.