Planning Ahead...

 

In one of the books I read recently, the author jokingly (though also probably not jokingly) asked if planning is a love language…because if so, it’s hers. I felt so seen. 😊 If you’ve read here long, you know I love to plan, and so does Ryan. We plan our vacations with full daily itineraries – even if the plan for the day is to do nothing. We plan our days, our weeks, our projects, our dates, you name it.

                Some people appreciate our top-of-the-line planning skills, but most roll their eyes and think we are a bit ridiculous. I’m okay with that. I know planning isn’t a love language for everyone, but I also am thoroughly convinced that for us, it makes life run more smoothly, and it actually provides benefits for us that we appreciate. It works for us.

                I’m starting school this fall, so I decided early on that I wanted to use this summer to plan ahead as much as possible at work, in hopes that when fall comes, I’m set up well to move ahead with the things that need to be done.

                I made a list of all the things I needed to work on soon and assigned a week of the summer to each of those things. Each week, in addition to my regular tasks, I work hard on that week’s assigned project, researching, planning, and creating for that item. I know I won’t be done with any of the items by fall. They are ongoing projects for the life of our church. But I do hope that, come fall, I have a good handle on what needs to be done in the short and long term for each of those areas.

                I also made a goal for the summer to read an hour a day for work. I am making my way quickly through my TBR pile, and I am learning so much as I go.

                I’m also making long-term, personal goals for my life at home (marriage/house/dreams) and at work so I have things to look forward to as I go. Ryan and I long ago made a practice of starting to dream of the next vacation on our way home from the last one. Coming home from vacation is always a bit of a letdown, so we thought if we started planning ahead and giving ourselves something to look forward to, it would make the end of each trip a bit more exciting.

                If it works for vacation, why wouldn’t it work for life?

                I’m making long-term plans to give me something tangible to work toward as I go through the weeks, months, and years ahead. In some cases, it serves as a reward, and in other cases, it’s a challenge! God has given me this one life, and I want to live it well and intentionally!

                Over the next few days, I’m going to let you peek at some of the goals I’ve been working hard to set. I may not convince you to adopt planning as a love language, but maybe I can inspire you to someday to plan a fun thing for yourself!