Planning

[tinyjo]

A couple of comment threads have had me reflecting on my tendancy to make plans a lot, particularly in response to feeling unhappy in a situation. And as the trend seems to be to post a poll for any musings of this nature, I present a very short poll on planning :)

[Poll #1044394]

Comments

[white_hart]

*Does not consider 'girl' to be a gender*

[pthalo]

(female body, male and female souls)

and yeah, our answers tell a lot about why everything is so difficult.

[coalescent.livejournal.com]

I'm not made nervous by *making* plans, but I can be nervous about *executing* plans -- specifically day-job-related plans; the schedule for meetings is detailed and it's always a relief to be able to tick the next thing off the list.

[touchwonder.livejournal.com]

I like having a plan in a loose sense.

Like, 1-2-3, but 1 is very concrete, 2 a little less, and 3 is kind of ephemeral. (College-Medschool-Residency.)

I used to be an utter control freak.

[yalovetz]

Isn't the liking or not liking to have plans things one of the four Myers-Briggs personality trait things? I think it's the Judging vs. Perceiving one - J's like to have plans, P's don't. Or something.

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

Reason for my weird schizoid answers: Normally planning is great for saving myself from stress/distress. I feel a bit overwhelmed, run around flapping my hands, then remember that making a list will make me feel better, and hey presto, it does.

But there's a certain state of chronic, advanced overwhelmedness in which making a plan starts to seem like yet another thing on the stack of things to do, yet another demand on my attention, yet another thing I'll probably fail to do well and then feel bad about. In that state of mind, when people tell me 'you need a holiday' I'm likely to snap 'you want me to plan a holiday? You must be joking.'

Mind you, the best way out of that second state is to start off by making very very small plans...

[applez.livejournal.com]

Notably, there's a difference between making a plan, implementing it, and achieving the results ... and whatever one's emotional stress state is at those different points, even with success.

[fweebles.livejournal.com]

I never really thought about this before; making plans is something that gets done naturally in my head without any effort. It just...happens. Some plans are obviously more cohesive than others, but I always have a plan. ;)

[idonotlikepeas]

I realize my data on this topic may be less than helpful. :)

[vinaigrettegirl.livejournal.com]

Plans can be useful, but they can be impossible to execute; or they can become goals in themselves which, if inflexible or unadaptable, cause more grief than they're worth.

As I get older I enjoy plans less, because contingencies, and other people's needs, and the general perversity of Things, make them laughable at best. OTOH, where some things can only be accomplished by long-term planning and commitment, plans are essential. Especially if something is distressing but not easily fixed (marriage or job problems, for two examples, which can take years to get right).

[kateshort.livejournal.com]

Planning and me are... weird. :P

I like knowing what I'm supposed to do, so having a plan in an emergency is a good thing. (See: tornado situation on Thursday at school.) And having someone else hand me that kind of plan is generally okay.

With my own plans, it depends on what it is and who else is involved and what needs to be done. I tend to ruminate over some things and then go off and fulfill them spontaneously (3 weeks of "I want a new car, maybe with these options followed by OMG! want car now! I stopped by the dealership earlier! Wheeee!).

I like to be planny, but I also can be very indecisive. I like having someone to talk to to help me make the decision, but I don't always have the ability to make it. OTOH, sometimes I have a plan and don't want any input at all from anyone else, kthxbai.