About this time, for the past few years, I’ve started thinking about the next calendar year. Maybe it’s because my first career as a teacher meant my “year” began in August, so planning was on my mind. Or maybe I felt I needed a jump start on the next year, so I started planning earlier than December. However it began, it’s stuck with me. And though I haven’t purchased a 2024 calendar yet, the future has been on my mind.
I can be flexible and spontaneous. In fact, much of my life changes daily. Clients book sessions, then cancel or reschedule for a different time and/or day. The weather, how I’m feeling, added appointments, and other tasks come up and need to be dealt with, which often requires a rearrangement of my schedule. I often agree to things at a moment’s notice, then adjust when those things are canceled or postponed. And so goes my day. I believe this is why I like to plan. It’s my way of pretending I have control 🙂
With this planning, I always start with my priority: Holly. I have a schedule that suits us both, so everything else is fit in around her. Next, my day job, and then my writing stuff. It’s the writing stuff that I try to plan for, and it’s often the first that gets rearranged or set aside.
For the last year and a half, I’ve been working to adjust how I function (engage with) my writing business tasks. This has brought about the issue of mindset, business vs. hobby, expectations, financial and time budget, and other concerns. What I realized today, thanks to the feedback from a friend, is that what I plan depends on my goals, and those depend on my wants. And since my wants have shifted, along with my process, then everything down the line also needs to be addressed. It makes sense that I begin at the bottom (my wants) and build up from there. How much do you plan? How often are your plans met?
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