To Plan or Not to Plan, that is the Question

The opposite to careful planning is full blown spontaneity. Careful planning, in my experience, is a comfortable place to be. You know what you want to do, and you can engage in the task serenely and in control. The latter, however, is a seat of your pants approach, which can leave you sweating and gasping for air.

For example, I didn’t plan to write about this…not at all, but before I knew it, spontaneity took over, and I’d written an entire paragraph. So, I was committed to this impossible topic. Hopefully, you will bear with me while I plow through it!

When you plan for an event, whether it is a task, or a performance, the final result is the final result. It can be stiff and stilted, with not an ounce of spontaneity to redeem it, but who cares, at least it gets done. People will admire you for your task completion skills. You will be lauded with approval and praise, whereas those who fly by the seat of their pants will be sneered at and ridiculed for hardly ever getting anything done. No one likes a careless risk taker who hardly ever manages to finish anything, no matter how dull or brilliant. And if they do, after investing no effort at all, it’s not surprising that resentment from others sets in.

Cooking is an activity that clearly demonstrates the differences between planning and not planning. Cooks who plan carefully follow a recipe to the last letter, and the result can be a dish that delivers exactly what is promised.  If he or she sets out to bake a cake that is described as a sponge cake (a notably dull dish, with no taste whatever), no one will be surprised that the end result is tasteless. People who eat it will at least not die of hunger and will live to eat another day.

On the other hand, cooks who create their own variation of a recipe may end up with a dish that cannot be identified or digested. All their dreams of culinary success will be tossed out the window. Their adventurous nature will be drowned out by moans of pain and despair from those who dared try it. It could be so hideously unpalatable that their reputation as cooks will be shattered, and nobody would ever try their concoctions again. The road to cooking hell is paved with the remains of cooks like that, who have strayed far off the path of predictable recipes.

Singing is another activity that may or may not deliver what is expected. Singers can rigidly stick to notes that are written on paper and follow them with precision. Their performances are acceptable, although prone to being dull and easy to predict. But no one points an accusatory finger at them, covering their damaged their eardrums with both hands. And no one walks out in a huff because the piece wasn’t what they expected.

A performer who sings according to how they feel, on the other hand, can be guilty of an array of crimes against the musical scale. They can stray off key, causing the audience to wince in pain, and shift in their seats with embarrassment for him or her, who usually remains blissfully unaware, continuing their performance to the bitter and discordant end.

Admittedly, some performers are justified in pursuing their craft without the benefit of formal training or the restrictions of sticking to the script. Jazz musicians, for example, certainly know a thing or two about being spontaneous and improvising.  They may start a performance with a basic plan about the piece they’re planning to play and change everything about it according to how they feel.

Planning and spontaneity each require different sets of skills and abilities. Planning requires logistics and discipline, while spontaneity involves a willingness to take risks along with trust and intuition. People who prefer to plan before embarking on a project want to execute the game plan exactly as promised, whereas the improvisor does not want to be restricted and wants the freedom to choose based upon how things feel.

People who are habitual planners are future-oriented and try to avoid surprises and minimize mistakes. Spontaneous people, on the other hand, are all about the moment, thriving on surprise and welcoming mistakes.

The planner is happy if things go exactly as expected. The improvisor is happy if the journey was enjoyable, even if calamitous and messy at times.

Partly adopted from calmmoment.com:

How to become more spontaneous:

Seize, don’t scroll

It’s easy for us to spend time in our comfort zone, living life through our social media feeds. Instead, try replacing the minutes (or hours) spent scrolling with attempting something new in real life that you may have always wanted to try.

Mind over mood

Create a powerful mantra to remind yourself to go for it, like ‘the time is now’ or ‘seize the day’. You could even write it on a post-it note or a print-out to carry with you and read throughout the day.

Let fate decide

If you’re struggling with a decision, put the universe in charge – flip a coin and see where it takes you. It will save you time and worry, and could lead to an unexpected, positive result.

Plan to not plan

Schedule your spontaneity for when it suits you. While this might sound counter-intuitive, it can work wonders to set aside the time to be more spontaneous – instead of formulating a plan, you can focus on just letting go.

Get speedy

While some decisions warrant the time spent considering them carefully, others can be made much more quickly. Acting fast will override the analysis, paralysis and fear that can prevent us from being spontaneous in our choices.

It’s a cliché, I know, but find your inner child.

As children, we find it easier to be spontaneous as we don’t have the fears and predictions that come from bad experiences. Try something completely new without any preconceptions – explore it with a sense of curiosity, awe and wonder. It might not be for you, but you gave it a go without worrying about the outcome.

And lastly, this from Mahatma Gandhi:

Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.