Don’t Plan Life, Just a Week Can Do!

Plan Shorter. Plan Simpler. Plan the Doable

I have come across lots of blogs about planning your life. However, my success with this strategy is abysmally low. I am not saying that planning your life is a bad choice but to me, it seems like something that consumes too much time and energy and doesn’t serve the purpose. Some people say that they live in the moment. Some choose to structure their entire life in blocks of what they should do and achieve. I believe that the better approach is somewhere in between—planning your life but not more than a week ahead. I had been a chronic life planner all along. Even when I was in school, I was apprehensive about how my practice in Medicine would shape up or by what time I would be able to practice individually.

Plan Better | Plan Less | Smaller Goals, More Gains | Declutter Your Schedule - Stay Simple!

This delivered nothing more than plain anxiety. The reason is that the situation of other people in our life, i.e. our family, also changes and this is something we don’t take into account. When making a calendar for life can you actually plan for a lifetime of medical care for your parents or the need to work part time so that a family loan can be handled? Can any life plan prepare you for accidents that come in the form of loss of employment due to economic conditions that nobody could have imagined?

Create Daily Goals | Weekly Targets

Too much planning merely creates the illusion that we are in control of our lives. The reality is something very different—our journey changes nearly every day, perhaps every moment. It is possible to channel your efforts towards a larger goal but segregating life into different achievements that you should accomplish by a certain age/year is just taking life for granted.

In fact, a month is sufficient to change our perception about life, our choices, and what we really want to do. If this happens to you with a detailed plan on your smartphone, chances are that rather than exploring the possibilities you will be overcome by fear and apprehension.

Planning for a week keeps things simpler. The idea is to plan ahead but in a way that everything seems doable. For a week well executed, I can pamper myself over the weekend, happy that I have remained loyal to my chosen path. This could be something as basic as taking my exams, saving some money, and not eating the things that can impair my overall health.