Does anyone else not really plan ahead?

I am not really a big "plan aheader". I have never really set any long term goals for myself, or planned my future out well. I just feel that I don't really want to lock myself into certain goals, and miss an opportunity for something different. I like my life, and think that things have worked out pretty well so far. Like this year could go and end so many different ways. I almost cant even process all of it. I am in a serious relationship. By the end of 2013 I could be engaged, could quit the job that I love to move, have a different job, move, have a house, hopefully not but possibly not do any of that if we don't work out (don't really see that though), and potentially have open heart surgery. All of that just makes me want to stick my head in the sand and not think about it! Its just overwhelming! I love my job, and dont want to leave it! I adore my coworkers, and cant imagine not seeing them! I just like to go along and see how things develop, and not really plan them. Anyone else like this?

I am like that, too. Having Hannah has changed that a little. Like I need to have our weeks planned out (she is the kind that needs to know what is going to happen all week lol) and with homeschooling I do have to have a plan but for the most part I let life run it's course.

I figure, God is in control, his Will will happen no matter my plans. Best laid plans of mice and men and all that. If you want to see God work, make plans lol. really though I am like you and don't want to lock myself into one life course and if that doesn't work out it sends me reeling because everything was focused into that one path.

Just like our home. We want to move and we'd like to move sooner rather than later but if that doesn't happen this year that's OK. This home is perfectly acceptable. It works, it's warm and dry and it's home no matter if it's a little small.

That doesn't mean I don't have any desires or goals but I am also very good at thinking on my feet and flying by the seat of my pants lol. I plan the things that NEED to be planned like saving for retirement and Hannahs homeschooling and budgeting and such but we roll with the punches a lot of the time.

Long time Chazzers know about how well I plan things.

I don't. Except for going to college, everything good that's happened in my life, happened on a whim or totally unexpectedly...jobs, people, moves, my baby.

I learned a long time ago that planning far into the future doesn't always work out. So while I plan for weekend trips(dog shows) and days off. I do put aside money for savings and stuff. I don't plan much beyond that.

I keep general life goals and plans in mind (sometimes I write them down) but usually I'm pretty carefree. I used to stress so much about things that are out of my control, and it's just not worth the headache and heartache. I am so much more relaxed and happier now that I've let some of that control go.

It helps me to keep a journal, I can track goals occasionally, and it helps me look back and appreciate just letting things happen naturally.

Yea I like to kind of wing it, for the most part.

I am a list maker, a "five year, 10 year and 20 year" planner type. My husband is the EXACT opposite, especially now that he's out of the Army. Where as I say "Hey, lets check into going to Disney Land this summer," he says, three hours before the fact "HEY! LETS GO TO THE GRAND CANYON! RIGHT NOW!" We drive each other nuts with our planning / non planning, I plan everything from the chores I will do the next day, what I plan to wear, meals for the month, when and where we will go out to eat IF we go out to eat, and he'll take 45 minutes in the mornings to get ready because he has no clue as to what to wear, etc. I have always been that way, but more so when I was grooming in El Paso. I found having a list of salon chores helped me make sure they were done, knowing the order each groom was done in, and exactly what time a client was schedule for (woe betide me if they were late, it threw me into panic because it put me behind.) So yeah, I'm nuts. You guys who don't plan actually seem a lot more sane than I do, but we all have our ways.

I am generally spontaneous. I do plan quite a few things but they are the things that are normal to plan. Sometimes it is very stressful and very scary, other times I feel grateful to myself for being this way because the people I know that plan everything are always so intense and flustered and just generally not entirely pleasant.

OK well trips to Disney are my exception. I plan the crap out of those lol. But you have to, IMO.

Nope, I don't plan. Only things I plan are events for the rescue.

I even just wing it on vacations.

I actually despise planning my vacations other than in the most general way - where I am going and when. I'm expected to be specific places at specific times enough in real life that I want my vacation to be sweet, sweet freedom from caring about being anywhere in particular at any time in particular.

that works for most vacations lol. With Disney though you don't have to plan your ever single move but if you want to avoid large crowds and long lines planning is the way to go (for me anyway lol). I remember our first trip with my inlaws. didn't plan anything and it seemed all we did was walk around going "what do you wanna do?" "I dont' know what do you wanna do?" "I don't know what do you wanna do?" and so on lol. We didn't end up doing ANYTHING and I was like AHHHHH total waste lol. Even if we had just lounged that would have been cool but we just wandered aimlessly and while I am good at flying by the seat of my pants, I dislike walking in circles... makes me dizzy lol.

Plus, planning the trip to Disney is the thing that gets me through between trips :rofl1: but I don't claim to be normal LOL.

Eh I enjoyed Disney just fine wing-it style, but we spent most of our time at Epcot and Animal Kingdom, not at Magic Kingdom.

But it like... actually stresses me out to plan my vacation time day by day, I just really hate having a schedule of any kind when I'm supposed to be on vacation and I end up not really enjoying myself. Schedules are for real life as far as I'm concerned. I want to just wake up and decide on the spur of the moment what I'm going to do that day, it's a luxury I don't get afforded very often in real life. Different strokes and all that.

our weeks are fairly scheduled (at least our mornings) but we do have a lot of spur of the moment "lets go do this" so I'm not overwhelmed by schedules in my day to day life BUT Hannah is big on plans lol she actually drives me a little crazy. It could be first thing Monday morning and she wants to know "what are we doing tomorrow, how about the next day, and the next day and next monday?" Oh MAN I don't know lol let's get through THIS day first :rofl1: Live in the MOMENT kid.

like the other day our Pastor texted me at 6:30 pm asking me if I could come to worship team practice in one hour LOL. Sure no problem. got ready to go and headed out but hannah was like WHAAAAAAT is going on? WHY are we leaving the house so late? Where are we going? WHY are we going there? How come I didn't know about this sooner? lol

I know different strokes for different folks, I know I am NOT normal lol. If I had the time to dedicate I would plan other peoples disney trips for them lol it's the next best thing if I can't actually BE there.

If it's a trip or something like that, then I plan somewhat. But life in general? No I don't plan much outside of "today I want to get this, this and this done". Usually that's because I don't have a clue how to get where I want to be.

I am a mega planner. If I don't plan out my days, I watch them slip away into a waste. Every Sunday night we sit down and plan out the schedule for the upcoming week--which nights either of us have work obligations in the evenings, classes or sporting events or going out with friends, and then we plan our meals around it. ("Looks like we're both home on Tuesday and Friday--let's cook xyz on Tuesday and plan to go out to dinner together Friday. We can eat leftovers Wednesday/Thursday and I'll just fend for myself on Monday.")

Vacations are no different. If I'm going to spend $1000 to fly somewhere or drive 6 hours to get some place, I want to have a PLAN. I can lay around in bed and read a book at home. What can I do in this new place that I can't do at home? I'm not opposed to spur of the moment ideas, but I want to always have a back up plan. Not knowing where I'm sleeping at night or what I'm doing during the day stresses me out.

I have a lot of vague long term plans, but nothing that I'm locked into for sure. I just find I'm much more productive with goals.

I never thought I was..... But now I think I am. I'm one of those really, really forgetful, late and unorganised people who likes to know what's coming up. I hate surprises.

I planned all my meals a month in advance this month.... I like lists. I need to know I have things to look forward to. I hate waking up and spending half the day trying to work out what to do...


The whole super forgetful, always late and unorganised bit doesn't help. I think that's why I used to think I wasn't a planner... Or maybe I'm a bit of a control freak???


I don't have a life agenda.... I dont own a home or have massive career goals (other than max money on min work lol). We talk about having kids in the near future, but don't have a date planned or anything...


Colour me in the middle.

In terms of my job and my business, I'm decent at planning. I have to be, working 50-70 hours a week between both jobs. I could definitely be better and in turn, use my time more efficiently.

In terms of my everyday? No planning or loose planning. "I will spend two hours housecleaning" or "Here's a list of things I'll get done today in no particular order." that kind of thing.

Vacations, we never have plans.

I micro-manage schedule my every day life when I have classes - study this for an hour at 2, study that for an hour at 3, etc. But as far as planning for the future? Yeah, not so much. I'll ponder it while in the shower occasionally, what I may end up doing or what I may want to do, and I definitely allow flexibility in my schedule for spontaneity (that's why I use Google calendar, so I can drag and drop blocks of time), but ultimately I like order, plans, and lists.

Except for vacations. Then I love spontaneity.

Oh gosh, I plan everything. I love working toward long term goals. It's like a fun challenge and I believe not having goals set for yourself is a character flaw. It's like wandering lost through life hoping things work out instead of making sure they do. I don't think people who plan less than I do are flawed, cause I plan everything, but I think having no life goals and jut being generally unprepared all the time is irresponsible.

I believe there is almost always a way to make long term goals happen, despite running in to the unexpected. You can never know exactly what the future holds but you can change your plan and still make your goals happen and it's even okay to change your goals but you need to have something to work toward.