Sometimes there is vast space (and struggle) between planning and executing on our plans. In this episode, I delve into some ideas about why that might be happening, and try to offer some solutions.
Also mentioned:
- Lisa Woodruff’s Medical Binder
- Carolyn Cohen’s Wellness While Walking; her guest ep: BLP with Carolyn
Episode Sponsors:
PrepDish: Convenient meal plans, recipes, and shopping lists to reduce your weekly mental load! Visit prepdish.com/plans for your first 2 weeks, FREE
Mint Mobile: Low-cost wireless phone service – a great way to save every single month! Learn more at mintmobile.com/BLP
IXL: Tailored and effective online learning (my kids have used this for years as part of their school curriculum)! Best Laid Plans listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at IXL.com/PLANS.
Prose: Truly custom skincare and haircare. Visit prose.com/plans for 50% off your first haircare subscription order!
Green Chef: The best meal kit for eating well. Visit greenchef.com/bestlaidfree and use code bestlaidfree to get started with FREE salads for 2 months plus 50% off your first box.
7 Comments
I love this concept of the gap between planning and doing. It’s a thing for me. I really love making lists and plans and then not doing it. And there are so many things that can happen. Procrastination is a big one, not breaking something down into manageable chunks, being unrealistic, not taking time to think it through. I think we can also feel like everything is urgent and needs to be done now but time is our limiter.
Anyway, i love this topic and would love to have more like this because the ultimate goal for me in planning is to feel like I am doing not only what needs to get done but also to build the life I want to live and still have fun. I know for me it can be helpful to make sure to only list 3-5 things to get done in a day and be realistic about what is just aspirational. I love a brain dump too – listing it all out and just circling a few for a day.
I didn’t notice any difference whatsoever in your pronounciations even though you have Invisalign, Dr. Sarah Hart-Unger. In fact, I didn’t notice at all that you wore Invisalign until you explicitly mentioned it.
When I saw the name of the episode, I thought, “I can listen to this episode over and over again. Particularly in those days when I notice that I’m wasting time non-stop”. Indeed, you confirmed that thought of mine by emphasizing accountabilities. The obligers in Dr. Gretchen Rubin’s 4-tendency framework readily meet outer expectations but struggle to meet inner expectations, and thus can consider seeking out outer accountabilities. I think Dr. Gretchen Rubin also emphasized that upholders, questioners, and obligers can all benefit from outer accountabilities, and the only exception is rebels. So, I think I’ll use this episode as one of my outer accountabilities.
In the meantime, however, you also pointed out instances when I am justified not to execute my plans right now, Dr. Sarah Hart-Unger. I’m very grateful for that too. They include burnout, overload, and not actually desiring to do it in the first place.
Since I’ve gone this far, I might as well finish listing the rest of the factors listed in this episode: Intimidation and procrastination. You included the relationship between procrastination and ADHD as well.
I don’t have any more factors to contribute. I do know that there are times that I know that I am actually doing what I planned for, but I don’t think it progresses fast enough – but that’ll be the topic for another episode.
Great episode- and I did NOT notice anything different about your S’s. Good idea to mention it at the end, because I could honestly say I didn’t notice it at all.
I loved this episode, and would love a followup on how to manage situations where you can’t act on plans due to some outside reason. I often find myself in situations where I’ve planned out how I want to do things but need to wait on a colleague, event, or deadline to actually start. Do you have suggestions for how to be efficient in those cases, and especially how to avoid re-planning in unproductive ways, particularly around stressful or intimidating tasks? (Also, didn’t notice a thing about the S’s, sounded great.)
Ooh, that’s such an interesting question (and very applicable to me now) so I will give it some thought!
This was a super helpful episode. I’ll be thinking about it for a long time!
Needless to say, I LOVED this episode! There were more stumbling blocks than I imagined! In the health world, I think there are a lot of “shoulds”/don’t-want-to gaps, and so thinking about how to get around those could be important as they can have real consequences for health. Also, from one podcaster with Invisalign to another, I didn’t hear a thing. I know if I wore my trays while recording, it would be quite another story! Thanks for another awesome episode, Sarah!