"Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now."
-Alan Lakein
So, I have this pretty little chalkboard all framed up and hanging in my kitchen that says, "MENU" across the top and then lists the days of the week with a spot for writing next to each day. It has lovely dinner ideas written in chalk for each day of the week like, "Three-Bean Soup, Cornbread, and Fruit," and "Sweet-n-Sour Ribs, Rice, Strawberry Salad, and Breadsticks." Mmmm, good. Only problem is, my sister who lives in Iowa, saw right through me when the exact same menu graced my chalkboard when she visited at Christmas time, and then again in the late summer. Oops. I do use it off and on, just some times more off than on, I guess.
I have a real testimony of the perks of knowing what you are going to feed your hungry brood before they are a 'hangry' brood (so hungry they are angry.) We certainly eat better and have less fighting when I am not grouchily throwing together some sorry excuse for dinner I can come up with on the fly. Planning pays off! I have GOT to remember it is worth the 20 minutes at the beginning of the week to fill in that menu board.
Another area where planning pays, is when preparing for a vacation. Experts assert that there are more emotional benefits in planning a vacation than in actually taking it. However, they do encourage really following through. I know when we were far away from family for a few years we survived from one visit to the next by planning what we would do when we got together again. And then we made really great use of our time together as a result. When my kids or I am feeling down, this is one of the tools I use to get everybody feeling better.
Planning for the use of our time can seem like a luxury we can't afford when we are crashing through life at break-neck speed, but when I slip into "taking it one day at a time," that usually turns out to be French for, "forgetting one thing after another." A few moments at the beginning of the week, and each night before bed, usually keep me from having to deliver apologies all around for missing appointments and double-booking myself.
Here is further proof I am the first one who needs to apply all this wisdom: my editor is going to laugh when she reads this, because due to the fact we are preparing our home to sell, we have been frantically re-roofing, painting, putting in new flooring, etc. during every possible moment and, therefore, not staying on top of some other things. Like newspaper articles. I have never had a due date for an article cruise past me without so much as a wave as it went by, but this one did yesterday. I started this article and chose a recipe a few weeks ago "planning" to finish them up before they were due, then didn't check my emails for a due date. Oops. Guess I'd better add due dates to the growing list of things I put on my phone's calendar with notifications 1 and 2 weeks before the due date. Then I can go back to turning articles in at the last minute like I am used to.
One final zinger is a joke that gives some FOOD for thought...even though it isn't on my "MENU." "How many planners does it take to change a light bulb? None, but it takes 15 to prepare for coping in the dark."
