Why planning your day isn't stealing your freedom but protecting it.
A case for not treating your day like you’re playing a memory recall game.
My kids have a game they play called “I Went to the Shops…”
If you’re not familiar with it it’s essentially a memory recall game that requires at least 3 players to make it interesting. The game starts with player 1 saying “I went to the shops and bought…” followed by an item, such as “…a loaf of bread”.
Player 2 will then recite the previous item and add one of their own, for example “I went to the shops and bought a loaf of bread and a bar of soap”.
Player 3 will recite the growing list and add their choice of item, “I went to the shops and bought a loaf of bread, a bar of soap, and pink, polka dot bloomers”.
When game play comes back to player 1 they’ll add another item to the list, and so on until someone fails to recite the list correctly.
What I love about this game is it not only builds children’s memory recall abilities which can boost cognitive function, but it’s also fun for us adults to join in.
So what’s a child’s game got to do with planning your day?
A lot actually.
What if we made one little tweak to the game where we were allowed to write the items down as we went along, reducing the need for memory recall because we could just read from the list and write our addition to it.
With the use of this ‘cheat-code’ the mental burden of temporarily storing information in our memory would be removed and the game would become ridiculously easily to the point of rendering it pointless. The fun is in the challenge of pitting our wits against our memory.
But again, you’re probably wondering what the heck this all has to do with planning and freedom?
Here’s the twist, many people treat their day like they’re playing a memory recall game.
For me, that doesn’t feel like the type of challenge I want to stress myself out with for a 24 hour cycle, and I’m going to guess it’s not your cuppa tea either! That’s why it’s imperative for me to plan out my day by writing it down so I don’t needlessly add to my mental burden.
However, don’t assume I’m some sort of productivity unicorn that’s always been an uber achiever getting things done and taking great pleasure in list making, because I’m not that person, or unicorn ;-)
You see, not too long ago, I thought planning my day ahead was pointless. I argued with myself that I already knew what I needed to do, so figured why bother wasting time writing it out when I can just get on? After all, I had a rough plan for the week, did I really need to stifle my creative spirit with a prison of daily commands?
Unfortunately, this off-the-cuff memory method never really had me ending the day feeling like I'd been particularly productive and I was often left wondering where the time had actually gone.
This made me feel angry and disappointed with myself, like I was some kind of lazy time-waster drifting through life, just dreaming about the goals I wanted to accomplish instead of taking action towards them. This frustration led me to start experimenting with paper planning systems, as well as wondering if I could plan a smooth running, productive work from home day in the time it takes to enjoy my morning brew - more about that next week.
The biggest take away I’ve learnt from reluctantly succumbing to daily planning is that I actually love it! More over, my creativity isn’t stifled nor is my freedom taken away. Having a plan for how I’ll use my precious supply of daily hours frees up my mind and energy - because I’m not here to play a memory recall game without the ‘cheat-code’.
If your aim is to stay on track with your goals and get stuff done, I’d say you’d definitely benefit from testing out a method for daily planning. Next week I’ll be sharing the routine I use to plan a productive day while enjoying my morning brew, make sure you’re subscribed to have it delivered straight to your inbox.
Until next time Planner Friend, check out the book recommendation below…
Chloe x
Recommended Reading
This week I’ve been enjoying Austin Kleon’s book Keep Going: 10 Ways to Stay Creative in Good Times and Bad*. The first chapter, ‘Every Day is Ground Hog Day’, had me nodding along, hence adding two quotes from it to this article. It’s particularly good if you need more supporting evidence towards the case for not treating your day like you’re playing a memory recall game ;-)
p.s. my top tip is the audio version, especially if you have an Audible Premium Plus account as you can use your credit to get The Steal Like an Artist Audio Trilogy*, which includes 3 audio books: Steal Like an Artist; Show Your Work; and Keep Going.
Join Audible today to start your free 30 day trial* and listen to The Steal Like an Artist Trilogy for free.
* Affiliate links — Please note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from any qualifying purchases you may make after clicking these links.