Plan vs Purpose Part 1: The Planning

Whenever I really start to dig deep and want to understand something better (or at all) - I start with the definition. Over the years as “times have changed” we’ve seen how sometimes our childhood definitions of something doesn’t fit or work with the definition we see in the world around us…. so best to start at the bottom and work your way up!

Via Google - the definition of plan is
as a noun

1.a detailed proposal for doing or achieving something. "the UN peace plan"

Similar: scheme, plan of action, idea, master plan, game plan, proposal, proposition, ploy, suggestion, project, program, system, method, procedure, strategy, stratagem, formula, recipe, scenario, arrangement, schedule, agenda, way, means, measure, tactic, tack, plot, device, maneuver, ruse, shift

as a verb

1.decide on and arrange in advance. "they were planning a trip to Egypt"

Similar: organize, arrange, work out, think out, design, line up, outline, sketch out, map out, chalk out, draft, prepare, schedule, program, formulate, frame, project, develop, set up, fix up, shape, build, devise, concoct, contrive, plot, scheme, cook up, hatch, brew, mastermind, orchestrate, choreograph, slate, excogitate, intend, make plans, aim, propose, mean, be resolved, have in mind, hope, want, wish, desire, contemplate, envisage, foresee envision expect purpose

and while that seems to go on and on - trust me I have a point!!

My women’s spider webbing brain (see Love and Respect explanation), tends to like to plan and I’m so very thankful for the tools that I have in place to FOCUS and get a plan down. Since I’m spiderwebbing and usually need to get the ideas OUT fast then I can go back and remember them, I’ve created a NOTE labeled “To Do - Anxiety List Making”, where I can go and literally just type out all the thoughts that get jumbled up in my head as sometimes I’m procrastinating doing the things on my “To Do” list 😜 (I can’t be the only one that does this!!!)… and then I’m not worried about them. They are on a list and my brain doesn’t have to remember them…. the the kicker and the ultimate goal then, would be to get that list into a detailed plan of action, or at least someplace on my radar. I do this one of two ways - First if it’s an immediate need (something to do that day or that week) I’ve found it best to use good old fashioned pen (markers, highlighters…) and paper. I have a simple notebook (these are the ones I like best) that I use for my daily journaling and quiet time, and honestly - instead of trying to have multiple notebooks, scrapbooks, memory whatever - everything goes in there. We go to a play? Ticket stubs and program are in there. We have a funeral? Program goes in there. Now there are always exceptions to that rule (I’ll have a more detailed post about that soon), but for the most part - you can find the current and up to date information I’m working on in my notebook. For ideas that may or may not need to happen soon we’ve tried to be old school and use an “ideas to come back to” notebook, but as you can guess… I tend to lose that pretty often since it’s not in use all the time.

The second way is electronically. I really like the idea behind Google Tasks, and I do use it - but sometimes my situation changes and I’ve gotten a routine down and don’t need to use a particular list as often - or I need to adjust it and change a couple of things around - or I’ve gone rouge and just need to delete it 😜 either which way…. it’s not as easy to use for my scattered needs, although I do love that I can mark a task for a specific date and time - and hopefully I’ll see the reminder pop up on my phone without an alert! Calendar reminders work well - but I tend to forget about travel time (unless I specifically add that to the calendar event) or that my toddler needs 10 more min to do something that I’ve only calendared out 5 for… 😳 One way that seems to be working well for long term planning is Trello. There are a LOT of electronic ways to manage your plan but having access across all my devices - free access…. and suggestions for boards that I can rearrange and color coordinate to my mood - give my brain all the happy feels!! (I’ll explain more how I use it in a later post.)

As all things go - I tend to be a little more on the side of “Plan to make a Plan” (I love that line from What Happens In Vegas!!), and “Planning sometimes is more enjoyable then doing” team. Think the little mermaid singing “Part of your World”:

🎶🎵 I’ve got spreadsheet and note a-plenty - I’ve got notebooks and pen galore - You want plans? - I've got twenty! - But who cares? - No big deal - Let’s plan more 🎶🎵

So with all of this planning - where does our purpose fit in?