Tired of "Plans"

In the great blog-o-sphere and now on Pinterest, it seems popular to tell others to "make a plan". Whether it's a 30-day meal plan, a christmas attack plan, a plan for how to decorate your home perfectly, someone is always telling me, "things in your life would be better if you just had a plan". It's tempting to buy into honestly, because I want things to be "better", "easier" and for others to think I've got it together.

Now some of you will think I'm crazy when I say this, but this is why I do not like the magazine Real Simple. It is designed to make life "real complicated". It claims that your life will be simple if you implement all these plans but seldom is that the case.

Recently I did one of the many personality tests out there and have come back to one line repeatedly in my "sanguine-melancholy" description said, "There is an interesting conflict in this blend – the weakness of the Sanguine is disorganization and the strength of the Melancholy is organization. This means that the Sanguine Melancholy will always feel that they should be cleaning or organizing but the Sanguine won’t follow through."

Thankfully in 30 short years I have learned that plans are not for me. Sure I spend time planning my week at work. I do like a method to things, but the frustration that comes from not following through on a plan detracts more from my total productivity and enjoyment of life more than the few times when I execute well and succeed at the plan.

Let's face it, if the world was ordered such that should I follow through, any of my plans might succeed, it might be worthwhile to create a 30-day meal plan and stick to it. But the world is not this way. At least not my world. My world is random and even in this simple stage (sans kids) there is a degree of chaos that exists. Even the best-laid plans are derailed, and not by necessarily bad things. I want margin in my life and space for spontaneity. I can't imagine a meal plan because I so enjoy playing in the kitchen. To go through day after day something prescribed and scripted sounds terribly boring to me.

So no judgement if the plans are working for you! Just wanted to be a voice for the other side that is rarely written up in magazines or blogs. What do you think? Are there plans you've tried (diet, workout, meals, shopping, couponing, studying, etc.) that have worked? Are you over plans too?