The One Notebook Principle

Every now and then (some weeks it’s every other day) I’ll dive into a massive burst of motivation to plan for my more productive, more active life. I think that if I can just find the perfect system, schedule my workouts, and plan my meals, then I’ll be set for a “better” life. After all, you don’t have to search too hard on Youtube, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. to find someone who tells you about the magic of time-blocked schedules and the miracle of the the new planner they just unboxed.

Don’t get me wrong, people should find what works for them. I don’t even mind that they’re sharing it because it might work for someone else who didn’t know about it until it was shared. On the other hand, coming across one of those videos or posts wreaks havoc on my productivity.

I’m a planner of massive proportions. I love spreadsheets, planners, color coding and the works. I will happily spend a day, or two, planning for the school year (classic teacher), or house projects, or anything else. Then I will put the plan to one side, maybe follow it for a day or two, and then retire it. Then I will sigh over ho that wasn’t the “perfect” system and spend another day or two figuring out a new system. You see my problem? If left to the mercy of systems and plans I will plan my life away.

It’s the planning I like, not the doing.

That said, I have something of a superpower secret. My most productive and healthiest times in my life have been when I didn’t plan them. My lowest weight and most nutritious eating? All of that happened without scheduling them out and meal planning. I wasn’t even tracking calories or my meals. My most creative hobbies? They flourished when I just felt like doing them and did them–and I felt like doing them almost every day. I am, generally, my most productive when I let myself do things instead of plan things.

Planning is my kryptonite.

I wrote this because I almost went down the planning black hole this morning. I stopped myself, probably just in time. I already know what I need to do. I don’t need to plan for it, I just need to do it. So, find what works for you (and if it’s planning, that’s great!). In the meantime, I’m going to go do something. Probably, finally, water my poor plants.