It's Good to Have a Plan!

Don't Just Dive in Head-first!

  This week for me was all about planning, or the lack thereof! Sometimes I had a plan, and other times I did not, and had to "wing it" which is all too familiar in my life. My uncle had to have a plan, or backup plan rather, to get his El Camino going again after it blew a rod completely in half and almost caved in a rocker on his 350 small block. He needed my help dismantling it, and putting it back together. My wife's birthday was on St. Patrick's day and I had to pretty much "wing it" with her plans as they kind of fell through when my uncle's motor decided to act up. I offered my assistance to him, and put some of my time for my wife on the backburner, which is definitely a "no-no", children! Hindsight has now provided me with this piece of wisdom I am going to impart to you; make a plan before going head-first into something! 

Write Important Events in a Calendar.

     Now I have to say I have had some luck without setting out an outline of how I could approach something or organize and prioritize my time, but most of time I ended up enduring much frustration in the process! This week I failed to prioritize my time better, even in this unpredicted circumstance of helping my uncle, and I could have put a better plan in action to deliver myself to who I needed to, when I needed to. What I could have done, and decided I will do from now on, is write things down in a calendar, or utilize the calendar on my phone to prioritize certain days and events. This is a good way to make a plan and stick to it, even if you have to add unforeseen things to your day, or week. I figured I could keep those few events locked into my head and remember what days to do what, but it catches up with you when you have to do more running around than you thought you did. The working on the El Camino and my wife's birthday week in addition to my part-time job schedule really added to my confusion this week. I simply forgot some things. I forgot what day it was sometimes! Although I didn't get in enough time with the wife, I did not forget her birthday by any means! I would not be writing this today if I had! I did, however forget to set some quality time aside for her to take her out like I promised her, and I regret that. We are in an understanding now that I will make up for it this weekend, so I am somewhat redeemed. My point is, if I had this all written down to attribute for whom I was supposed to be with on that day, I could have utilized more time in the sectors I felt were most important. 

Communication is Key!

     I also could have found a way to communicate sooner with each person to find a way to organize my time and prioritize the most important tasks or events. If I can put the things I plan into a calendar, and pair that with communicating it with myself and others who desire or require my time, I can then put forth the effort and commitment with each task I need to do. As soon as I heard the news from my uncle, what I should have done was write down what days I said I could help him then spoke with my wife about it, and I'm sure we could have worked up some kind of agreement to help him out and take her out. She understands his situation, but wasn't anticipating the days I selected to help him out and it threw everything off for us. 

Write a To-Do List!

 I found this week, being that it was Spring Break and a week off from school, that I truly needed to write out a "to-do list" to achieve my goal of accomplishing all my tasks. I realized my happy-go-lucky nature isn't always a good way to approach things, especially now as I edge into my 40's. I've become more forgetful! More people in my life require more time from me, and I have taken school, my music, my job and just crammed them all in there hoping it would all fit. I now know that a list of what I need to do in my life is almost a requirement. Not every time I have a round of things to do, but when it seems to me like it's going to be a lot to remember I better go ahead and just write it down! I'll thank myself later!