When is planning actually useful

I’ve touched on this topic in my "2023 changes" post, here's what’s been said:
New ways of planning are coming up on the internet, saying how you should write everything down and explain it in details.. But honestly, 9/10 times when I get excited about planning something new, or simply making a to do list longer than 1 goal to check off, I never finish it. Maybe it's a personal problem, but I think that sometimes when I write it out very detailed or I simply say “tomorrow I'm waking up at 5, going to the gym and studying for five hours” I check it off in my head, before even getting a chance to proceede. I get the satisfaction of "doing it" while planning and then rarely subconsciously see the need to go through with the plan.

Coming from someone who LOVES spending Saturday mornings planning my week days out, planning can be a detrimental factor in whether you follow through with your goals or not, but that can go both ways. If done efficiently, it can up your chances of getting stuff done, but it can also be a distraction and a procrastination tool that only seemingly brings you closer to your goal in your head but not in physical reality.

So you’re asking “okay then how should i plan to be efficient?”

The truth is, I believe it’s personal.

When I plan for too long and I over-detail and possibly overcomplicate simple things, I end up not finishing almost any of it.
I’ve found from experience that writing a detailed morning routine or setting specific times to do specific tasks that aren’t absolutely essential to be done that way just sets me up for failure already in the beginning.

So if you’re someone who loves planning but can’t seem to find the right way to do it, here are my five tips for you!

1. don’t buy a planner (any dirty piece of paper you found under a stack of your books will work!!)
2. call it a “reminder list” (instead if "to do list")
3. don’t plan for too long (and i think you know exactly when you’re not planning anymore but rather procrastinating)
4. plan for the week, not 1 day
5. strive for consistency, not perfection

pro tip: make a "to do list" at the end of your day reflecting on all the stuff you got done that day. Once you see how much or how little you got done, you’ll be motivated to do better the next day. Also, writing all the things you’re proud you’ve completed in your day will serve as a gratitude list!

1. don’t buy a planner
Sometimes buying a pretty-looking notebook will do the trick, but in my experience, the “to do lists” that i’ve actually checked off were written on the most random torn-from-the-notebook pieces of paper. Also, it doesn’t matter if it’s written in the most aesthetic way possible or if it looks like a toddler wrote it. You’ll spend so much time trying to get it pretty which you could use for actually doing the tasks and crossing things off your list.

2. call it a “reminder list”
There’s something in not sating you HAVE to get it done, but rather you “could if you have time”  that makes doing the things a lot more enjoyable.
For me it’s a similar effect to when your parents ask you to do the dishes when you were planning on doing them either way. It creates resistance. Them asking me to do it in the case when i was planning on doing it either way to me brings up similar effect as creating a to do list the day before and seeing it in the morning and subconsciously deciding to do anything else but the list.
As I’ve already mentioned, it might be a personal problem, and this is not always the case, but in 85% cases it is. I don’t like being told what to do no matter if it’s somebody else telling me or if it’s current me that’s setting the agenda of what to do for the future me.
Also it can sometimes support the mindset of “we start tomorrow”..
But, by saying this is just a reminder, you don't have to do it but if you find time in day you could -> this gives me room for making a conscious decision the next day of “okay yes i will do it”
Look, it’s all in the mindset, you might be reading this and not relate at all, but I’m sure that if i have this challenge, many others have it too, so if you’re one of them, try calling your lists “reminder lists”

3. don’t plan for too long
if you find yourself planning just to plan or over-planning simple tasks you’re probably just procrastinating and you probably need to get up and do the work. if you plan for too long there is a big chance that you’ll end up getting the gratification of doing the thing by just thinking and writing about it so you won’t feel the need to follow through with it. similar as telling your friends about your plans, you’re thrilled to be saying what you’re gonna do and creating (fake?) excitement of doing it in your head that you’re no longer motivated to get it done.

4. plan for the week, not 1 day
This is for all my people who like to put a BUNCH of tasks on their to do lists. Stop feeling discouraged by not being able to check off your 10+ or honestly even 5+ items on you jam-packed mega to do list. Call it a to do list for the week!! For example, you’re at uni/high school and you never fulfill all your studying plans for the day, maybe it’s not THAT important that you finish it all in 1 day, maybe you can say “okay, this is what I need to do in this week”. Instead of saying “ill do math and physics on Monday, english and history on Tuesday, ALL practice test on Wednesday..” say “this is what i have to finish in this week: ……” and i bet you’ll feel more accomplished because you won’t set yourself up for failure but rather give yourself a chance to work out your tempo and then maybe after a few weeks of doing it this way you find a pattern and then can plan according to your “natural” pattern of how you like to study.

and last

5. strive for consistency not perfection
Just like with most things in life.
Just because things didn't align with your plans perfectly it doesn't mean that it's too late. At the end of the day you'll be happy you went to the gym (example) at 8pm even though you scheduled it out to be at 5pm. When planning, leave room for changes. That goes especially if you don't live alone. The last thing you want to do is get frustrated because someone's challenging your plans. And if you live with other people there's 99% chance that something, even the smallest 15-minute task/request/conversation/thing will come up unexpectedly and if you stay stuck in wanting to be perfectly on "plans" you'll get easily frustrated and you don't want that. Stick to your plans, but don't be stuck in them.

And that would be it! If planning for a longer time makes you happy then who am I to tell you you should stop.. I love planning too and even though sometimes it’s not the most time efficient thing you could be doing, it can be a peaceful and relaxing way of getting started with the day.. I still sometimes plan just to plan and make it aesthetic just 'because'. It’s almost a form of self care, undisturbed me time. So with that in mind, I will make a post of how to make planning more enjoyable and share my favorite ways on how to make it fun and aesthetic. I'll link it here once I do.

As always, feel free to contact me or send me a comment on your thoughts about this topic, if you agree or disagree, and if you'd like to add anything to the list. You can find all my socials and my email address on the bottom of the page or on the "contact" page.

Thank you for reading and happy "efficiently" planning!