Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Making a Plan to make a Plan


Or something...

So Friday is my LAST work day until after the new year (and there was much rejoicing). I will not try to fool myself into thinking I will do much besides Christmas prep until... you know... Christmas... but THEN I have a bit of time... Y'all know how I love a plan, right? BUWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Unfortunately, you ALSO probably know how my writing plans stalled out this year. I've written about it a dozen times... changes to the job, husband working full time, child challenges... I could whine and moan for days, but since I already have, I won't subject you to it.

You may NOT know I weigh the most I ever have. I don't advertise it. Though I have advertised how much harder it seems to me to lose these days. My last truly successful loss I was still in my 30s. It is time.

You probably ALSO do not know my house has grown steadily fuller of crap and gotten less and less organized in the last decade. Writing has lots of STUFF (especially for those of us delusional enough to have at one time thought our NOTES might some day be of value *rolls eyes*) and sucks up lots of TIME, and then the hubby working full time so HE is helping less...

So on my break I plan to MAKE PLANS to fix part of this stuff. And I am definitely looking forward to it... making a writing and marketing plan, making a fitness plan, setting a schedule for... maybe a cleaning project a month—wouldn't want to go overboard and the laundry and bathroom are hardly going to learn to sort themselves out, so they will stay on my chore list.

And let me just say... I LOVE THIS PART! I adore making plans. Following plans, not so much, though sometimes I give it a pretty good effort... But it is satisfying to put things in doable steps...

What about all of you? Making any plans over the holidays?

12 comments:

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Hart - I could agree with you for making plans - mine are serious ideas in my head, and around the flat ... but the following precisely isn't so good - but must do better next year! Time to sort and clear ...

Good luck and enjoy the break - cheers Hilary

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

The end of the year is such a great time for this!

But I'd also say that you need to schedule some downtime for yourself...no point in getting sick! Hope you have a great break.

Madeline Mora-Summonte said...

I'm with you, Hart! I love making plans, and I PLAN to do better at following through this year. Good luck to you! :)

Arlee Bird said...

This sounds like a post that I could have written. I totally relate to everything in this post. I'm always planning to make plans and sometimes actually follow through and make them. During the Christmas break I'll be traveling and visiting family, but I'm sure I'll be planning in my head. I tend to have a lot of time to think while I'm driving and my wife is sleeping. Much of that thinking will be devising plans I'm sure.

May all your plans result in great productivity.

Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out

Andrew Leon said...

My experience with people who like to make plans is that they only like to -make- plans, not -do- plans.
Not saying that's you; it's just my experience.
I tend to not be much of a planner.

Jan Morrison said...

Yah, you know l do and I'm roughly in the same shape as you. Too much work, too little walking, writing, creating. BUT!! I implore you to read something on kaizen before making all your plans. Our amygdala hates our plans. Hates them. So we need to make them small enough so that inner gorilla won't sabotage them. Like... lets say we need to move a bit every day, and write a bit and toss a bit. Kay?

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

You can do it, Hart. If you map it out and plan, you'll know what needs to be done. And with it written down in front of you, you'll be more apt to do it.

Denise Covey said...

Hart, my favourite plan is 'if you aim at nothing you're sure to hit it'. At this time of year we all have stuff to organise. Sometimes feel like you need a shovel to move it all! I'm sure into the new year you will have a new lease on life and tackle that writing again!

G. B. Miller said...

My plan is to finish editing a short story so that I can move on to the next phase of the project that short story is connected to, plus tweak my Tumblr blogs. And possibly add a little more to a novel I'm writing. Finally, give more serious thought about calling it a day with my Blogger blog.

G.B. Miller

Helena said...

Hart my dear, I have no doubt you'll tackle each of your plans just 'cause you're so hard-working and determined. But no matter what we plan, Life will step in and mess us up at least a little. Damn.

And hey, you've always been a successful writer, so no doubt you'll get right back on track. Me, I've had a couple setbacks on my screenwriting ambitions so I've decided to set it aside (maybe permanently) and at long last get my two Charity MacCay novels in print. I'm aiming to for the end of April for both. And that's about as ambitious as I'll get.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

I'm a natural organizer, so I love making plans. Good luck with yours.

Yolanda Renée said...

Plans are good, and I'm formulating mine for the new year too!
It's time to get serious, and hit those goals, at least that's my build up message to myself is.
Okay, here we go!

Oh, and

MERRY CHRISTMAS!