Planning Ahead

Recently I was going through some old e-mails at work.  They seem to accumulate at a fast pace, no matter where I receive them.  One of them was one of these daily motivational type e-mails that someone occasionally sends to me.  Before I deleted it I skimmed through it and liked what it said because it dealt with planning ahead and staying ahead of yourself, both items that I seem to need help with these days.

The e-mail started with the remark, “The time to repair your roof is when the sun is shining” and I had to smile at the image in my mind of someone on their roof in a driving rain trying to fix a leak!  I did some checking on the phrase and it is actually a quote attributed to John F. Kennedy.  The concept of planning ahead and taking care of the necessary items before they become problems is well illustrated.  You get the meaning, loud and clear.

For some reason in the last few years I’ve lost the ability to think too far ahead of myself.  I have everything written down on the calendar and I know what is coming up, and what I have to do to be ready for the event or deadline.  That is good, but that is where the organization seems to break down.  I find myself running right up to the last minute with everything, and then have to rush into the next project or deadline.  I know days or even weeks ahead that something is coming, but I can’t seem to start getting ready for it because I‘m working on the current deadlines.  It is a repeating cycle.

I think the problem started because I fell into the convenient trap of procrastination, what a monster that is!  This started in the work place where I assumed the habit because others around me procrastinated.  Then it spilled over into home and personal activities.  It is so easy to look at something and think, “Oh, I’ll do that tomorrow.  No rush, I don’t feel like doing that today.  Tomorrow will be okay.” Putting things off got me started on the wrong track and it became an easy path to follow.  It is easy to procrastinate, real easy. 

The problem compounded when I found myself too busy to sit down, think through activities, and plan ahead.  I had too many things to do, too much to think about, too many places to go, too many, too many, too many of everything.  If I needed a plan or a to-do list it was just a quick note jotted on a scrap of paper.  Now, this system worked but not efficiently. 

The motivational e-mail offered the following advice as a solution:  Let your advance worrying become advance thinking and planning. Gain the advantage…through the medium of time. 

I think I just like the idea of remembering when it is the best time to repair the roof!