I Am a Planner

I love to plan and organize things as far in advance as possible. I have lived out of my day planner my entire adult life. I thrive on have my coming weeks mapped out so I can look forward to certain events or prepare myself for others. Once I make plans with someone to go somewhere, I like to know where we're going, when, and other details. I know this stems from my desperate need to control my environs. I recognize that it is impossible to control everything, but I can dominate my schedule into submission. When things are disorganized, I become rather uncomfortable.

When Mich and I traveled to New England this past fall, we decided to plan sections of our trip, but not to finalize a lot of decisions, so we could alter as needed. This worked out well since we had lots of misadventures thanks to the unplanned excursions, plus we added more days at Acadia, which is now my second favorite vacation spot. At the same time, not planning ahead when Mich and I visited Chicago led to us missing out on the Harry Potter display which was one of the main reasons for our visit. Don’t get me wrong, we had a blast on our trip, but I still regret missing the exhibit.

My desire to plan ahead is a running joke among my friends. They know if we want to go somewhere or do something that I'll research and coordinate the event. So imagine our surprise when we planned a recent movie night. Becky said she would check for movie times since I had a rather busy week, which led to us calling Erin to discuss our plans the night before our planned GNO. Erin remarked on her shock that I hadn't made arrangements earlier in the week. I usually buy opening weekend movie tickets ahead of time. She was worried something was wrong with the universe since I had actually passed the responsibility baton to Becky.

Currently, my schedule is in chaos. I have two conferences which require travel in the next two months, but certain details have not been finalized. I admit to feeling antsy over the big details, such as what day to leave, but am willing to wait to the last minute on planning out whether I'm carpooling, arrival times, or access to the hotel room. I can wait on those decisions, which is shocking for someone like me. Also, with the house hunt, we aren't sure of anything since everything is in the air, which is an uncomfortable place for me. Plus, with my mom being sick, I may need to make a trip to Florida in the coming months. So I am trying to tamp down my urge to plan and instead am focusing on one week at a time. It truly is amazing when you notice the changes in your own personality.