My personal forte is in project management.
I chose this line of work because I really like planning. I like to see how things are going to come together.
This is often a problem at home since I always avoid spur of the moment activities, while my husband is definitely a jump in and go for it type of person.
While sometimes frustrating, our opposite approaches tend to complement each other.
If I was solely responsible for scheduling our activities, I would over-plan everything to the point of losing interest in the activity altogether.
If it were left to my husband, he’d jump right in to everything without preparation.
The problem with jumping right in is that you always will be forgetting something that will end up costing you more time and money then if you had prepared for it ahead.
The problem with too much planning is you might lose some of the momentum and enthusiasm for the activity.
So, how does a planning-type personality enjoy the fun of a spontaneous activity? Here’s what I do:
- Take (a little) time to brainstorm the pros and cons
- If there is no concrete reason not to do it immediately, go with your gut instinct
- If your gut tells you to wait and think it out, see if you can make a quick compromise that makes you feel more comfortable with the situation
You were expecting more maybe?
I admit it’s a simple method, but even for a professional planner not everything has to be complicated.
Don’t underestimate your gut instinct and don’t rule out compromise.
In the end, no matter what you decide keep in mind this quote from Sidney J. Harris:
“Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.”
