WHEN LIFE PLANS GET IN THE WAY
I've always been someone who plans a whole lot, especially when it comes to work life. I've done pieces before about the planning I do (found here, here, and here) but I thought that today I would talk about when life gets in the way of those plans. No matter how organised you are, life can sometimes throw you a curve ball and then you end up have to adjust, adapt, and redo things in a completely different way.
As someone with several chronic illnesses, my plans are usually knocked awry by health stuff. I'll be planning to do this or that, and then I'll end up in a flare, or get sick, and it's like all work stops. All life stops. And suddenly I'm having to deal with something else entirely. I've gotten better at dealing with this. I usually have been through flares and such so much before that I know what works and what doesn't to keep me on track, or as close to on track as possible. But sometimes a new problem will emerge and it's a case of trying to find a way to keep myself working or thriving and still hit my goals.
I've never been someone who's decided that goals must be completed above all else. I know there are writers and other creatives out there who will push and push because getting a goal done is the big thing for them. I've never seen the point of that, for me at least, because I'm chronically ill and disabled, I know that pushing too hard is only going to make things worse for me, so instead I'll pivot or just decide that this goal is not going to happen, and that's okay.
Like right now I'm finishing up dev edits for my next release. I know that I have to get the project to the line editor by a certain date if I'm going to be able to get it to the proofreader and such on time. But I also know that if I were to get sick, or something else was to go wrong, I've not yet announced a release date, I've not yet set up pre-order, so I can, easily, pivot and change things to manage that deadline differently. I don't like doing it, but I've learned the hard way that life will get in the way and pushing just ends up with me in a flare or worse, hospital, and I do not want that.
Too often, people don't account for life mishaps in their plans. They make goals, and they make plans believing or relying on nothing else going wrong. I get that, it's something I used to do too, but then life showed me just how badly things could go and it was like, okay, let's make plans and account for the possibility that something terrible is going to happen. I think it was an Authortuber I follow who pointed out that when making plans, you should make them as if you were going to be sick the whole time. That's sound advice because you will not be operating at 100% the whole time. No one does, and to think otherwise just sets yourself up to fail.
While I've found ways to plan around health stuff, and I've adapted to deal with getting this done on a certain day, and then having some days when I could move things around if needed, don't be afraid to do the same. Even if you're completely healthy, there is always the chance that something could go wrong, and it's better to prepare for that, than to ignore the possibility. While I am, mostly, positive, I like to not get caught up in this idea of perfectionism because if you do that, you only end up hurting yourself, and no one wants that.
So be ready for life throwing a curve ball, put it into your plans, and allow yourself the space, time, and energy to pick yourself back up, and keep going onwards. You'll end up thanking yourself later, even if nothing does go wrong, it's the fact that you allowed for the possibility that will ease stress and anxiety levels.
Good luck! Any questions? Lemme know in the comments!
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