Day 216: On Accounting for Flexibility in Your Plans
Day 216: On the flexibility to consider the plan
Another drawback of daily plans is that they lack flexibility. They deprive the person of the chance to make choices along the way, so the person feels locked into a rigid and grinding sequence of tasks. Life rarely goes exactly according to plan, and so the daily plans can be demoralizing as soon as you fall off schedule. With a monthly plan, you can make adjustments. If a delay arises one day, your plan is still intact.
Another disadvantage of the daily plan is the lack of flexibility.
They deprive a person of the opportunity to change their choices in the process, so we can feel as if we are trapped in a rigid set of tasks.
It's rare for life to go exactly as planned, so if you deviate from your plan, your daily plan can be demoralizing.
If it's a monthly plan, you'll have the flexibility to make adjustments.
If there is a delay one day, your plan will still be intact.
—Roy Baumeister
I’m a fan of daily routines: writing a specific number of words, sticking to the same number of consumed calories, or learning the same number of words in a foreign language every day.
I'm a fan of everyday habits: write a specific number of words every day, eat the same number of calories, or learn the same number of words in a foreign language.
However, at the same time, having experienced on more than a few occasions that life often doesn’t go exactly according to the plan and disruptions are bound to happen, I account for some flexibility in my plan. This way, when I mess up one day, it doesn’t have to affect my entire progress.
But at the same time, I've experienced more than once that life doesn't often go exactly as planned, and there will inevitably be interruptions, so I have some flexibility in mind.
That way, even if I mess up one day, it won't affect my overall progress.
For example, whenever I’m tweaking my caloric intake, I try to focus more on what happens during an entire week or month than any specific day. This way, if I mess it up one day by eating too little or too much, it doesn’t matter because I can make up for it the next day or a week later. Granted, it carries the risk of making regular exceptions and setting a precedent, so it’s important to always plan exactly when you’re going to adjust for a day of variance .
For example, whenever I adjust my calorie intake, I try to focus more on what's happening in a week or month than on a particular day.
That way, if one day I eat too little or too much and mess up, it's okay because I can make up for it the next day or a week later.
Of course, there is also the risk that there will be frequent exceptions and precedent-setting in doing so, so it becomes important to always plan exactly when to adjust the day's differences.
Recently I set for myself a goal to write 10 daily entries for this book for 10 days so that after the end of this sprint, I will have written entries for 100 days, or almost 30% of the book.
Recently, I set myself a goal of writing 10 articles a day for the book for 10 days, so that by the end of the sprint, I would have written 100 days of articles, which is almost 30% of the book.
If I were to only count it as successful if I stuck to writing 10 entries every day, without allowing myself any kind of flexibility, I’d have failed on the eighth day, which I spent outdoors. However, knowing that such a disruption would happen, I wrote 14 entries the day before my trip and 6 in the early morning before my departure.
If I insist on writing 10 articles a day to be considered successful and don't allow myself any flexibility, then I fail on the eighth day because I spent the day outdoors.
However, I knew that this would happen, so I wrote 14 articles the day before my departure and 6 articles early in the morning before my departure.
Thanks to accounting for flexibility, I avoided the demoralizing effect of dropping the ball, and after 10 days, I had also completed my goal of writing 100 entries in total.
Thanks to flexibility, I avoided losing my weight, and after 10 days, I had achieved my goal of writing a total of 100 articles.
When setting new routines and goals, allow yourself some flexibility, too. If you have a daily quota, don’t immediately count it as a failure if you don’t perform it for one day. Work a little more for the next several days and instead of falling off the bandwagon, you’ll still achieve your original goal.
Give yourself some flexibility when setting new goals, too.
If you have a daily quota, don't immediately assume it's a failure if you don't finish it one day.
Do a little more in the next few days and you won't be left behind and you'll still be able to achieve your original goal.