There’s a lot of talk these days about living in the moment and being present, focusing on today, and not worrying too much about what’s coming next. I agree that this is good advice. Constantly ruminating about the future can rob us of joy and increase anxiety. But I also know this: if we don’t do some thoughtful planning, the future has a way of barging in, usually at the worst possible time. The key is balance. Being present doesn’t mean avoiding forward thinking. In fact, planning ahead is often what allows us to intentionally engage with what’s happening now.
When You Don’t Plan, Things Sneak Up on You
If you wait until just before something is due to think about it, you’re setting yourself up for stress or failure.
Think about situations like:
- Teaching a class and realizing too late that the outline, script, or slides aren’t ready
- Booking plane tickets only to find the flights you want are sold out or hotel prices have doubled
- Remembering an important responsibility at the last minute and scrambling to make it work
Let’s take each situation and show how planning ahead reduces anxiety.
Teach a class
If you’re teaching a class, the goal is to hold the participants’ attention and give them meaningful content. Whether you are standing in front of them or seeing them through a computer screen, they will know if you have done the work to present a good class.
If you haven’t done the work in advance, it will be difficult for you to fill the hour with interesting and informative content. You will be nervous, anxious, and will not be invited back.
Traveling
If you know where and when you’ll be traveling, it’s prudent to buy your tickets early, to reserve your hotel room, and to rent a car (if you need to) as soon as possible. I have lots of travel plans this year and have already started making many of my arrangements.
Worrying about where to stay and how I’m going to get to these destinations is last on my list. I have many more important things to think about. It’s easy to make travel arrangements in advance. My best advice is to make them as soon as you know the dates.
Remembering your responsibility
Let’s imagine you’ve been asked to pick up the birthday cake for a friend’s surprise birthday party. The party is set to begin at 6pm. If you plan ahead, write yourself a note to stop work at 5:00, and set alarm on your phone you know you’ll get it done.
If you just say to yourself that you’ll remember you run the risk of losing track of time and letting your friends down.
“Later” Is Not a Time on the Calendar
One of the biggest planning traps I see is assigning things to “later.”
Later is not a time. I say this to clients all the time and follow it up with, tell me when. Even telling me a block of time, like after lunch or before I take a shower is better than saying ‘later’.
I tell clients that when you think about doing something later, you’re really saying that you don’t want to do it. When tasks are assigned to “later,” they vanish from your mind until they reappear as a task that requires immediate attention.
Planning ahead and scheduling a time block, gives those tasks a place to land.
Forward Thinking Is a Form of Self-Support
When we plan ahead, we’re not being rigid or controlling, we’re being kind to ourselves.
Planning ahead might look like:
- Making sure supplies are on hand before you need them
- Taking care of responsibilities in advance so they don’t weigh on you later
- Preparing for time taking care of grandchildren by planning ahead
Reduce anxiety by replenishing your emergency supplies so they will be available the next time you need them.
Reduce anxiety by taking good notes, learning what your next steps are, then planning to do a little every day.
Reduce anxiety by planning activities to do with grandchildren when you’re asked to take care of them. I’m spending a week taking care of my grandchildren while they are on a school vacation. I’ve planned an activity for us to do together that will take a week to complete. I’m going to bring all the supplies with me, so I won’t worry about finding the supplies where they live.
When these things are handled ahead of time, your brain gets to relax.
Planning Ahead Creates Space for Presence
Here’s the paradox: planning ahead actually helps you stay in the moment.
When errands are scheduled, tasks are assigned specific times, and chores are handled in advance (like taking out the trash or recycling) you’re no longer mentally tracking everything you might forget.
Instead of thinking, “I should remember to…” you can focus on what’s happening right now.
Planning and scheduling errands, tasks, and responsibilities reduces background anxiety. It quiets the mental noise and gives you permission to be completely where you are.
Presence Isn’t Accidental – It’s Prepared For
Living in the moment isn’t something that just happens. It’s often the result of good preparation.
When you plan ahead, you’re telling your future self, “I’ve got you.” And when your future self feels supported, your present self gets to relax and breathe.
Planning doesn’t pull you out of the moment.
It’s what makes the moment peaceful.
FAQs
Isn’t planning ahead the same as worrying about the future?
No. Worrying keeps tasks vague and unresolved. Planning gives them a specific place and time, which actually reduces anxiety and mental clutter.
How much planning is enough?
Enough to prevent surprises and quiet your mind. You don’t need to plan every minute, just enough to know that important tasks are handled or scheduled.
What if I like to be spontaneous?
Planning doesn’t eliminate spontaneity, it supports it. When responsibilities are taken care of ahead of time, you have more freedom to be spontaneous without stress.
Why does “later” create so much anxiety?
Because “later” isn’t a real time. Tasks assigned to later stay mentally active, pulling your attention away from the present moment.
How does planning ahead help with mindfulness?
Planning removes the background noise of unfinished tasks. When your brain isn’t busy reminding you what you might forget, it’s easier to focus on what’s happening now.
Later and Someday, the two days (not) on the calendar that cause the most anguish!
Of course, you’re SO RIGHT about every bit of this, but the problem is that you (and I, and most of our colleagues), are engaging in metacognition, thinking about our thinking, so we acknowledge how we feel about this planning now, and have a clear idea of how we’ll feel later if we do or do not start planning.
I was struck by your statement that, “Worrying about where to stay and how I’m going to get to these destinations is last on my list.” Yes, of course. *For us.* I always suspect that the people who continually fail to plan don’t truly believe that it’s not necessary, but fear the problems that will pop up in the near term. They envision not knowing how to make an educated selection among flight options or hotels, or how to answer the questions on the online forms, and so they procrastinate instead of planning, and the little elves in their heads tell them not to worry. As in, you and I would worry if we don’t barrel through the confusion to have a firm plan; but for many people, they’d subconsciously (or even consciously) prefer not to worry NOW because they know themselves in the now, and they are barely acquaintances with the future version of themselves. Not worrying themselves now, they may convince themselves, has no relation to not having to worry later on. Conversely, we’d rather worry our present selves (when there’s adequate time to recover) so as not to worry later. Or at least that’s my two cents. ;-)
Thank you for your two cents, Julie. I appreciate this persepective and believe you have hit the nail on the head.
I totally agree that planning is important, Diane. For us, we like to plan a few months ahead of the event or activity. It works pretty well. But if we are talking about retirement and where we will live, some tasks need to be completed first; our kids need to finish college and decide on their own careers before we move into the next phase of our lives. We like to plan in two time frames: short-term (less than 1 year) and long-term (5 to 20 years). It has helped us identify which plan to prioritize and reduce the stress of deciding which next steps are best for our family. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. It is an important reminder to plan for different goals in one’s family.
Sabrina, I really like your strategy of planning near term and long term. That makes total sense.
Great blog! You know that I love to plan.
I find that having a good plan in place allows for some spontaneous time. You know what you plan to do but you also can look ahead at what else is planned and make some shifts that will allow you to have lunch with a friend or go to an event.
Thanks, Jonda. Planning ahead gives you space to be flexible.
One part of your post reminded me of when I was a matched Big Sister and was expected to spend time with my Little Sister every week. If nothing was planned in advance, I would get super anxious when the weekend came, trying to think of a good activity for us. I could have saved myself a lot of grief by having a list of possibilities, perhaps broken down by indoor/outdoor so I could choose something based on the current season and weather conditions.
Yes, Janet! Everything is easier when you make a few plans!
I love what you said that being present doesn’t mean you never plan or future-think. And truthfully, while a focus might be on planning or the future, you can do that wholeheartedly WITH presence. You mentioned booking flights or hotels for a future trip. This is so true. However, while you’re researching and securing, you can be present and focused on what you’re doing in that moment.
It sounds like so much fun that you’ll be taking care of your grandkids for a week. And how wonderful that you have crafted a project to work on together (supplies included!) I know it will be a memorable and treasured time.
How true, Linda! I’ll share pictures from my week once I’m back in Atlanta.
We are going through a situation right now with extended family. Some of us want to move forward with planning a summer get together. Others are more “let’s see how things go.” I feel when you need to get tickets and accommodations, time is your friend. Of course, I am a planner.
I love the idea of planning enough to quiet your mind. This may differ by person, but it is a good way to think about the idea of “enough.” Once you have the basics figured out, I do agree that being spontaneous for smaller things gets easier!
I agree, Seana. If you wait and see how things go, you may lose the opportunity to get together.