default.organize

Everyone has hopefully heard the phrase “a place for everything, and everything in it’s place”. When I was younger I thought those who planned far in advance were either boring or not able to adjust to the spontaneity of life, a frame of mind in which I thrived!

(A theme throughout my blogs, you will notice, will be “As I Get Older.”)

So, AIGO (😉) I’m better understanding that planning is not only a good activity but an essential part of leading a fulfilled and meaningful life. There is a fine balance between the ability to cope with the unknown and being able to do what YOU would like. This balance can be slightly tilted in our favor by managing and condensing our intended / deliberate activities to leave more and, dare I say structured, time for the spontaneous / reactive activities.

I was as surprised as you may be when the realization dawned on me that the ‘boring’ act of planning enabled me to accomplish more things I wanted while leaving ample time to deal with the pesky unplanned projects and needs that found themselves into my inbox. Planning doesn’t have to consist of an awe-inspiring calendar of well-planned events but the very simple task of pre-labeling a folder for each month of the year. Maybe in the expense app you have for work creating in-advance the monthly expense log. For our family my wife has a pre-determined dinner menu, so if anyone comes to our house there is no need to ask “what’s for dinner”—just look at the menu on the refrigerator!

Don’t wait for Jan 1, 2026 to begin organizing your life. You could start today by simply grabbing six folders or creating July - Dec, 2025 expense logs or deciding which city you will travel to for sales calls (relevant to me). As themed in my blog from last week “default.that-dad” (found here) it is not WHEN you begin planning but THAT you begin planning.

Today, discover something in your life you need a ‘place’ for, create that ‘place’ for the remainder of 2025 and feel comforted and relieved that it has a home.

Smile and enjoy the day!