OK, not entirely – but you shouldn’t be only concentrating on the future while you are living in the today. Too many people are unhappy in life because they are never “accomplishing” their “goals” that they are constantly setting for themselves day in and day out. Instead of taking the time to enjoy what they are doing right now, they are only focused on the future…possibly missing out on some great stuff going on in the present. I used to live the “I will do that when…” lifestyle, and while it sometimes still creeps in and I have to fight it off, I am doing my best to live the “now” lifestyle. After all, tomorrow may not come — so I want to make the best of today. Here are a few things to try out for yourself if you are too busy making plans and living for tomorrow while missing out on today:
Don’t make plans for next weekend. Just wake up Saturday or Sunday with no plans at all and see where your day takes you. A lot of people have trouble with this concept (I know I did), so it might be hard at first. But spending a day doing whatever comes to mind can be a very freeing experience.
Spend a day doing nothing — but not at home. Go to a park for a day to read, head to the beach to people-watch, go for a drive, anything…just don’t stay at home thinking about what needs to get done.
Start a new To-Do list. Are you feeling brave? Throw out that long To-Do list and start over. I bet many of those projects that were on the list don’t get added back in.
Stop planning for tomorrow. Plan for today instead. What can you do today to make things better? Easier? Simpler? Concentrate on today instead of next year.
Whatever you are worrying about either already happened or will happen later. Try not to waste too much time focusing on “what if” scenarios. You are living RIGHT NOW – not tomorrow or yesterday.
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If you haven’t read it already, I highly recommend reading The Power of Now by Ekhart Tolle. It can help teach you to live “in the now” rather than in the past or in the future. We can truly only control what is going on at this very moment, so by learning to stop planning so much for later and instead to start living now can go a long way to a simple, happy life. So stop making plans, and start making a life you can live right now!
Sometimes you have to plan to not have plans. I live with someone who loves to fill in all the calender slots. My solution is to pick out some weekends in the next few months and I write “Plans” on the day. That way, when my husband is on the phone with someone and looking at the calender he says, “Oh, it looks like we have plans that day.” Works like a charm.
Busy reading the Power of Now, really is an excellent book. I love the idea of being present in my own life, accepting each moment for what it is and not rejecting the realities of now can’t believe I didn’t happen on it before it was suggested to me by a friend a month ago.
What I love about reading minimalists’ blogs is that I will hear the same message bounced around again and again. Unlike reading personal finance blogs, where I will read about the important of Roth IRAs for the umpteenth time, I like reading about spontaneity.
I’m an INTJ, which is merely descriptive and not defining. I like to have schedules and know exactly where I’m going at a certain time. I actively dislike spontaneity because it muddies up my precise world. However, one of my current best friends is practically the definition of spontaneous. I cannot plan anything with her beyond the next few hours, because she will almost certainly bail on me if it’s as far away as tomorrow.
I appreciate the difference in perspective, but I cling to my schedules and reliability. For some people, scheduling gives them a headache and stresses them unduly, but I love schedules and plans. They give me a sense of direction.
delete plz.
I love it when I have time to do the no plans kind of day or moment…
I love this article. I have this friend who is always making plans and it sucks, so I just tell her these simple things and she backed off. Now we are friends, but she doesn’t bother to make plans with me but she still hangs with me. Thxs @Simpleorganizedlife!! Yo really helped.