The Summer Camp Schedule
Scheduling time to plan is the number one practice that I suggest to my clients. Not only does it force you to look at your life and make an action plan, but it holds you accountable to actually do things instead of staying in an indefinite state of planning. Personally, I schedule myself a 2 hour planning session once a month, and then do a quick 15 minute check-in every week to adjust anything that needs a quick update.
Now I won’t lie, these once a month planning sessions are stressful. When I sit down for a planning session, my stress spikes. Sitting down and planning everything out feels extremely overwhelming. However, I think the stress of planning is completely worth it because at the end of this high-stress session, I have a month full of planned actions to look forward to and white space that is truly open and ready for possibility. Now I can (and will) move things around as new things come up, but accounting for everything I need to do ahead of time leaves my white space ACTUALLY EMPTY. By leaving this empty space, I don’t have the lingering feeling of “I should be doing something,” but I have the peace that I have already accounted for everything and now I can rest or create.
But Alyssa, won’t having everything in my calendar just make me feel busier and more stressed? Here’s the secret:
Being busy is not actually the cause of stress. The cause of stress is feeling like you don't have time to do the things you want or need to do.
Think of a children’s summer camp. At summer camp, your days are packed with different activities. Fishing, crafts, canoeing, campfires- you name it. However, these busy summer camp days did not cause burn out. If anything, they gave you MORE energy. Because you didn’t have to THINK about what you needed to be doing, you just had your activities laid out for you and then free time to do with as you please. So when you plan out your days and account for all your “need to dos,” you can actually focus on enjoying the task at hand and have the “free time” to choose your own adventure.
So how can you make your life feel a little more like summer camp? How can you set yourself up for enjoyment and possibility? Maybe scheduling a planning session is a good place to start.
