I know it’s only been 4 or 5 days since I started applying this philosophically derived planning and management system, but I’m already feeling good about it. It’s the right balance of having a plan while still being flexible enough to deal with life.

Like today was the Champions Trophy final between India and New Zealand. In my older systems, if the day wasn’t off, I would have felt guilty for watching cricket most of the day. If the day was a holiday, but I hadn’t been very productive during the previous days, I would have still felt guilty. But today, I did some writing in the morning before the match began and since I am on track for this week’s project, I was able to enjoy watching the match.

From experience I know the trap that comes next. Whenever I have some good days, I get the urge to do even more. As India was getting close to winning the match, I was thinking about all the things I could add to my plan. I could do a proper fitness routine with strict goals to hit in terms of kilometers run and number of push ups and pull ups etc. I could add an hour of focused drawing practice at night every day. I could add an hour of guitar practice after breakfast in the morning. I could read in bed before sleeping.

But this is a trap. It is a sneaky part of me that’s using my happiness to set me up for failure. I’ll try too hard too soon and fail and then start feeling low again. Fortunately, I’ve learned to recognize it and I’m not falling for this trap anymore. I’m going to stick with the current plan, thank you very much. If I want to do more, I am always welcome to try. But the official plan doesn’t change. It’s just one project per week that matters. Everything else is extra.

Cover Photo by Jordan Whitfield on Unsplash