Transcript item
Jo Gore: Hi, everybody! We're here today to talk about planning. So, Jo, are you a planner?
Jo Blackmore: Um, definitely, yes! I am a planner. Um, I like to plan most things in my life in advance. If I leave things to the last minute, I usually feel a little bit stressed. Um, and what about you, Jo, are you a planner too, or are you a more of a spontaneous type of person?
Jo Gore: Er, I don't know. I think I'm a mixture. But I don't think I'm as well organised as you. Um, and actually if I plan too much in advance, then I get quite stressed that, that too many commitments and I haven't left myself some room, you know, to decide things on the day, to go with the flow and, um, to improvise a bit more. So, I think I'm a mixture.
Jo Blackmore: Mm, so you like to plan but you also like to play it by ear sometimes.
Jo Gore: Exactly, yes. I like the opportunity to play it by ear definitely.
Jo Blackmore: And do you, um, do you write a list of things to do? A to-do list?
Jo Gore: I'm a big fan of the to-do list actually. That's probably my number one, or, well, my only organisational strategy. Um, I need to see things written down to feel organised and then, so, every day I write my list and I circle the priorities in order.
Jo Blackmore: So, you do sound like, really, like an organised person. I must say, I think of myself as a planner, but I don't always write a list of things to do, and actually I forget them! So, er, I need to take some of your organisation tips, I think.
Jo Gore: Thanks, Jo! I don't know if I'm the best model, but thank you for the compliment!
So, we'd like to hear from you, from our users. Um, do you consider yourself to be a planner? Or do you prefer to be spontaneous and go with the flow? Do you think you're well organised? Um, or do you need more organisational strategies in your life? Er, what do you think? Tell us about you. We're looking forward to hearing from you.
In this video, Jo and Jo talk about whether they like planning and organising things in advance, or whether they prefer to be spontaneous and go with the flow.
Watch the video to find out who's more organised!
To plan or not to plan?
Are you the kind of person who likes to plan? Or are you the more spontaneous type? Maybe you're a mixture of the two.
If avoiding surprises and mistakes is important to you, you're probably a planner. Planners usually think something is successful when it goes exactly as they expected.
For non-planners, freedom matters most. Spontaneous types like to leave some decisions open, so that they can go with the flow. They're happy when they've enjoyed themselves, even if not everything has gone perfectly.
People sometimes think of non-planners as more creative than planners. But is that really true? A planner might arrange their day to make sure they get time to do something creative. But if you're disorganised, you might get to the end of the day and find you have no time left for things you enjoy.
On the other hand, having too many plans can be stressful. It can also stop you enjoying the moment, or mean you can't adapt your thinking to fit a new situation.
As with most things in life, the answer is probably to find balance. Tell us what you think in the comments below.
Over to you
- Are you a planner or do you prefer to be spontaneous?
- Are you well organised or not very organised at all?
- Do you write to-do lists?
I'm definitetly more a planner than a spontanous person. I like to write down (in an app or on paper) everything I need to do and until when I need or want to do it. I find that writing to-do lists makes life less stressful, because once I've written my tasks down I'm not afraid to forget them anymore.
But the hardest part for me is planning realistically. I always think that I get more things done in a specific time than I actually do in the end.
Hi,
I considered a mixture people. I used to do plans but not to write a list, but on the other hand I am not very organized and it’s difficult to me make a list of things to do and, usually I forget what to do or.
I think is important no to planning everything, is okay to be spontaneous sometimes.
Hi everyone!
I think I'm a planner but not a good one. I like to know what are the things that need to be done, but when it comes to organize myself to do it I usually fail due to my lack of consistency. I need to be more realistic with the objectives that I set myself, I use to set objectives maybe too ambitious to be finished it during the time I'm thinking of, and most of the time I end up feeling stressed about not finishing them.
Hi @ggc_020190,
I think I'm a little like you ... I like to plan things and love to make a list of things that need to be done, but I often put off the things that need doing and do the ones that I don't mind doing. I also add them to the ongoing list and cross them out straightaway so it feels like I've achieved something! I would love to change this about myself ... maybe 2023 is the year that it will happen!
I hope you achieve your goals this year and I think it's a great start to realise that you need to be more realistic with your objectives. Good luck and all the best with 2023.❤
~Tina ツ
LearnEnglish team
Hello, I think based on situation is better than a planner or a spontaneous person. I 'm also a spontaneous type of person , it doesn't good for every time.
Hi, I'm Yuliya. I hope that 2023 will be better than last
Hello everybody, it depends of the range, if I'm rather well-organized or spontaneous. At work I have to be structured and well-prepared, because the job requires that. Also for my child it's important that I have at least a certain level of organisation and structure for instance in terms of meal times. However with my friends or family I like to be spontaneous and not to have too many plans. So we can do what everybody likes in that very moment and we don't stick in a plan just because we once made it some time ago.
And last but not least: studying English. I' m studying by my own without a teacher or language course so that I definitely need a plan in order to keep track of the learning matter.
Hi Maglou! Same here, when it comes to my job and my study routine I plan everything very well (even if I not always stick to my plan), but in my personal life I'm not too much of a planner. Which sometimes has the negative side effect that I wind up not doing or taking ages to do things I actually really want to do (like meeting a friend or making enhancements in my house).
I am a planner. I like to plan my work one week in advance so that I can schedule my work. And then I plan for the day also, that's usually the first task when I start my day. However, I am not a long-term planner, which I should do so that I can plan my savings, and see where I should reach five years down the line. Sometimes I need a lot of motivation to stick to the plans and be more disciplined.
hello everybody! I think I'm a mixture of the two. Sometimes, when I feel overwhelmed with to-do things and just don't even know how to start doing them, I do a simple list with everything I must do by the day. It helps me focus more and procrastinate less. Because I'm also a bit of a lazy person some days! At the same time, I don't plan my entire month or year on one of those planning calendars, because I don't find easy sticking to them.
Hi, I'm Donatella. I'm 60 years old and i'm a pensioner.
In the first part of my life i had to organize my life, for job family, holiday etc.
Now i would like to be more a spontaneus woman and live my life in freedom. But i don't want getting a lazy person....I will study english, make physical activity, read many books, without obligations.
Hello from Greece,
I am Aristea, and I am 56 years old. I made a big change in my business life last year. Usually I make plans for the next days but I also like to be somehow spontaneuous and find a balance in my life. For the time being I am facing a health issue with my back and I am looking forward to be active again with jogging, physical activities etc. I really hope to improve my English knowledge in 2023. Best regards from Thessaloniki.
hi everyone
i think i was a planner person till the day i quit my job , i wasn't that person who makes to do list every day but i like to organise my things i have to do all the day or in the next two days in my mind. After i left my job i go with the flow i tried to organise my plans but i can't i feel stress when i do that so i hope to find a new job because my day will be more organised and i'll go back to that planner person i used to be.
Cheers you all!
I can say that I'm that kind of person who is usually organised (mainly for school), and I even have a to-do list (usually used for homework and rarely for house-chores), but when it is required, I can be a little bit spontaneous and may improvise about what I'll be doing some time after.
However, I can add that I am a little bit chaotic and not really organised as I wish I could be.
Greetings ^^!
Hi everyone! Definitely I'm a planner person. When I was in college I used to schedule all my things to do. I used to write all my homeworks in a to do list and striked them out when they were completed. Then, when the pandemic started, I organized myself to have a time for taking classes, do excersice, have lunch, take time with my family and time to have a good rest. Now, I'm not still writing a To do list, but I'm still schedule all the things that I have to do through the day, and to be honest when I'm not doing the things in time, I feel so stress.
Hi everyone I believe I´m pretty organized person, by myself to be this way help me to fell security because I want to know exactly what I'm looking for and because that I normally safe time to do all I want. In this exactly moment I'm organizing all point of my life and I restart to do list to really know what I need to do to get all goal that I planned for this year.
Hello, well I don't want to sound pretentious but actually I consider myself as a pretty organised person, I'm in the planner team. In fact, I wrote in my planner to do this lesson today hahaha. I use a paper planner where I have the whole year already layouted to me, so I can write when I will do the things that I want to do and that I have to do, It helps me because I also leave some space for leisure and rest and because it was already planned I do not feel guilty for spending my afternoon watching Modern Family.
However, I can't do the "time blocking thing", having my hours scheduled is horrible, I know what I need to do this week or even what I must do today, but I need to decide in which moment I'm going to do it, I'm a night owl so everything schedule before 9 am it's certainly not going to happen. If i don't feel like doing it I won't, no questions ask, because I know that when I'll be in the mood to do that specific thing I will hyperfocus on that, what ends up making me more efficient.
And of course I write to-do lists, if it isn't written down its not going to happen, that's the rule hahahaha. Thank you.
Practicing my pronunciation: https://www.speakpipe.com/voice-recorder/msg/3fm4ze9hv9r4vfas
Hi all..It’s me sindhu. Well I am neither a planner nor a spontaneous person. I am a person who goes with the situation. The worst part of mine is I’m a perfectionist which makes me delay in many places. So I won’t advise anyone to be a perfectionist.