you’re planning wrong
most plans are written with the unspoken goal of just developing a good plan.
i remember creating a spreadsheet about my finances, subscriptions to be precise. in many ways, it was a plan — a tool to regain control of my expenses after losing track and getting hit by surprise renewal emails. i poured everything into it: listing my subscriptions, their costs, and purposes. it felt thorough and actionable.
but i haven’t gone back to it, and maybe i don’t need to. the most important part of that plan wasn’t keeping it updated; it was the clarity it gave me. two takeaways stood out — canceling an extra music subscription and switching to free ai alternatives. and that’s exactly what i did. i canceled my spotify subscription, got a midjourney account from a client instead, and used my educational emails to access services that were previously out of reach. i also pre-funded my subscription account and debit card with enough money to cover the rest of the year for services like youtube, which only allow monthly payments in my region.
and just like that, the spreadsheet had served its purpose.
that’s the thing about plans — they don’t need to be perfect or meticulously maintained to make an impact. the value often lies in the process of creating them and the decisions they inspire. my spreadsheet didn’t require constant updates or attention because the actions i took from it were enough to change my financial habits and set me on a better course.
your plans should work the same way. let them have takeaways — things you need to do daily or a single step you can take right now to move closer to your goal. once you’ve extracted that value, shove them somewhere, preferably digitally, and let them gather digital dust.
the next time you stumble upon them, you might surprise yourself. you might find that you’ve not only achieved your goals but also exceeded them in unexpected ways. worst-case scenario? you become a better version of yourself, someone capable of taking action as needed without being tethered to a rigid framework.
so go ahead, make your plans, whether they’re detailed spreadsheets or rough notes. use them to gain clarity, act on them, and don’t feel guilty for abandoning them once they’ve done their job. plans, like my spreadsheet, are meant to work for you — not the other way around.
