How to balance structure with sanity

Where does life fit in?

My current take on structure is one of flexibility.

There are people out in the world who schedule every last minute of their day. If that’s you, and it works, I’m not criticising. It just does not work for me.

I tried it.

It was not fun.

I felt like a caged animal with frequent feelings of failure when I inevitably didn’t estimate how long something would take correctly and ended up behind on my schedule — just one hour into my day.

I am someone that enjoys a level of spaciousness in my days. It’s not just a want, it actually helps me maintain my sanity. Too many decisions to make and I can get overwhelmed. My ADHD brain wasn’t made for processing multiple decisions at once. Single focus? Yes please.

So, if I don’t schedule every last minute of my day, what do I do instead?

I plan my day, on the day.

I take a short amount of time each morning to prime my mind to focus on what matters, and then I prioritise based on that. I’m always clear on my next few steps ahead which is all I need to be able to be effective in what I’m doing in the here and now.

I also plan my week, flexibly, at the start of the week.

This combination helps me remain flexible and adaptable yet focused and clear.

We live in an ever changing world. Things change and unexpected things come up.

Life happens.

And it will always happen.

So, I plan with that in mind and maintain my sanity.