Friday, July 3, 2009

Plan or UnPlan? Both!

Thank you all for your sweet comments on my unplanned 10K! Seriously, you guys inspire me to go out and keep moving when I feel less motivated. Does blogging have that effect on you, too? :P

I love making lists, scheduling my activities for the day, mapping out my runs, and obsessively planning my weekend. Since I do not have control over everything (Hello?!), things do not always go as planned. Sometimes, I'd just shrug it off but there are times when just a slight glitch would drive me crazy. Just like everything in life, I want to achieve a balance - to be able to create a workable plan and accepting (even embracing) the changes that may arise along the way. I think that this also applies to being healthy. For example, I try to run 5 days a week. Last week, I ran 3 days and walked/biked another 3 days instead. The normal me would have beat myself up for not sticking with the sked but surprisingly found myself satisfied. This morning, the decimal in my 2.4 mile run did not bother me a bit. At the start of the week, I would always have an idea what meals I'll be having. Somehow, I was not able to replenish my udon supply and so I had soba instead. Perfect for the summer heat! Breakfasts this week were fun with 'unplanned' oatmeal on a rainy morning and oat cakes with grated kabocha and cinnamon on a lazy Wednesday.

{Tokyo Tower Plan}

While planning is key for me, I know what does not work: Restrictive Planning. Detailed planning is necessary for projects (such as the Tokyo Tower construction, building an airplane, opening a business) and other work related stuff but when it comes to fitness, it is recipe for disaster methinks. Who was I kidding when I rationed the goodies shipped from the Philippines to be consumed in over 6 months?! Listening to my cravings and being gentle to myself was more like it. Having a flexible exercise schedule also makes me less anxious and look forward to what I can accomplish for the day. Of course, I understand that athletes and those with dietary restrictions would have to follow a stricter eating and exercise regimen. Those training for a race will also have to go with a sked to be able to achieve targets.

{Bright Outcome}

This flexible planning thing works for me health-wise. I'm sure it should also apply to life in general but that's an entirely different chunk I'm not capable of processing. :P Are you a planner? Or do you just go with the flow? Unplanned purchases are always more fun and sometimes replacing a recipe ingredient results to The Bomb, right?

5 comments:

  1. I am totally a planner, but I'm trying to get more spontaneous too, especially with buying new types of produce, etc! And I STILL need to find a store that carries kabocha already....

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  2. I'm definitely a planner! I need to have an idea of the what I'm doing, whether it's errands or workouts. That said, I try to be flexible when it comes to workouts because they're something that should fit into my life, not dictate or run it. Also, I find that being flexible with workouts can also increase the variety of them, which is a good thing.

    You asked me about yoga. I do go to classes when I can, but more often I do yoga at home to these podcasts I have downloaded on my computer. They're short (around 25min) sessions that I think are easy to fit into the day, and focus on slightly different things in the different podcasts. You can find them at: http://www.yogajournal.com/podcast/

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  3. To be able to create a workable plan and accepting (even embracing) the changes that may arise along the way....wow, that is just about my lifelong challenge. I am a total planner. I freak out when I don't know what's ahead, and it makes me uneasy to just...go with the flow. Totally trying to change this, but it seems like a long process!
    But I'm glad you're becoming more spontaneous...and living and enjoying each challenges that come your way!

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  4. I really like your thoughts on flexible planning. I also am obsessed with making lists and I really like having control so having that bit of spontaneity is really important.

    - Sagan

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  5. I'm usually not a planner, but I've had a bunch of things going on lately that have forced me to become a planner. If it wasn't for my trusty calendar on the blackberry, I'd miss EVERYTHING. Sometimes I hate sticking to a schedule...especially since I just went with the flow for so long!

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