Let’s Flow: 30 Days of No Planning

From the headline, it might seem this is some kind of self-realization-lets-go-backpacking kind of article. No, it’s not.

Partially it is, but only figuratively.

So, considering you all are reading this blog in 2022, you already have had first-hand experience of what minimal human interaction can do to all of us. It could be wonderfully tragic or terribly delightful. For me, it was both, but in between these extreme emotions, I found a ground where I can come close to going with the flow (For the past 2 years, this translates into – wave crashing onto you, but okay) but also not letting the current take me to the wrong shore.

But mind you I could find this “almost balance” after being drifted to numerous wrong shores, and being overly stubborn to ever let the flow touch me.

To fix this, I came up with an exercise to help me become flexible with what reality has to offer and simultaneously how I can create my own reality.

There was a time in the last two years when I had become overly specific about what my day, week, year should look like. I guess it came from the fact that everything else around me was not sticking to the status quo, and hence not going as I imagined it to be. Therefore, I started overplanning what I could control. As a side note, I am not the kind of person who likes to be micro-managed, but I was doing exactly that to myself.

The consequence was that when things won’t go the way I planned them, I would blame my inability to stick to the plan, and instead of making a reasonable plan, I would think of myself as a superhuman and decide to clear all the backlog as well as the new jumbo plan.

Though I don’t say planning is the evil here, very much the opposite. It has helped me to be on the time, and prioritize my tasks. I am still a fan of planning, be it an itinerary or my tomorrow. But it becomes problematic when we start to value our worth by how productive (as per the capitalist definition) we are, and lose sight of what are the factors that make us our productive selves.

To bring back my sane planning, the one that does not take my peace away or throws me into a whirlpool of regret, I decided to not plan for 30 days. It took me many months before I could actually achieve the 30-day-no-planning streak. But during the process, I realized that I could do this exercise in intervals to become better friends with the flow.

This exercise (I call it – Let’s Flow) has helped me realize: –

The power of our subconscious
The power of universe (believing in the flow)
The power of self-belief

Here are the Steps for Let’s Flow:-

Step 1

Have a notebook/diary in place that has enough space for you to write about every day and every week

Step 2

Write everything that makes you feel happy or peaceful. It could be dancing, cooking, strolling, trying a new hairstyle (literally ANYTHING that energizes you or puts you in a better mood)

Step 3

Write down the names of people who bring you joy, love, or peace.

Step 4

If you have a planning book/app, restrain yourself from opening it (if it helps, ask someone to hide it for you)

Step 5

Every night for 30 days, write down the tasks (traditionally productive) that you accomplished.

Note the things you did in the day which made you happy, and the people you talked to that made you feel good (even if it was just a mundane conversation with your mom).

Step 6

At the end of every week, write down the events that brought you joy, or an activity/song that made you feel extremely peaceful.

Read through all the previous 7 days tasks that you accomplished. Re-visit the activities/ conversations.

Step 7

Keep repeating steps 4 to 6 for 30 days. Focus on what gives you a sense of satisfaction, what brings you peace, what makes you doubtful, and what triggers extreme emotions.

At the end of 30 days, I can bet you would have discovered many new things about yourself!

You would be wondering how is this going to help you realize the 3 things I mentioned previously. Well, here is how: –

One

Through this exercise, you are becoming more aware of your thoughts, so when you drift into the automatic mode (subconscious) you gradually also become aware of thoughts emerging from there. When you intentionally let go of it and change it with new patterns – you are changing your “automatic mode” for the better.

Two

When you give up planning for a short while, you give up the notion that if you don’t plan, nothing will happen correctly. This is when you are acquainted with the power of the universe’s flow.

In other words, you will realize that all the work that you have done till now and the energy that you emanate has already paved a way for you. So, sometimes becoming flexible with what life has to offer you will help you discover new opportunities.

Further, you would notice that even the most trivial conversations and activities contribute to your growth, and hence they should not be dismissed as unproductive.

Three

When you don’t plan, and still go about your day, at the end of 30 days you will realize that you can still accomplish things (or find new ways to become even more productive and peaceful). This realization is one of the most important because it makes you acknowledge that you don’t achieve things because you are walking a charted path, rather because you are basically awesome!

It gives you this booster dose of self-belief on what all you can do! Whether you plan or not, you are still going to get things for which you have worked and what is meant for you.

When the correct path seems far from you, and you keep all the resistance away for a while, like the way you put away your planning diary, the flow takes over and synchronizes you with it.

So, when you resume planning again, you are actually planning for what is best for you, and becoming more open to ideas/ experiences you have never went for.

Doing this exercise brought a sense of being unrestricted to endless possibilities, and I hope it does the same for you all!

Sugar Words