Friends, do you like to plan things out way ahead of time or do you prefer to be more spontaneous, to bounce around and go with the flow, as it were?
I am not a planner. In fact, I resist planning. That's just the way I am (and always have been).
For example, it pains me to have to make reservations for a vacation half a year ahead of time; I'd much rather decide a few weeks before when I'm feeling like I need a vacation, and then choose from among whatever options remain available. I don't think about what might have been available if I'd planned ahead. Whatever it was wouldn't have been worth the effort of scheduling so far in advance. (This was challenging when I worked in an office and had to select my summer vacation time many months in advance, as you can imagine.)
I'm the same with my sewing. I decide what I want to create with very little forethought. I don't decide that in July I'm going to make such-and-such, in August this, and in September this. How do I know whether or not I will still want to make such-and-such in July? You can see why scheduling things like Sew-Alongs can be hard for someone like me.
Of course, my life is set up to accommodate a spontaneous lifestyle more than many people's are. I don't have a set schedule week-to-week right now; I don't have children. And with regard to sewing, I have the Garment District just blocks away so if I need lace trim or silk thread or a new treadle belt all of a sudden, I can get it. If I want to make a cocktail dress tomorrow, I can buy the taffeta today.
I'm the same way with this blog. I prefer to write about what I want to write about when I want to write about it. I've met well-known bloggers (I won't name names but you know them) who schedule their blogs out weeks in advance, and will have completed next Thursday's post seven Sundays before. So not me. I'm still finishing today's entry while you're reading this. (OK, I exaggerate.)
Planning (or the lack thereof) is not to be confused with discipline and organization, of course. You can be disciplined and organized but still not like to plan, right?
The downside to all this, if there is one, is that things here can get a little shapeless: today a "Yea or Nay" entry, tomorrow decluttering, suddenly a new sewing machine, Cathy reappears, etc. I wonder if you ever find it confusing.
Speaking of Cathy, after reviewing the results of our last photoshoot, I've begun thinking it might be time for a minor makeover, don't you? Maybe a new hairstyle, a beauty mark, or a wider lip line. I'd hate to have my cousin stuck in a style rut. Blonde for summer?
But back to planning -- or not planning.
I sometimes wonder if it would be better to invest some time in a plan, whatever plan that might be. Otherwise one risks always reacting to the situation at hand rather than setting out with a clear road map. Or is that a good thing since things inevitably change anyway?
I'm interested to know what you think.
If you have a sewing (or some other) blog, do you map out what you'll be blogging about days (or weeks) in advance, and then stick to it? What are the benefits and the downsides to this?
In general, do you like to plan or are you more of a spontaneous type? Do you map out life and/or sewing goals (married by 30, two kids by 35, sewing your own jeans by 40) -- or do you just do as you please when you want to do it? Do you think women plan more than men do (biological clock and all that)?
Enquiring minds want to know!
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