Planning for a bad day
I’m having a bad day.
I’m not exactly the best version of myself today.
The devil on my shoulder is shouting louder than the angel on the other shoulder.
I had planned to do something different than what I’m doing right now, but my day started all wrong, I didn’t sleep very well, the weather is horrible, I’m having a bad hair-day.
Sometimes days are just bad.
It’s annoying and dissatisfying to be a not so great, not so productive, version of oneself. It’s a situation that I prefer to avoid or get out of as quickly as possible.
When I’m having a good day I tend to forget the bad days. Which is probably not such a bad thing, I don’t think it’s particularly healthy to dwell in misery. But forgetting the bad days, or ignoring their
existence is a deluding act.
If I’m discussing a new project with coworkers or clients, I’m usually in a good mood. I like the idea phase of a project. In that situation I’d rather not be reminded of the not so great version of me. So if a coworker or a client asks me, how long I’d estimate a specific task to take, I tend to want to focus on a best case scenario. I’d like to believe that I can stay the best version of myself during the entire project.
If I do a project plan, where my estimates are based on work being done, by the best version of me, my estimates will reflect a best case scenario. If I neglect reality and plan while ignoring the risks of unforeseen events and bad days, I’ll be creating an unrealistic project plan. An overly optimistic project plan.
If reality hits while in the process of the project and unforeseen events hinders the work or bad days happen, I won’t be able to meet the deadlines of the project plan. And then bad days get’s even worse.
Today I had planned to do some of the less exiting and less stimulating tasks of running a company, but because I’m the not so great version of me, I’m ignoring my plan and postponing the tasks till later, while focusing on things that makes me feel better.
The good thing is: When I planned my weekly schedule, I remembered that bad days happen. I didn’t plan based on the best version of me, but rather on an average version of me, where bad days and good days are equally pressent. So postponing todays to-do’s is not going to have a drastic effect on my overall plans, I still have time to catch up on the things I was supposed to do today.
Admittedly — it has taken me some time to figure out how many bad days and how many good days I should plan with, but I’ve learned (the hard way) that I have to remember reality and calculate with bad days and less great versions of me, to help myself from falling down that black hole of guilt and self loathing when I don’t follow my own schedules to the point.
At least I know exactly what tasks I’m postponing, because I did the planning (Yes, I’m a goody good shoes, but bare with me, I’m having a bad day so I’m allowing myself to dwell on the good things that I’ve done recently).
And now I hear the devil on my shoulder calling out for Netflix, chocolate and take away….
