The Insanity of being a planner

After a day like today, I question why I do what I do and why I am the way I am.  As a project manager, I am responsible for making sure stuff gets done on time and within budget and if it doesn’t get done, it’s my job to figure out why, get it fixed, back on schedule and done.   Now on a day like today, with deadlines looming (like two days away), changing requirements, missing resources, a ton of stress and unhappy team members, I put my head in my hands and asked WHY in the world did I decide to do this for a living?  It is sometimes a thankless job.  Then I had to do some self-reflection.  I realized today that I am a planner.   I LOVE what I do.  Sounds crazy…right????  Well…I have to admit that I have a plan for EVERYTHING.  I put everything on my calendar whether it is work or personal related.  I typically even have a checklist, so I don’t miss anything.  I plan my route when I’m out running errands so that the trip goes smoothly.  I plan what stores I’m going to go to when I go to the mall.  I plan to the point where it drives my family nuts most of the time.  The only time I don’t plan is when I go on vacation.  Which is when I should have a plan…lol.  So….one might ask “how did Sherry get that way”? 

Well…it started with my grandmother who used to tell me, a woman should always have a plan.  I had no idea what she was talking about.  My grandmother always seemed to have it together, or at least that is what I thought. I remember she would take me to roller-skating. She would ask me if I had an extra pair of socks…. check.  Kneepads…check.  Did you go to the bathroom…opps…OK…check.  Do you have your jacket….check.  Did you get your roller skates…check.    Once she verified that I had everything, and then she ran through the list of all the stops before we actually made it to the skating rink.  We would stop at the bank for some change (money so we can get into the rink and get my hot dog and Icee), the gas station for gas, the store for snacks  (candy because she refused to pay for candy at the rink) and then the skating rink.  When we got done at the rink, she would take me out for a bite to eat at the McDonald's on Swope Parkway (for those that remember when it was open).    That was our process EVERY TIME she took me skating.  In my little mind, I thought that is how it was supposed to be done.  You have a checklist and a plan. 

So now, many years later, I have to blame my lovely grandmother for the way I am today.  I suppose being a planner isn’t such a bad thing (at least in my mind).  My typical day has me sitting in front of my work and personal laptop.  I’m also a multitasker.  I respond to work and personal emails on both laptops.  I’m looking up stuff, researching, conducting conference calls, taking notes, responding to text messages, updating calendars, scheduling meetings, Instant message coworkers and somehow still manage to function.  Believe it or not, I plan and accomplish everything I set out to do in both worlds.  I like structure and organization and the opposite of that drives me NUTS…LOL.  Surely there has to be a happy medium where we are all sane with my planning tendencies.   I just wish I knew what that was.  If I don’t plan, at least in my personal life, things don’t get done.  In my professional life, I definitely have to plan schedules; tasks and resources or nothing will get done.  Do I want to pull my hair out sometimes?  Yep…. especially after being on a conference call and the plan changes.   Do I drive my project team crazy with my planning…absolutely!!   Now…let me ask those same questions from a personal perspective.  Personally, I try very hard to plan and there are times when the plan doesn’t go as planned.  Do I have to adjust the plan to make sure things get done???  YEP.  Do I drive my project team..OOPS, I meant my family crazy planning????  YEP. 

What’s crazy, is that now, I have a granddaughter and she watches everything that I do.  I wonder, if she will grow up to be a planner/multi-tasker.  I wonder will she look back on the times that we will have together and be writing a similar story when she grows up.  I hope that she learns although it is good to have a plan, that it is OK to just go with the flow sometimes and ride the wave.  I hope she will learn that even with the best plan, nothing goes as plans.  I hope that even with all the insanity of being organized that she enjoys her life as much as I am enjoying my crazy life.