by Nancy Casey
When we plan, we make predictions. We expect things to go a certain way, and we make a plan for how we’ll fit into the future.
This whole year has been a lesson about what can happen to plans when the future isn’t what we expected.
What are your plans now?
Write about your plans today. Your solid plans. Your plans for fitting into the future the way you expect it to happen.
What is your plan for the next ten minutes? The next few hours? The rest of the day or week? Do you have plans for what you will eat? What are you planning to listen to or watch? Where do you plan to sleep?
You have plans that keep your household running and your hygiene up-to-date. Some people have jobs that involve lots of planning. Sometimes we plan for certain businesses to be open or city services to work. Do you have plans to stay in? Plans to go out?
Ask yourself which parts of your future feel solid. They are probably the parts that you don’t worry about. The areas of your life where it is safe to make plans.
Did the pandemic cause you to set new plans in motion? Did you re-make or postpone a plan? Or replace an old plan with a new one?
Maybe you have a plan not to plan anything. Are you planning to let yourself off the hook for any particular expectations? Are you planning to set certain worries aside?
As you set up your page, steer your mind away from the uncertain parts of your future and begin to notice the solid plans that you do have, big and small.
Draw a line at the top where the title will go. Mark off a space where you can doodle or draw if you like. Or you can draw and decorate a frame around the whole page.
Get your pen started by writing, “I’m planning…” and write whatever comes to mind. If you get stuck, draw or doodle. Go back and forth between drawing and writing until the page is full.
Then go back over your work. Make small changes if you want to. Add more decoration if there is room. Think up a title.
Write the title at the top of the page. Write the date on it too, along with a signature or your initials.
Here is an example of what someone could write.
You can share your work by posting it as a comment below. You can type it in, or take a photo of it and upload the image.
Nancy Casey has lived in Latah County for many years. You can find more of her work here. It’s not possible to have an in-person Write-For-You class at the Recovery Center at this time, but if you are interested in writing coaching, contact Nancy or the Latah Recovery Center.
Latah Recovery Community Center, Inc. 