The title of this post is “Good Intentions Gone Bad!” That was the story I lived for many years as an OCP (Organizationally Challenged Person)
I know you know what I mean, we have all good intentions of making that gift, or finishing that project or sending that card but because of our “disorder” only one slipper gets crocheted, the room is only half painted, and the card sits in a pile, addressed and never mailed…
Since I got organized, those things don’t happen anymore… but something happened to me recently that helped me see that this is still a part of my life in some areas and I’m grateful that I’ve seen it (we can’t change what we don’t know needs to be changed) …
Ok… let me begin with the story.
I just got back from a trip to Vietnam.
It didn’t turn out how I expected. There was a Typhoon (their version of a hurricane).
The vacation actually started out off-kilter.
The Vietnam trip was planned with a group of about 20 and I was going to stay in a room with 2 other women. One of the women I was rooming with made reservations for us and accidentally made them for the wrong hotel (it was actually easy to do, and one other person made the same mistake, 2 hotels with similar names in the same town!).
The hotel we were supposed to stay in was all booked and yeah, we were all bummed, but we made the best of the day and tried to figure out how to get closer to the rest of the group in the morning.
We did end up getting closer. Just about 50 feet from that hotel was another just as lovely! (I liked it better actually) We were still not together, but at least it was easier for us to all hang out.
When we moved into the new hotel, we had a great 1st day together. We took a walking tour of HoiAn and a boat ride during their lantern festival. Great fun and we were together.
Then that evening, it began. There was intense wind during the night and we knew something was not right.
It started to rain and didn’t stop. We went to breakfast in a torrential downpour, ankle deep in water going in and knee deep going out. We were told that we would probably be evacuated.
There were trips planned and sightseeing tours to look forward to. None of them could happen.
We woke up the next day to the grass and tiki bar under water and the river at our back door. We had to get in a large boat, and then into smaller ones, 4 at a time, with our luggage in tow to a sister hotel.
We were again separated and again, making the best of it.
We all spent the night once again, one group at one hotel and the other group at another.
Luckily, we were made aware of a 5-star hotel that had no water issues and the area’s streets were not gondola ready.
We spent the next couple days in overcast and still unable to go on any trips but now at least we were all together (and dry).
Now for the “Ah Ha moment” I mentioned in the intro…
I had what I thought was a great idea when I got to the airport… to do live videos of my trip, offering travel tips as I went along, and I thought I could share my experience as well.
Well, it turned out that I did that as a spur of the moment decision and thought that it would be easy. What needs to be planned? I’ll just move on inspiration! Um… WHAT?! Isn’t that the same thing that got me into trouble when I was an unreformed slob?!
This is what I meant by what I wrote in my introduction: “…something happened to me recently that helped me see that this is still a part of my life…” (good intentions gone bad)
Why didn’t it work?
I made an announcement of a good intention (sharing travel tips in real time) but I didn’t employ my Tidy Tutor principals to it!
I sincerely thought that it would be different than housework. That I didn’t need a plan in place to be sure that all I set out to do would happen… WRONG!
No matter what we do we need a plan, or we can’t keep on track.
Doing things on the fly, without a plan doesn’t allow for any kind of problems that could come up… And does not allow for the kind of personalities that we have.
My spur of the moment plan? BIG MISTAKE – Huge (as Pretty Woman said to the shopkeepers) I could not do what I promised.
There is a reason that some phrases stand the test of time… “Failing to plan equals planning to fail!”
When I found the book “Sidetracked Home Executives” in 1989 and began to apply what I was learning so much changed for me, not only the house getting cleaned up and maintained but my self-esteem rose and things that I needed to plan like birthday parties and long-term projects like Christmas and going back to college became manageable, doable… almost easy!
You don’t know it but since I’ve sold my house and began working on The Tidy Tutor full time I have been sooooo off! Feeling like I’m walking through life with my foot in a bucket. Getting where I need to go but not without difficulty, not very effectively and certainly uncomfortably!
The Vietnam experience made me realize that I haven’t set up a new system for my new life. Not housekeeping but life living. The new place I find myself with other responsibilities and with different things to do and accomplish and with a different identity.
“Winging it” NEVER worked before… I didn’t realize that is what I was doing in so many aspects at this stage of my life, but it was, it is…
And with this awareness, it’s about to stop now!
One of the things that I offer as The Tidy Tutor is hindsight. I fall in the holes and then show you where they are and what to do instead. I find out what not to do and then discover what to do instead and share it with you.
So, for this message what I have to offer you is an apology for the promise I didn’t keep and a soon to come new year plan to help with more than just housework and long-term home and family projects. But life projects… life management, reaching life goals and sticking to them! 🙂
Thank you for being in my world and being connected with me. This is not a business for me it is a calling, and I’m so incredibly thankful for you.
Much Love!
Kathy
PS
If you will be in or you live in the New Jersey / New York area Pam Young and I will be having a luncheon where we will be talking about getting the New Year off to a great start with a plan for the entire year to stay focused and be successful in making your goals a reality. CLICK HERE to RSVP and find out more.