I know this may come to a shock to some of you (those who don’t have the good fortune of knowing me intimately), but I am a just a tad neurotic. Well, that may be a bit of understatement. I’m actually pretty neurotic, bordering on full-blown OCD. But it’s really not as bad as it sounds. See, I have a plan for, well, just about everything and some people (ahem, Boyfriend) thinks that’s insane. Me? I don’t see what’s wrong with having a plan and wanting, hoping, for everything to go according to schedule. I actually think this is a good thing. The way I see it, having a plan for life means having goals and a solid plan and timeline for achieving those goals. Nothing wrong with that, is there?
Back in my college days, the plan was to land an internship in NYC that would ultimately lead me to an awesome job in the city when I graduated college that would help me land a great apartment in or around the city. And I did all of the above. Senior year of college I landed a great internship at a mid-sized PR firm in the city where I worked my butt off, which, did ultimately lead to my first job in the city immediately after graduating. Six months later I signed the lease on my first apartment in a great area of Queens, which is the area that I still live in today, except in a bigger apartment.
After a career and housing, next on the list was companionship that would ultimately lead to a husband and children. My plan was to get married no later than 27 and start popping out my first of four children before I was thirty. Piece of cake, right? Wrong. I’m nearing 27 and I have a man, but no ring and no buns in the oven. Boyfriend claims my timeline freaks him out. Well to that I say, get on board or get out! I’ve begrudingly shifted my timeline to “compromise,” which is something that I’m not a fan of, to meet his needs, but girlfriend isn’t going to wait forever!
And it isn’t just the big things that I plan for, it’s the little things too. Like what I hope to accomplish over the weekend. Throughout the week I write down a bunch of things in my trusty planner that I hope to accomplish over the weekend like, catching up on sleep, going to the gym, watching a week’s worth of “General Hospital,” cleaning, drinking a bottle of sangria, you get the picture. Anyway, I later transfer all of this information onto a nealty-written post-it note, of which I have stacks and stacks of, just to make sure I don’t forget anything. I didn’t think there was anything wrong with this, until Boyfriend told me that I was insane. However, what he calls insane, I call smart living. I’m a busy gal, working 12-hour days, and there are certain things that I must accomplish over the weekend and, thanks to my trusty post-it notes, I usually wind up getting everything done that I need to, leaving me with a feeling of accomplishment and relief. Which is better than not getting everything done, which leaves me with a feeling of uneasiness and anxiety, because I’m crazy like that.
What do you think? Is my constant planning the work of a raving lunatic, or a master genius??
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=267bbc00-04a7-4f9d-b206-3f781c3012ae)
February 28th, 2009 at 10:54 pm
I have an app on my iPhone that allows me to make lists (to-dos, groceries I need, people to kill, etc.) that I am pretty fond of utilizing, as a compulsive list-maker. But for me personally, marriage is not one of those to-dos. You got your whole life to be tied down to a man!! What’s the rush!?
March 1st, 2009 at 10:46 am
your post-it notes are what you make you who you are. if it wasn’t for the post-it notes i would’ve found a different bff all those years ago. but you’re so easy to laugh at it’s just too convenient a friendship to move on.
March 1st, 2009 at 2:12 pm
Nothing wrong with that! I’m an obsessive note writer myself…thank god for post-its!
March 1st, 2009 at 2:32 pm
Nothing wrong with any of that. I plan my entire day out, minute to minute, sometimes in the morning but sometimes even the night before. I think it’s awesome. I never actually stick to the plan, but making lists and schedules just proves that it is possible to get everything done in a specific time-period (even if it doesn’t end up happening most of the time).
March 1st, 2009 at 3:07 pm
You have a point about the whole marriage thing, MM, but I want to start having babies before I get too old and I’d like to be married before that happens. Also, if I’m going to be dating one guy who expects me to be monogamous, might as well make it official, right? Otherwise, I want the option to be able to date other guys!!
Sam, I’m glad I can keep you entertained. It’s my main goal in life. Riiiiiiight.
Abe and Zap, thanks for the support! It’s comforting to know that there are others out there like me. We should start a support group . . .
March 1st, 2009 at 7:23 pm
Babies shmabies! Give me a house full of puppies! But hey, diff’rent strokes for diff’rent folks.
March 2nd, 2009 at 11:00 am
Marilyn, what’s the name of that iPhone ap? I still make to-do lists in my journal…clearly I need to move into the 21st century.
March 10th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
I just really like making lists so I’m down for what you’re doing. I defiantely agree with planning for the bigger things–I want to have three kids-(girl-boy-girl) and start having them at 27-28. I want to be married at 30 and I want to start working on my own business when I’m 35. I definately believe in writing down your goals and working your butt off to attain them. *hoorah for you*