A written budget that has “fuck it” money as a line item.
I don’t plan for the future, that’s how.
The main “planning” I did was related to my job. I saved a few months of expenses in a savings account. Enough so if I lost my job I’d be able to survive for at least a few months. That removed a ton of stress from the day to day of work since I knew I could always step back if I really had to and if I lost my job I wouldn’t starve.
Essentially I “planned” enough to give me the freedom to live in the moment with less worry.
You figure out where you want to go. Plan how to get there, and then do things in the present to get there. Don’t get stressed out how things turn out; you can only really have some notion of control of what you are doing. If the current plan doesn’t work, change it, and keep doing it, until you get there, or not.
Reserve time for planning. Plan the next day the day before, the next week the week before, and so on. I recommend using the Get Things Done strategy.
Financially I save for a 401K and have the company match it. Then online off of what’s left over.
As far as doing things, we plan for larger vacations and events out 1 year. If it’s a less costly or time consuming thing locally we plan those by the week or month.
We don’t do a lot spur of the moment. Keeps the cost down and we’re busy enough as it is with 3 kids.
Being present in the moment means not having your mind wanders. You can still have moments dedicated to planning for the future. And you can also be present in those moments, planning while not having your mind wanders.
Now I think it’s also important to add that it’s normal for the mind to wander. You don’t learn to be present in the moment by being mad at your mind for wandering. Just refocus on your subject once you’ve noticed that you’ve wandered away.
I don’t :(
OP missed the obvious, “obsessing pointlessly over the past” option.
Joking, but also serious. The more you try the harder it is, but you gotta try right? Paradox.
In the meantime maybe break it up. Plan a day ahead, then maybe a week. Go with that for a bit. Maybe you’ll eventually start planning farther ahead, or maybe you’ll find contentment with a bitesized scope. I don’t think there are any hard and fast rules. But above all, be kind to yourself.
