Do you fly by the seat of your pants, able to achieve your goals in a free spirit sort of way? Or do you plan or organize, setting many detailed deadlines along the way?
I’ve heard that both ways can reach the same outcome—a complete project or purpose. I will confess I am not a “pantster.” Nope. I am a planner. My world consists of deadlines. I’m in my happy place with a list with dates, mini goals, daily status updates. I want to see progress—feel it, taste it, touch it. I don’t want a huge deadline to creep up on me.
My calendar is full of details—personal, work, school, writing, editing, reading. The small chunks of a huge deadline fit my laidback, stress free, optimistic personality. I know I can accomplish the small pieces, and eventually the big picture is not so daunting.
Readers have asked me how I write a 100,000-word novel. Easy. One page or chapter at a time. If I thought too long about the huge numbers, I might panic. I like my days in a panic free, minimal drama life.
Deadlines come and go which make me smile. Checking off and scribbling through my list serves this planner well.
So, are you a planner or a pantster? Do you face your deadlines with frenzy or calmness?
This is such a great summary of two ways to plan. I am in the middle. I strive to be a planner but I often end up with a big project at the end near a deadline. I have learned to prioritize my lists, accepting a few items to be pushed to the following day until they are accomplished because i often list everything that needs to be done and just see what I get through. Not as smooth as your process. .