📘 Part 3: Making and Сhanging Plans

This episode's vocabulary

fast-paced (adj) – happening very quickly. → In today's fast-paced world, it's hard to keep up.

make amendments (phrase) – to make small changes to a text, law, or plan. → We need to make a few amendments to the contract before we sign it.

last-minute arrangements (phrase) – plans made at the latest possible time. → I had to change my last-minute arrangements because my flight was delayed.

pull the rug out from under someone (idiom) – to suddenly take away important support from someone. → The company pulled the rug out from under its employees by closing the factory without notice.

willy-nilly (adv) – without direction or planning; randomly. → You can't just spend money willy-nilly and expect to save for the future.

cavalier manner (phrase) – a way of behaving that shows a lack of proper concern for serious matters or other people's feelings. → He has a cavalier manner when it comes to deadlines, which annoys his colleagues.

stick to plans (phrase) – to follow a plan without changing it. → It's important to stick to your study plan if you want to pass the exam.

plan in depth (phrase) – to plan something in a very detailed and thorough way. → For a successful product launch, you must plan in depth.

set in stone (idiom) – to be very difficult or impossible to change. → The schedule isn't set in stone, so we can be flexible.

meddle with (phrasal verb) – to try to influence or change things that are not your responsibility. → Please don't meddle with my plans; I know what I'm doing.

make adjustments (phrase) – to make small changes to something to make it better or more suitable. → After the feedback, we had to make a few adjustments to the design.

deviations (n) – actions of departing from an established course or accepted standard. → Any deviations from the original plan must be approved by the manager.

go smoothly (phrase) – to happen without any problems or difficulties. → Thanks to our careful planning, the event went smoothly.

have a hand in (idiom) – to be involved or influential in the planning or doing of something. → He had a hand in the project's success.

biological imperative (n) – a natural rule or instinct that makes people and animals behave in a particular way. → The biological imperative to protect one's offspring is very strong.

Questions and Answers

Maria: Do people often change their plans in your country?

Rory: I don't really know. I suppose given how fast paced everything is these days, they might have to make minor amendments to the times of things fairly regularly, especially when it comes to last minute arrangements. But for longer standing things, I can't imagine those would change often or you wouldn't get much done, would you?

Maria: What evidence do you have for that?

Rory: I don't, it's just what seems logical to me.

Maria: Should people tell others if they change their plan?

Rory: Assuming they're involved, yes. It's just good manners, isn't it? You can't just go pulling the rug out from under people willy nilly, or you wouldn't have many friends.

Maria: Could you explain further?

Rory: Yeah, if you behave in such a cavalier manner with people's lives and plans, they're not going to want to be friends with you since you can't be trusted, or at least you can't be trusted to stick to plans.

Maria: Is it important for people to make plans?

Rory: Well, that probably depends on what we're talking about here. It's generally good to have a broad understanding of what you hope to achieve and how to achieve it, but you might not need to plan in depth, if it's something you know how to do well. Or maybe it's not that important. Maybe or maybe it just defies having a plan applied to it at all. For other things like writing an essay or something like that, it's pretty crucial to have something in mind for what you want to do.

Maria: Has that always been true?

Rory: Well, I certainly think so. People haven't changed much, or at least they haven't changed that much over the years.

Maria: Why do some people dislike changes in plans?

Rory: Well, if they see something as being set in stone or sacrosanct and people start meddling with it, it can be pretty annoying to have to make adjustments or deviations from what's been agreed, especially on the fly when you have about a million other things to be doing. It just adds to the stuff you already have to deal with.

Maria: And can anything be done about that?

Rory: Other than people being more reliable and doing what they say they will. It's good to let people know about changes in advance or better yet brainstorm ideas for what to do if things don't go to plan. It might not be ideal, but people can at least manage their expectations and their emotions better.

Maria: How does technology help people make plans?

Rory: Well, you can share ideas faster and look things up to check various things like opening times for venues and the like. So it certainly seems to make things go more smoothly.

Maria: Do you think that will also be true in the future?

Rory: Assuming technology keeps developing at the pace it has been, definitely.

Maria: Why do you think parents still make plans for their children?

Rory: Well, charitably speaking, I suppose they always want things to go well for their kids, don't they? So it makes sense they want to try and have a hand in that by planning things for them, at least partially.

Maria: Can that change?

Rory: Not unless parents suddenly lose the biological imperative to see their offspring do well and I think we're a long way off that.