📘 Part 3: Planning

This episode's vocabulary

Slip someone's memory/mind (idiom) - to be forgotten.

Stick in someone's mind/head/memory (idiom) - to remember something.

Firmly (adverb) - in a way that will not become loose.

Go in one ear and out the other (idiom) - if you say that something you hear goes in one ear and out the other, you mean you quickly forget it.

To proliferate (verb) - to increase a lot and suddenly in number.

Vague (adj.) - not clearly expressed, known, described, or decided.

To coast (verb) - to progress or succeed without any effort or difficulty).

To vegetate (verb) - to live in a way that has no physical and mental activity.

To expend (verb) - to use or spend time, effort, or money.

To unfold (verb) - (of a situation or story) to develop or become clear.

To enable (verb) - to make someone able to do something, or to make something possible.

Entity (noun) - something that exists apart from other things, having its own independent existence.

To overplan (verb) -  to plan excessively or in more detail than is necessary.

Tied up in knots (idiom) - to confuse someone and make them unable to explain something clearly.

High-flying (adj.) - extremely successful.

Caseload (noun) - the amount of work that someone, especially a doctor or lawyer, has to do in a period of time.

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Questions and Answers

M: How do busy people remember things they need to do?

R: Well, there are so many options to choose from. They can set reminders on their phones, use digital and paper-based calendars, or even hire someone to stop things slipping their minds.

M: Why do people usually forget things they have planned?

R: Oh, it's just not stuck in their minds firmly enough, I suppose. Or they have a lot going on. So it's difficult to maintain the level of focus required to remember everything.

M: What do you think of people using calendars to remind themselves of things?

R: Well, it's definitely a good idea. Even writing something down on paper can prevent it from going in one ear and out the other. I mean, assuming it's connected to a date. And calendars usually mean you can have something openly displayed as well. So this also helps your memory if it's in a visible place.

M: Do you think that online calendars are better than physical ones?

R: I don't know if one's better than the other, to be honest. I suppose a digital calendar saves paper, but a physical one has more options and can be more easily adjusted.

M: Do you think digital calendars will be more popular in the future?

R: I don't know if they'll be more popular, though. They'll be more widespread, that's for sure. Because, you know, the technology is just proliferating or has proliferated to such an extent that most people will have access to calendars. And it's free also, which is useful.

M: Is it important to have a daily plan?

R: Well, a vague idea is always a good thing to give you some structure for your day, isn't it? Without one, you would just coast through it, doing whatever happened to you. Even when you're on holiday, you can't just vegetate for a very long time before your mental health starts to go.

M: Some people don't have a daily plan. Why?

R: Well, there's a couple of reasons, or sorry, a couple of potential reasons. Either they just haven't seen the value of having a plan. Or more likely, the plan just comes together as part of their routine, which has been created outside. So, for example, children often don't have a daily plan. It's made for them by somebody else, because they're not capable of putting it together.

M: What kinds of things do people need to plan carefully?

R: Well, that probably depends on the person. Though, some common things might include work presentations, since people rarely give them often enough for it to become a habit. Weddings also seem to be planned like a military operation these days, which is rather sad, since it means expending a huge amount of money and creating lots of stress about what should be a wonderful day, a wonderful and naturally sort of unfolding day.

M: And what could be the disadvantages of planning a certain thing very carefully?

R: Well, people become obsessed with following the plan, not realizing that the plan is like the tool that is supposed to enable them to more productively engage with their day. So instead, they mistake the plan for the actual goal, as opposed to something that's supposed to help them reach their goal.

M: And do you think that these days people over plan things?

R: It's a good question, and it depends on who you're talking about, to be honest with you. Most people probably don't plan enough. And that's why they're in situations now where they can't really afford a major expense. However, I suppose you could accuse some governments and legal entities of overplanning things, because again, they'd become tied up in knots over following the plan, but the plan is just so complex, that it's impossible to follow.

M: Is there anything that can't be planned?

R: Well, if you're working against the clock, and something just comes up at random, then it would be hard to plan for it. I mean, for example, if you're a high-flying lawyer and have a huge caseload, and then you're suddenly asked to work on a project due the next day, that would be a bit of a disaster in terms of making sure it's appropriately planned.

M: Is it important to have a work-life balance?

R: It's important to strive for one, though, people usually get confused over the idea of balance. I think most people are under the impression it means a 50/50 split but, to be honest, it should probably be more like 20/80 favouring having a life. I mean, you're only going to live the one time so people owe it to themselves to live the best lives they can.

M: Do you think it's going to improve this work-life balance? So more people will have a healthy work-life balance in the future?

R: I think people will be more aware of the need to have one, wherever they can achieve it or not is down to the individual.

M: Thank you, Rory, for your answers!

R: No worry.

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