📘 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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Discussion

M: Planning. People set reminders on their phones to remember things. Yeah? Obviously. People use digital or paper-based calendars. Really? Do people still use paper-based calendars?

R: Well, they do in my house.

M: Really? Wow. What about your friends?

R: Well, not that I've seen, but then I haven't been really paying that much attention to what they've got in their houses.

M: Interesting. Because I think like, these days, like a Google Calendar, on your smartphone, digital calendars, different apps, different apps reminders, interesting. And we use them to stop things slipping their mind, our mind. So to stop things slipping my mind.

R: Well, if something slips your mind, then you just forget it.

M: It slips my mind, I forgot it. Right? And people forget things because these things are not stuck in their mind. Yeah? For example, Rory's birthday isn't stuck in my mind, so I have it on my calendar. On my calendar or in my calendar?

R: I would say on the calendar for... Yeah, for both of them. On your calendar, but in your diary.

M: In my diary, on my Google Calendar. Yeah, on the calendar. And then the question is like, what do you think of people using calendars? What? I, I dislike, I hate, I hate them. I think they are stupid.

R: I have very strong feelings about this topic.

M: Yeah, you know what, I have very strong feelings about this topic. Could we move on? I feel I'm getting aggressive just thinking about the people who use calendars. Ah, such a strange question. Yeah, we kind of, we are neutral. Right, dear listener? We are polite, politically correct. And neutral. We love all people, even those who use calendars. Yep, so write things down on paper is a good thing. It can prevent the things going in one ear and out the other. And this is an idiom. An idiom. An idiom on the podcast. Is it an idiom, Rory?

R: Sort of. It's usually to do with like, if you're making plans with another person and they say something to you, and then you just totally don't, you hear it, but you don't remember it. And it just leaves. So yeah, let's say it's an idiomatic expression.

M: So what's the full idiom? It goes in one ear and out the other?

R: Yeah.

M: It means that if Rory tells me something, I just don't kind of listen. So it just goes into one ear, and it goes out from the other ear. And no information stays in my head. So Rory tells me, Maria, Batman is not a superhero. You know, I'm not listening. You know, just information goes in, goes out. That's it. Nothing stays, really.

R: Yeah.

M: So this is a nice one. So to prevent the information from going in one ear and out the other, it's a good idea to write things down. Make sure you use idiomatic language correctly, dear listener, it goes in one ear and out the other. If you can't remember the form or the idiom, don't use it. Okay? We can talk about digital calendars, online calendars or physical calendars. So Rory is old school. He's got physical calendars in his house. Yeah?

R: Yes.

M: And what do you do? Do you kind of draw hearts or you put things and where's the calendar?

R: I just write things down in the kitchen.

M: Okay, okay. So not on your fridge. On the wall?

R: No, it's on the wall.

M: Nice. Technology has proliferated.

R: But that just means the technology is everywhere.

M: Technology's everywhere. It's too simple. Technology has... If you can pronounce it.

R: Proliferated.

M: Proliferated. Yeah, we have this adjective, prolific. Yeah? So Rory is a prolific writer. He's written four books, kind of outstanding writing, yeah?

R: Yes, but you can say my writing is proliferated.

M: Rory's writing has proliferated.

R: I wish it has, but it's not.

M: You can buy Rory's books on Amazon. And how often do people buy your books, Rory?

R: I don't even pay attention anymore. I don't think anyone's bought one for a while. But that's okay.

M: So you see, dear listener, if you want to support Rory's proliferated writing, you can go to Amazon. So you sell books on Amazon, yeah? I can buy like Rory Fergus Duncan Goodwillie?

R: I think you can if you want. Yeah, the links are in the description.

M: Hey, sweet. Yeah, I wish I could have some books of my own on Amazon.

R: You don't have a book but you have a guide to writing.

M: Yeah, I have some guides on my website. But actually, I've wanted to write a book, like for many years, and I actually... I started writing it, I think, 3 years ago.

R: Quality. What's it about?

M: About IELTS.

R: Seriously?

M: Yeah.

R: That's awesome.

M: And then obviously Maria's autobiography. Yeah. Written by somebody else, but edited by me. You know, that's...

R: Is it an autobiography if that's what happens?

M: No, but it's cool. You know, like if somebody else writes it, you know, for you and you kind of like, edit it. Dear listener, hello, are you with us? Yeah, we went on a tangent. So we started rambling about something else. So back to planning, have a daily plan is important. Because it's important to have a vague idea about what you do in your life every day. Right? So a vague idea. Kind of some, some idea. Not a solid idea. But some idea. And then Rory has used a nice phrasal verb to coast through the day. Coast, like sea coast.

R: Coasting through something just means that you're not putting in much effort. It's just sort of happening. You're like you're not doing anything to make it happen faster, or to improve.

M: So coffee could help you to coast through the day. Hey! And it's not a good idea to vegetate for very long when you are on holiday. And still, you should have a daily plan. Even if you're on holiday, for example, to avoid this vegetation. To vegetate means like to become a vegetable, when you kind of sit there doing nothing watching the telly. Yeah? When you become a couch potato, and people who don't plan, maybe they feel that their plan comes together as their routine. Or their plan is made for them. Yeah? Like Rory talked about little children.

R: And it's passive voice. Made for them by adult.

M: Weddings are planned carefully. Well, usually.

R: Usually...

M: What, our podcast is super carefully planned.

R: Usually.

M: But some people could be obsessed with planning. So they overplan. Right? Like eat - overeat, plan - overplan. Can I "underplan" if I don't plan enough?

R: I've never heard that before. But I imagine you could describe it or just say like it's poorly organized or poorly planned.

M: It is poorly planned, or it's badly organized. Yeah. And then planning could become a habit. So you just plan it by force of habit. There you go. What does it mean, if you say that people work against the clock?

R: That just means they've got a time limit to meet or they have to work very, very fast in a short space of time.

M: Rory tends to work against the clock, dear listener. Yeah. He's a busy Rory bee. And then an example, if a person is a high-flying lawyer, a high-flying lawyer, like in that film. Devil's advocate, yeah? A high-flying lawyer. Or a busy teacher. Or let's take Rory, for example. He works against the clock creating the podcast, the content, the answers.

R: Yes, sometimes.

M: Sometimes he plans, sometimes he does it at random. Some random answers.

R: Random planning.

M: Work-life balance. So we maintain a work-life balance, right? A healthy, healthy, work-life balance. And we should strive for work-life balance. Rory told us. Strive, like want to achieve it. Yeah? To maintain this. Work-life balance. And Rory, you think it should be like 20/80? So 20% working, 80% enjoying our life?

R: Yes.

M: Or vice versa. Ooh... Usually, it's kind of 50/50 split. So we split our life 50% work, 50% life. But Rory here says it should be 20/80. What do you think, dear listener? What's the split?

R: But regardless of what the split is, we should strive for it.

M: Yes.

R: But that just means you should work hard for it.

M: And plan every day.

R: Ideally. Plan, but do not overplan.

M: And definitely plan to listen to our next episode. It's gonna be fun. As always. Thank you very much for listening! We really appreciate it! Thank you for being our super duper premium listener! Hugs and kisses, love and joy. Bye! Rory, send love to our premium listener. Come on, send love.

R: I send love and plans!

M: Yeah. Bye!

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