If you’re always planning everything down to the smallest detail, you could be overdoing it. Your obsession with ironing out even the most minuscule of details makes you miss out on the fun of life and it’s taking you away from the present moment. Here are 16 signs you’re a chronic overplanner and should try to be a bit more spontaneous.
1. You overplan to the point of procrastination.
If you’re stuck in the trap of planning your life too much, you could end up working yourself up into an anxiety attack. You want to get stuff done, but you end up procrastinating because you’ve put so much pressure on yourself to make the right decisions and get everything perfectly organized.
2. You’re scared of change.
Overplanning everything in your life can cause you to struggle to embrace change. You might feel like any little change to your plan will cause you to feel stressed out and will ruin everything, but you’re viewing change in a negative way when it can be positive and refreshing. At the very least, it’s an inevitable part of life, so you have to embrace it.
3. You obsess about minor details.
Whether it’s an upcoming party you’re attending or a business presentation, you worry about every little detail to the point that you become rigid and short-sighted. This means you’re not open-minded enough to agree to tweak your plans if it makes sense to do so. You’re stuck in control mode and don’t want to get out of it.
4. Your weekends are blocked weeks ahead of time.
You know you’re a chronic overplanner if your social life is filled with overcommitments and you’ve booked your weekends days or weeks ahead of time. You’re leaving no room to just breathe and see what happens. You end up going back to work on Monday feeling even more exhausted than you left on Friday night.
5. You give up entirely the second something doesn’t work out.
You’re so tied to your plans that you don’t allow for any changes to them. If something in your plan just isn’t working, you’re likely to throw it out instead of working on it and making adjustments where needed. This reveals an inflexible mindset, which could be blocking you from improving your ideas.
6. You struggle to fall or stay asleep.
A big sign that you’re overplanning and it’s causing you stress is that you struggle to sleep at night. Maybe you keep waking up and thinking about your plans or you’re filled with worry about how to deal with change, so you can’t relax and drift off when you get into bed. Either way, it’s clear there’s a problem!
7. You try to control your friends or loved ones.
When hanging out socially, you can’t help but try to plan ahead. So, you’ll decide where you all go out for dinner or what you do every day during your vacation. It’s good to have a general idea of things you’d like to see and do, but you shouldn’t have every day planned down to the minute. It becomes less of a fun time and more like a chore.
8. You stress out the people around you.
Linked to the previous point, people in your life might feel anxious or stressed when they’re around you because of your chronic overplanning. Your tendency to have every little thing decided is spilling into your friends’ lives, and they’re not happy about it. They just want you to relax and take a deep breath!
9. You’re too focused on the future.
While it’s good to plan for the future so you can achieve your goals, if you’re stuck in an overplanning mindset, you might obsess about the future instead of focusing on what’s happening in your life right now. It’s not just about the end result — the journey to get there is the best part.
10. Being spontaneous makes you feel anxious.
If your friends invite you out to last-minute plans or your partner surprises you, you’ll feel anxious and stressed. You associate spontaneity with being out of control, but sometimes it’s fun to surrender and see what happens. Allow yourself to be pleasantly surprised sometimes.
11. You feel guilty when you’re not planning ahead.
When you stop yourself from planning tasks or goals, you feel intense guilt. Maybe you feel like you’re not good enough or that you’re disappointing yourself by lowering your standards. Interestingly, by overplanning instead of starting a project, you’re trying to protect yourself from failure.
12. You’re overthinking everything.
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A big part of overplanning is overthinking about stuff. You’re riddled with dwelling on the same thoughts and obsessing to the point where you zap your mental energy and feel stuck. You want everything to go perfectly and the very idea that you might be missing something important that would ensure it does drives you crazy.
13. You abandon many projects.
You’re definitely guilty of being an overplanner if you plan so much that you never finish projects due to your inability to orchestrate the outcome you want. You could be doing this to protect yourself from failure or rejection, but it’s leaving you stuck. A bit of spontaneity could help — accepting that only so much is in your control and that your best effort is enough is more important.
14. You’re not being mindful.
If you’re always focusing on the future, you’re missing out on the present moment. Change things up by being a bit more mindful. Notice what you’re feeling right now — it can give you clues into what you want and open you up to doing something fun and different.
15. You’re busy but not doing a lot.
The problem with overplanning is that it keeps you busy. That’s not a good thing — it’s a distraction from your feelings and life. Plus, being so busy prevents you from taking opportunities that crop up spontaneously, while preventing you from actually achieving things. You’re so busy ironing out the details that you don’t actually get anything done.
16. You’re excited about planning mode.
You love the planning phase of any project, perhaps a little too much. You get excited about what you’re going to do, but then when you have to sit down and actually do it, you feel like you’re not in the mood. This is a sign you’re overplanning too much and it’s killing your vibe.
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