The other night I served my husband chili for dinner. I thought chili would appeal since I had seen earlier in the week that the weather forecast was for cooler temperatures and a rainy day. While eating, my husband said, “This is perfect for tonight. You are always thinking ahead.” I thought about his comment for a moment and realized that he is right: I do find myself frequently thinking about the day, the week, or even the hour ahead. Being keenly aware of what is on the horizon helps me plan for and respond to whatever is coming my way. If you feel like you are always scrambling to catch up, here are a few thoughts on how to get more done by sharpening your future awareness.
Let me begin by saying that future awareness simply means having a vision for how events might unfold in the time ahead. I liken this perspective to that of a downhill ski racer. Have you ever watched one at the top of the mountain? You can often see them, eyes closed, visualizing the course and rehearsing how they will twist, turn, speed up, slow down, etc. as they ski the race. They are rehearsing the race in their mind before they begin to ski. Of course, they cannot anticipate exactly what will happen, but they have a well thought-out plan that will help them get them down the mountain in as little time as possible.
Another example of future awareness comes from the workout videos I use in my basement. I (attempt to) follow a trainer named Sydney Cummings who does Youtube workouts. What I love is that she always has a “coming up next” window on the left as we approach a new exercise. This little window benefits me in a couple of ways:
- It helps me understand what the next move should look like. (Since I’m not well versed in exercise terminology, hearing her call out the name of the exercise doesn’t always help me know what to do.)
- It gives me time to run and grab any supplies I may need (like a jump rope or barbell).
- It helps me psych myself up to take on the exercise ahead. (Bulgarian split squats require some very positive self-talk!)
If Sydney just jumped from one exercise to another, I would spend half the workout scrambling to figure out what to do, potentially injuring myself, and probably not getting the most out of the session.
We can take a similar, future-oriented approach in our minds as we prepare to face our own “mountains” and “workouts,” affectionately known as “getting through the day.” Specifically, you can sharpen your future awareness by:
Proactively making yourself aware of what is “coming up next.”
I suggest you look at the month ahead at the end of each month, and the week ahead before the beginning of each week (e.g., on Sunday nights). Remind yourself of what lies ahead of you, including significant deliverables, vacations, school breaks, travel, visitors, social gatherings, etc. Reviewing upcoming events will help minimize potentially costly and stressful surprises.
Thinking each morning about what you expect to happen during the upcoming day.
It helps to have a mental picture of how you will move through the day, including what you will eat, where you will go, when you will exercise and shower, and what tasks you will work on. Remember, if you can’t visualize yourself successfully moving through the day, the odds of you actually doing so are low.
As you review the timeframe ahead – be it month, week, or day – asking yourself where you might face potential “pain points:” situations that will cause you stress.
Whenever you identify a pain point, problem solve options in advance to minimize the pain. For instance:
- Scheduling conflicts (Looks like I’m supposed to be taking kids in two different directions at the same time on Tuesday. I better call now to see if my friend can take one of them.)
- Potentially uncooperative people (It is highly possible that my child/family member/coworker is going to resist doing this. If they cause trouble, I will plan to [fill in the blank].)
- Transportation difficulties (I think I should rework my day so I’m not going north on the highway at rush hour.)
- Tight timeframes (I can see I won’t have time to cook on Thursday. Maybe that will be an UberEATS night.)
- Physical limitations (I know I won’t have the energy to do all of this on Thursday after my late night on Wednesday. I better reschedule some of these tasks to another day so I actually have a shot at accomplishing my list.)
- Insufficient resources (I have a long drive coming up on Monday and I am low on gas. I need to plan to get gas before then.)
- Distractions (I never focus well alone in my house. I need to go to the library on Thursday morning to make sure I complete this task.)
- Personal challenges (I am nervous about the phone call I need to make. I’m going to write out what I want to say ahead of time to ease my anxiety.)
- Pressure from and/or needs of others (Whenever my aunt calls she wants to talk for an hour. I don’t have time for that this week, so I’ll call her on Sunday before my busy week begins.)
Of course, you don’t want to be so busy thinking about “what’s next” that you fail to be present in the current moment. I’m a big fan of mindfulness and allowing yourself to completely engage in what is happening. Therefore, I suggest you work on cultivating future awareness in between activities. This way you can be balance your attention between what is happening now and what is happening next.
Strengthening your future awareness is a terrific productivity tool because we tend to be better at handling situations that we have anticipated than those that we weren’t expecting.
For instance, when I am aware that I have an early client the next day, I do things like go to bed a bit early, fill my coffee maker in advance, set out my clothes for the next day, place non-perishables in my lunch cooler, pack my work bag, print necessary paperwork, look at where I will be going to estimate when I will need to leave, etc. In contrast, if I wake up and only then notice that I’m supposed to be somewhere earlier than usual, I am likely to be running around, forgetting things, and generally feeling out of control.
Admittedly, we cannot know with certainty what lies ahead. We can’t plan for every eventuality. Life is unpredictable. However, we can stack the odds of success in our favor by creating a routine of thinking ahead. When we regularly look into the future, and then take current action to minimize difficulty and maximize efficiency, the result is an easier, less stressful life. This is one way to being kind to our “future selves.”
It is worth mentioning that future awareness does not always foresee problems or issues. Some days or weeks may look like smooth sailing ahead. These are good times! When we do not foresee any particular challenges, we can still be kind to our futures selves by maintaining order. Being able to find what we need, when we need it, is a pleasure in all seasons, rough or calm.
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Do you routinely look and plan ahead or are you more of a “wing it” type of person? How might cultivating future awareness make your life easier?
I do usually look ahead. I find that helps a lot. I don’t like unpleasant surprises so I have time to anticipate any problems. It’s not always possible but mostly that works well. You made some suggestions I had not thought of. Thank you.
I don’t like unpleasant surprises either, Dianne!
You ask if I’m a planner or more of a “wing it” type of person. Can you guess? I’m more of a planner, but that planning enables me to be flexible and even “wing it” if needed. Part of my planning includes building white space and pauses in my week for life’s surprises or hiccups.
I appreciate being present and mindful of what I’m doing. However, some future thinking is necessary. Planning helps me be more present and reduces stress.
The other thing I do is re-evaluate multiple times during the day. I have a plan of what will happen that day, and at times, I need to adjust it because of something unexpected, a change in energy, or a shift in that day’s priorities.
I totally do the same thing, reevaluating throughout the day. My planner and I “talk” all day long. Often my morning plan needs a shift.
White space is key. I know it is hard if you are in a job or caregiving situation, but it’s worth the effort to try and build some in, right? Life always has a few surprises. I think you are so right that having a plan makes it easier to “wing it.” Sounds counterintuitive, but it actually works out!
Definitely a planner here, but I have to write a lot of things down so I don’t forget I’ve already worked them out!
Not only do I need to write things down, but I need to write them down right away!
I love this post! I am the same way. I look ahead as well. My small business and organizing clients consistently tell me that. I find that some planning on what will be coming up helps me reduce stress on the event day. In March, we decided to build a home in New Mexico for my daughter to live in while in med school and for us to visit. At that time, I found sales on moving services, like Pods, and jumped on it. While I did not have to have a specific delivery date yet, I could take advantage of the discounted rate since we would be moving in July/August (the busy season). This helped me save money on the actual pickup and delivery of stuff, and we could now move on to the other things we needed to schedule and do in the coming months. The day of the purchase and move-in went smoothly, and we were so grateful. I am thankful I thought about what was needed back then, so the process is more straightforward now.
Acknowledging the value of thinking ahead is essential to reinforce your behavior.
Wow, great planning on your part. For so many things, timing is everything, so it makes sense to look ahead, right? This way we can minimize costs, obstacles, and frustration.
New Mexico sounds like a dream. Good luck to your daughter in med school – it’s tough, I know!
I’m a planner. I tend to look a week ahead. I could benefit from looking a month ahead and recently I thought about getting a year wall calendar (the kind you can write on that shows the 12 months of the eyar) and taping it to the wall. I can lose track of what lies beyond the week and then spend time catching that ball.
My favorite type of planning happens the night before. I love mapping out the day ahead. Figuring out the tasks for the day, where I need to be and when.
As you say – it doesn’t mean that there will be guaranteed smooth sailing but it helps to know where we have the ability to be flexible – just in case.
Having that visual image of what lies ahead really helps so much, whether things go as planned or not. I think we tend to undervalue the importance of taking the long view. I love sitting with my planner in the morning and just reminding myself of what I have on tap.
I use one page of my planner that gives me the “year” view to remember big events, like vacations, trips, conferences, etc. That view sometimes come in very handy!
I find that thinking ahead is hard for my clients. There is a fuzzy feeling that something is coming up or a strong emotional feeling that can block action. Often we have actually to work backwards to think ahead. In these situations, having a partner to process what would be beneficial in looking and doing ahead of time helps.
I do think that looking and thinking ahead are definitely harder for some people. Working backwards is a great technique. Start with the end in mind, and then work back to assign tasks and deadlines. Even seeing the desired final result is a great way to look ahead, though. It helps to know where we are going, and even better if we have an idea of “by when” we hope to get there!
Ooooh, smart stuff! There’s not a single area of my life where I “wing” it.
I always joke that I’m a time traveler; I’m always thinking about the past and preparing for the future. When I go to sleep, I tick off the items I intend to do the next day (even though I’ve got a list and schedule right on my desk), and any time my brain is “empty” and not working on what’s in front of me, I’m calculating the calls I intend to make later in the week, when I’m going to get my flu shot (late September or early October), where I’m traveling this week to see when I should fill my gas tank, and so on.
I wish EVERYTHING in life came with a little preview window like Sydney’s online exercise class! Envisioning future experiences when they’re familiar is easy; trying to envision the atypical can be stressful, but NOT trying and leaving it a hazy mystery is so much worse. Great ideas here, Seana!
I use the alarm on my photo to help me prepare for what’s next. Each morning I look at my calendar, then set alarms for different activities throughout the day. What time should I leave for an appointment, or when should I call that client or sign into Zoom? I would forget to do so much throughout the day if I didn’t remind myself with alarms.
What a great way to use a technological tool to keep you on track. That is definitely a way to harness your awareness of the future without having to hold it in your head.