I’m a recovering overthinker… and overplanner.
I’ve made detailed plans, laid everything out, thought through all the steps—
and then didn’t follow through.
So I’d adjust the plan.
Try to make it more realistic.
More efficient.
More “doable.”
My thought was that the original plan must have been faulty, or surely I would have implemented it. I would feel a sense of accomplishment because I fixed the plan, therefore I fixed the problem.
But then something else would come up…
And being the overthinker/overplanner that I am, with a slight touch of perfectionist, I’d end up (sigh) right back where I started.
Seeking to gain control of my life through yet another plan.
I don’t think I realized how much I was stuck in that cycle.
It felt like I was being productive.
I had the plans. I had the ideas.
But I wasn’t actually moving forward.
I spent hours coming up with content ideas, but never actually making the time to post it. It wasn’t right, wasn’t “good enough” or polished.
I would set up a new fitness routine, but get busy and not even look at the weights, much less pick them up.
I would buy a new fitness DVD, only to wipe the dust off the unwrapped package a few months later.
Part of it was what I was telling myself:
- That I just needed more time.
- More energy.
- A better routine.
Or maybe it was a discipline issue.
I would wait until later – starting tomorrow. Next month. After this school term. When I got off overtime.
I’m not a John Lennon fan, but his line fits perfectly here: “Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans.” (Thank you, Mr. Holland’s Opus!)
I didn’t understand why I couldn’t make this work. After all, when you start a new job, you get into the routine quickly, learning when to come in, when to leave, when you have break, what to do. In the military, you have a whole lifestyle change. You have a specific routine, covering everything from the time you get up to how you dress to how you arrange your living space.
A structured plan should work, right?
But if I’m being honest, that wasn’t really the issue.
I think I had been running in “go mode” for so long that I didn’t even realize how overwhelmed I was.
Working, thinking, planning… constantly.
Not really giving myself a break.
Working full-time, carrying a full school load, running my own business, making time for family.
Not to mention the everyday tasks of laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning, and other household management tasks.
All week long. All month long. I’ve been doing this for 2 years now.
And eventually, even small things started to feel like a lot.
Simple decisions.
Basic tasks.
So instead of doing them, I’d go back to planning.
Because somehow that felt easier.
When I couldn’t figure out what to do next, I’d … make a plan. Because it felt like I was doing something productive.
So what this looked like was…
I wasn’t doing nothing.
But I also wasn’t making progress.
Just stuck in this cycle of planning, getting overwhelmed, and starting over.
Not seeing the real problem wasn’t necessarily the plan, but the next step.
Not realizing that plans are the outline, and I needed to learn how to adjust instead of starting over.
There wasn’t a big moment where I fixed it.
I just got tired of it.
So I’ve been focusing on doing what I can, instead of trying to get everything right first.
Some days that looks like:
- Just managing to get the laundry done when I am exhausted
- Finishing a paragraph on a paper before going to work
- Taking short exercise breaks while studying, instead of doing a full workout
- 15 minutes to handle household paperwork
Nothing big. Just actually following through.
This verse has been on my mind lately:
“Whoever is faithful in little is faithful also in much…” – Luke 16:10
I think I used to overlook the “little” part.
As they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Change takes time, and often occurs in small steps.
This is another verse I keep coming back to:
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” – Psalm 119:105
I’ve been thinking about that differently lately.
A lamp doesn’t light up the whole road.
It doesn’t show you everything ahead.
It just shows you enough to take the next step without running into something.
I can plan my menu for the week. But I can’t foresee exhaustion due to a poor night’s sleep, or losing track of time while I am furiously writing for my next assignment.
I think that’s part of what I’ve been missing.
I’ve been wanting the whole plan…
when really I just need enough light for the next step.
I’m still working through this.
I still catch myself wanting to go back into planning mode.
I still have days where everything feels like too much.
But I’m starting to recognize it quicker.
And short spurts of implementation beat hours of planning any day.
Right now, I keep coming back to this:
Progress over perfection.
Consistency over intensity.
Obedience over excuses.
Not perfectly.
But more than before.
Girded with Strength Fitness 
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