Here’s Why I Say No to Making Plans Six Weeks in Advance. More People Should Try It
we’re terrible at long-range planning: if something feels like a priority now, it’s virtually impossible to coolly assess whether it will still feel that way in a week or a month.
Oliver Burkeman • Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals
all I seem to do is plan, and how would my days change if they had more space and spontaneity?
Abigail Pogrebin • My Jewish Year: 18 Holidays, One Wondering Jew
For example, she decided she would travel only five times per year for any purpose, as trips can generate a surprisingly large load of urgent shallow obligations (from making lodging arrangements to writing talks).
Cal Newport • Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
In the last five years, what have you become better at saying no to? I’ve always been pretty good at saying no, but over the last couple of years I’ve come up with a new rule. If the ask is more than a week away, I almost always say no, regardless of what is it. Exceptions include family things I need to attend, and a conference or two I really wan
... See moreTimothy Ferriss • Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice from the Best in the World
One can waste years this way, systematically postponing precisely the things one cares about the most.
Oliver Burkeman • Four Thousand Weeks
If ever I suspect, now, that somebody is indifferent about me, I simply stop arranging dates. If they’re interested, they’ll soon make a meet-up happen. If not, I’ve lost nothing.
Catherine Gray • The Unexpected Joy of Being Single
Stop doing lots of planning upfront and instead embrace small scale experimentation.
Rosie Sherry • A guide to building a Minimum Viable Community (MVC)
Jerod Morris added
Unstructured quality time with friends is replaced with a scheduled series of continuous catch-ups. Subsequently, these overscheduled people lack meaningful ties with their neighbors, and so they patronize spaces to make those connections even less frequently.