Making a Plan

As much as I would like to say adventures just happen, they don’t most of the time.  It is usually an intentional act of my will.  I am naturally a schemer and often have a gazillion *great* ideas, with only about 0.5% coming to fruition!  I also have a full blown case of forgetfulness – I blame my mama brain for that.

I need a plan even for the micro stuff, so that when I want a spontaneous moment, but yet can’t think of what to do, I consult my list.  I use two different systems:  The good ol’ fashioned pencil and paper, and the wunderlist app.

Each year I make my own day planner / diary from a template I have developed over the years.  I print it and get it bound, and without it I would be dead in the water.  I make yearly goals, and then break them down into monthly goals, and weekly tasks.  I don’t live and die by it, but it helps to keep me focused and clarify what is important to me, as well as keep seven people’s lives somewhat functional.

I use the wunderlist app to brainstorm local locations that we can visit.  I have folders set up, one of them being ‘Recreation’ and a subfolder ‘Local Short Activities’.  They are mostly just locations, without anything there per se, but the kids make their own fun together at different places in our local area, and I enjoying photographing them.

One of the things on my list of Local Short Activities was to visit an unofficial zip line that the kids had discovered in the forest.  We had a super early dinner and went in the evening when the light was nice (important for this mum with a camera!).

It was pretty simple.  We needed warmer clothes, that’s it.  It was a 5 min drive, and a 200m walk.  We probably weren’t there even an hour but it refreshed us all.  Trust me, the activities don’t need to be complex 🙂