Planning - Travel Trail Sail

There are many approaches to travel. Some want to have a complete itinerary with every activity planned. Some prefer to wing it – taking their chances that good things will happen. I don’t know about you, but I guess I am somewhere in between.

I came across a quote that summed it up pretty well. In the book Improv Wisdom Patricia Madson tells it like this: “In 1982 I took a year off from teaching to circumnavigate the globe. I bought a one-way, around-the-world airline ticket. I was allowed to make as many stops as I liked, in the line of direction, but couldn’t backtrack or go too far north or south of my last stop, and I had to complete my journey within twelve months. Buying the ticket game me sense of stability (planning); experiencing all the places was the great adventure. Planning provided a platform for me to improvise. Taking an improvised step always leads you somewhere.”

I have had similar trips. I know the beginning and the end with a general schedule, but stay flexible in between. Other times, it has been all planned – which is OK – as longs as I remember that things are always subject to change.

Some of my hobbies require different levels of planning. To get my garden and landscape right, I have to envision how things will look years in advance – and then hope that the plants and weather cooperate. For photography, I have to be in the moment – seeing things from different views – trying to capture the essence of what is happening.

What is your style? Are you a planner or do you just wing it? Feel free to share your story as a comment.