Why not?

I’m a planner. I’ll start writing papers weeks in advance, spend at least an hour each weekend laying out the upcoming week in my planner, and even divide up my readings evenly throughout the week down to the page number. It’s that feeling of being in control that I like, I think, but recently, I’ve been leaning into spontaneity (with a bit of planning, of course).

Before we get into that, let me backtrack a bit. Why am I even talking about spontaneity in the first place? Well, this whole five- and 10-year plan thing can be heavy. Navigating your twenties is not easy for various reasons, but as a (somewhat) senior (even explaining the year of school I’m in is complicated in itself), let’s just say post-grad life is on my mind. But no matter what year you are, for most of our lives, we’ve all been working towards preparing for careers. And that’s a lot, on top of our political/social climate and everything else you’re dealing with personally. So, before reading any further, please give yourself a hug for all the hard work you’re putting in.
Now for the fun part. I think spontaneity can come in several forms, and if you’re someone who obsessively plans like me, there are definitely still ways to lean into this. 

On one end of the spectrum, I’ll come home and let my roommate give me a butterfly haircut (I didn’t even know what this type of cut was before this day). Or hop on the metro to do happy hour with my best friend and run into the Pacific as the sun is setting (we love southern California!). Somewhat in the middle, I recently signed up for another half-marathon and booked a tattoo appointment. These are both things I had done before, but I had an impulse to do them again, so I thought, “Why not?” As a brief aside, I think that phrase can drive a lot of spontaneous behavior. I definitely overthink a lot, but recently, I’ve been doing things simply because they make me happy or I know it’ll be fulfilling. Why deny yourself that joy?

Now, for my planners – and this touches on work-life balance a bit as well. If you love something, I’ve found that saying “yes” to that thing more often can make such a noticeable impact on your life. For me, that is hiking. Even if I know I’m busy, I still try to get on a trail as many weekends as possible. Saying “I can” during the co-lead draft with Peaks and Professors is, in my mind, a form of spontaneity, even if it’s something I put on my calendar. In other areas of my life, it could mean going to dinner somewhat last minute with friends or even just having impromptu movie nights with my roommates. Spontaneity does not have to include a huge, life-altering event; the smallest things in my life go a long way (I just decided to make pumpkin muffins on a Monday afternoon, great experience).

I argue that you can be spontaneous with some planning involved. That weekend trip to a national park, that run that makes it out of the #random chat, that jazz night at LACMA that you go to with your friend. All of these require coordination and planning but also the spontaneous moment when you say “yes!” or “I want to try this new thing.”

So hop on that train, go on those random day trips, text your friends, “movie night?”, do that thing that’s been on your mind, and ask yourself more often, “Why not?”