When it comes to fears, lack of a plan lands right at the top of my list. That’s precisely why I do my best to plan everything from meals to work to play.
Planning as many details as possible works like a charm in many cases, but it is not without its flaws. A day that is too planned may spiral out of control if things don’t go as expected, leading to overload or worse, a meltdown.
-Story:
I’m at school. There’s a ringing in my ears, and the blinding light is getting to be too much. The trouble is, I’ve got at least another 4 hours of work left before I can get out of here. That’s why I need to carefully plan how I am going to use the ounces of energy I have left.
Lunch is in 30 minutes, and my next class is in 90. If I grab lunch right as the lunch hour is ending I’ll be able to avoid interacting with classmates too much and save the stress of social anxiety. As for saving energy in my remaining classes, I’m going to have to employ a less obvious tactic: thinking about my most recent obsession and coasting until class is over.
I hope I can make it home without losing control
-Story end
Trying to hold myself together during times similar to the story above is beyond difficult. I do everything in my power to reduce how much strain I am putting on myself so as to avoid breaking down. This balancing act revolves around constant planning. There are precious few details that are not planned to some extent when I know I am running out of energy. Things like:
- Calculating the shortest path towards an exit
- Working out actions that reduce the minimum number of social interactions
- Determining what tasks can be safely ignored
- Finding areas that are quiet and secluded enough to rest for a few moments
Wrapping up
Planning events and actions in a day
That’s all on this for now. Thanks for reading and the next article should be out within the next two weeks!