I’ve got two tubs of Ben and Jerrys, a Waitrose plain vanilla ice-cream and a half eaten 4-pack of magnums in my freezer right now.  

And I don’t even like ice-cream that much. (It has its specific needs, but I can’t eat a lot). 

The result of a failed attempt to “duck out” to the shops to sort out dinner at 5:30pm on a Monday, when I was already feeling the hunger urges kick in. 

My partner calls me a pensioner because I’d ideally love to have eaten dinner by 6:30pm. He’s forever trying to trick me into eating later. 

So attempting to get a “quick fix” solution at 5:30pm, with physical distancing in place, was a big fail this week. 

I’d like to say my partner tricked me into buying all the ice-cream ?, but the real culprit of our failed Monday night dinner was, planning. 

Or, lack thereof. 

Last week we methodically planned out our meals, cross-checking against both our diaries to see how much energy we’d likely have at the end of the day to pull it off, and then carefully placing all required items in our online grocery delivery basket. 

It felt so good.  

We made it almost an entire 7 days with seamless mealtimes, meaning I got to actually feel relief and joy at the end of the day instead of stress and hunger. 

Yes, I realise that talking about my excess ice-cream supply and hunger is an insignificant (and privileged) thing to be talking about in the context of the global waves of change going on right now. 

But, it’s an important metaphor for how easily we can let stress and overwhelm build up when we don’t have sustainable systems and planning in place.   

There is a lot that is uncertain in the world right now (and, always).  

Trying to “handle it all” is exhausting and futile. We tell ourselves if we can just read that extra book this week or check in with that friend or read more of the news or focus on that deadline at work, then everything will feel better. 

What we’re really saying to ourselves is that we want our control back. 

And the issue with focusing on all the things we have to “handle” first, is that we only ever end up with a temporary fix. Because, there’s always more news, more phone calls, more books, more deadlines. 

The tool I’ve relied on for decades to bring me back to a place of certainty, no matter how uncertain my life has felt is, planning. 

And not just any planning. 

My approach is unconventional. 

As with my miraculous meal planning week, when I attend to the planning in my life, I experience more ease and more joy. 

This is not about having a perfectly structured time management system, or prioritisation matrix, or even an endless list of action items. This is about integrating with the natural flow of your life. 

The way I plan and incorporate it into my life gives me back that sense of certainty regardless of how uncertain things feel. Because it’s basis is on me and not the things I can’t control. 

If you’ve been worrying how you’re going to make plans amidst all the global uncertainty right now, then you need a new system. 

I’m running a LIVE masterclass on 6 July, called Fuel Your Dreams. I’ll walk you through my 4-step formula for mastering planning when you can’t really make plans. ?  

It’s particularly useful at this time of the year – we’re at the midway point! – to give yourself space to take in everything that has been, and all that you want to still create. But really, it’s applicable to any time you feel you need a “reignition” in your life. 

You can go HERE to book, and for more details.