Pansters, Plotters & Planning
I recently completed a creative writing class where I learnt about pantsers and plotters.
Pantsers like to fly by the seat of their pants and tend to plan very little, if at all. Plotters, on the other hand, need to have a plan in hand before they begin.
Without a doubt, I am more of a plotter. Not only to I enjoy planning, but often without one, I struggle to do anything.
Naturally, this tendency has its benefits. Planning helps me to use my time and energy efficiently and get ahead potential challenges and issues. And perhaps most importantly for me, it builds confidence in my understanding of the project, which in turn, enables me to be agile and nimble when unforeseen issues naturally arise.
And while I generally love being a plotter, I do have to be careful because sometimes this superpower becomes my kryptonite. When this happens, I remain in planning mode in order to avoid taking action. Instead of propelling me forward, it becomes a source of procrastination.
As I listened to my pantser colleagues talk about their love of not planning, I couldn’t help but feel envious of their creative freedom. They seemed to tap more easily into play and flow than I was used to.
At the same time, the group also talked about some the limitations of their pantser tendencies: how they could sometimes spin in circles not knowing what to do next and how the lack of a clear next step led them to procrastinate.
Breaking News: Turns out that no one is immune to procrastination. Too much of a good thing, I suppose.
As I mulled this over, I was reminded of a challenge a yoga teacher once offered me. Go against the grain.
Spend some time doing the opposite of what you’d typically do. In the context of the yoga class, that meant that if you tended to push yourself, trying going easy. In the context of creating something, if you tend to plot, try pantsing for awhile.
So that’s my invitation to you:
What is a challenge or opportunity you’re feeling stuck on right now?
Are you currently trying to pants or plot your way out of it?
Spend an hour trying the opposite on for size?
What changes?
