Plan a little spontaneity

Yes, I know, planning to be spontaneous seems a contradiction in terms. But seriously, when was the last time you actually did something completely spontaneously - and how did it make you feel?

Being spontaneous can actually boost your mental wellbeing, did you know? Just doing something, or going somewhere out of your normal patterns of life can reduce stress, increase happiness, boost creativity, and improve adaptability. 

Being spontaneous encourages you to be more flexible in life, which helps boost resilience for times when nasty surprises head your way.

I know that when I do something unplanned, I get a sense of glee - I feel positively smug, in fact. It’s a good feeling - I have taken control of my time, rather than let all the everyday stuff in life control my schedule. It can be as simple as diverting for a coffee with a friend rather than head straight home after work, or as marvellously not complicated as booking a room in a hotel less than an hour away and doing dinner, bed and breakfast with my hubby on a Saturday night.

Can you plan to be spontaneous?

While spontaneity, by definition, implies doing something without prior planning, you can absolutely plan to be more spontaneous. All you need to do is schedule some flexibility into your routine.

Here's how you can plan for spontaneity:

Timeboxing

I love this word! In essence, it means you block off space in your diary where you can choose to do something on the spur of the moment. I have started blocking out my Saturday afternoons. I used to crack on with the housework - batch cooking, supermarket shop delivery, etc. But I now sort my batch cooking out over two evenings, instead, and I have moved my supermarket delivery to an evening too - and gotten much better at menu planning, and the aforementioned batch cooking, which means I don’t need to think spontaneously in the kitchen any more after a long day at work. 

Now, my Saturday afternoons are all about me - spending a few hours on a long walk with the dogs and my husband, or meeting a couple of friends for coffee and a cake, or just flopped on the sofa watching Netflix with ZERO guilt! 

Be prepared

There are some things you can do to help with last-minute, spontaneous decisions. I now take a  book to work, so if the weather is fine, I can take my lunch to the park, sit on a bench and read - which is SO healthy in so many ways! Or I pop to the local pub, order myself a light lunch and happily read for 45 minutes, giving myself a mental break from work. I couldn’t, in a million years, just go and sit on a bench, or dine alone in a pub or even a cafe, without a book. Having it with me is a form of a shield, a defence, perhaps - against what, I am not sure - and it stops me doom scrolling social media of course!

I also keep a fresh change of clothes at work, which I can change into and be ready to meet a friend for an early-doors drink before heading home. One glass of red, or a sparkling water, and a good laugh does wonders for my state of mind.

Also, set aside some money for spontaneity. It’s not feasibly for most of us to just say “right, let’s go to a hotel tomorrow night!” but if you set up a savings account and slide some money in each month, it soon adds up and becomes possible. We went, completely spontaneously, to the theatre a couple of weeks ago, and it was brilliant. A friend recommended a play, I looked online for tickets there and then, booked for the next night and off we went. They were cheap seats, right up high, but the play was brilliant and we felt very boosted by our decision to just do it.

Finally, it’s hard to be spontaneous if you don’t know what’s going on locally you might enjoy. Keep an eye on local social media, and set a diary note to ask Google “What’s on this weekend near me?” You’ll be amazed at the results! 

Shift your mindset

Spontaneity comes more easily to some than to others, but you can train yourself to relax into the unknown. Start small - make little changes to your routine and block out times to do something unplanned. Don’t worry if you don’t end up actually doing anything exciting; even just sitting with a book at an unusual time is a positive step. 

Have a chat with your partner about the things you wish you did more often - city breaks is something everybody wants more of, for example. But a city break doesn’t need to include flights to Europe, it can mean a Premier Inn in a city just a couple of hours away - there is so much history and beauty in our own country we ignore.

Don’t feel you can’t cancel a plan if you want to.You could spontaneously decide to go for a meal with your partner rather than go to a party, for example - the sense of naughtiness of putting yourself first can feel quite energising!

Test and roll out

I learned early on in my career that you have to keep trying new things. Stick mostly to what you know while at the same time running a small test on something new. If the new thing works, start building it into your plans. If it doesn’t, drop it and test something else. This is equally applicable to life outside of work. Make timeboxing work for you. Investigate what little, or large, spontaneous things make you happy, and what causes a pulse of stress.

By planning for spontaneity and developing a more flexible approach to how you organise your time you can learn to seize unexpected opportunities and create memorable experiences.

And really, making memories is what life should be all about, isn’t it?