This previous weekend, I planned a ‘last minute’ trip to Mexico. Booked the AirBnB, packed, and drove there in less than 24 hours. I’m usually not one to do something like this. I like to plan well in advance that way I have plenty of time to research all of my possible options.
In college, one of my favorite professors told us, “Wait until the latest responsible moment to start”. In our software development class, this meant to do as much research up front as we could before beginning to actually write our app. This would allow us to have the most amount of information possible before we begin writing our code. That way there would be less of a chance we would have to make a major pivot or completely start over while we are in the actual development phase.
Last minute decisions are the opposite of this though: little research and planning that forces you to just commit to a course of action. It won’t be the perfect path for whatever you are doing, but I think it allows for a few things that preparation doesn’t.
Expectations are low. With little to no planning, when something goes wrong, it’s more accepted. There’s less frustration because it was almost anticipated to happen. When something goes right though, it’s more of a surprise.
On my trip to Mexico while driving around the countryside, I somewhat got stuck trying to go back up a dirt road with a steep incline. I had to ask for help in a language that I could hardly speak. Some men were nice enough to come along and open up a gate that way I could take another path out. The initial situation looked bad, but my thought was, “Well, this is what you get for not looking up the different routes in advance”. I wasn’t expecting to find help so soon since I was out in the middle of nowhere. When I got out easily, I felt extremely lucky and grateful. My lack of expectations had led to little frustration.
I also believe that less preparation leads to more creativity. With everything planned in advance, you are more likely to stick to that path. My last minute trip allowed me to make choices in real time. One of the days in Mexico, I didn’t have anything else planned for the rest of the afternoon. So while I was driving along the coast, I found a spot to pull off to and park. It just so happened that there was a trail that lead down to the water and a small secluded cove. I had my own private beach and spent the afternoon exploring and laying out in the sun.
I believe that plenty of research in advance is the best way to go 90% of the time. The other 10% should be for winging it and letting whatever happens, happen. It’s always great to experiment with your approach to tackling a problem (even if it’s as small as going on vacation). For me, there were many lessons learned, new insights found, and great memories that were created - memories that otherwise wouldn’t have existed if I had planned in advance.