If there is one thing I have learned since being in my position in the journalism world, it is that having a plan for any course of action never pans out.
I think that translates throughout life and if anyone executes their plans they have set out in front of them all the way down to the minute detail, I salute you.
My brain can’t operate without having some form of plan in place for what I am trying to accomplish, but I am thankful I can adapt when those plans go up in smoke because it happens more often than not.
There are times where I have to plan multiple issues in advance, take into account holiday breaks, or additional projects such as the winter magazine we just wrapped up.
For a journalist and it may be true in various professions, having multiple alternative plans is necessary before coming up with plan a. Working on the various special sections we do throughout the fall, winter and spring, our first go around has been difficult but not impossible.
However, I can already tell that going through those projects once has allowed me to put plans together that will make life easier going through those experiences in the future.
It feels like a never-ending cycle and just when I think I had a solid plan in place to get from point a to point b, there are a few pit stops along the way before everything is done and dusted.
In both work and personal life, I have surrounded myself with individuals who can adapt to situations like this.
I think that is what keeps me sane as I learn this process. Everyone who is handling adversity in whatever form it is, I can count and that individual to look forward to a solution.
Continuously learning lessons as an adult, I’ve been able to see how a lot of these lessons translate to different aspects of life.
For me, one form of entertainment I enjoy is YouTube. There is a lot you can learn, enjoy and brush up on.
I was watching a video on using a particular software for our work and one thing the person making the video said was, “it doesn’t matter how you get the job done. Nobody is going to care about how you got the result as long as it was done right.”
For the better part of two weeks, I have been thinking about what that person said, because I have a tendency of following a blueprint and believing that is the only way about getting the job done. Even working in other occupations, I have struggled with things not working out as I had anticipated and that has forced me to adapt and be more forward thinking.
I believe there are jobs out there that work for individuals who have that same type of mentality who enjoy routine work and don’t like change, but I have never found myself in those situations.
Previous to coming to the News-Press, I was a jet fueler for a private aviation company next to the main airport in Lubbock.
Some things were routine in nature such as an airline schedule I can plan for since the company I worked for is contracted to fuel the airlines at the main terminals.
However, there were always delays, mechanical issues, something going wrong or I was needed at several different place at once.
I think that job trained me more in handling high stress situations and becoming more familiar with a work environment where plans can be nice, but don’t expect them to pan out.
Understanding life is planning and adapting is stressful at times, but there isn’t much of an alternative unless I throw responsibilities to the wind and move back in with mom.
There are times where I talk to her about different things going on in life and every time I tell her I am coming back home she tells me absolutely not.
She’d disown me before I started packing, but that life lesson I have learned alone is constantly teaching me new things.