Tickets and timetables

In my experience, I've found that plans (particularly plans with stringent by-the-minute schedules) rarely survive a collision with reality.

That's often because you can't plan for everything all at once and expect it all to go without a hitch. That's life.

A better alternative is to build slack into your schedule.

Leave 30-60 minutes before you have to. Or better yet, don't make concrete plans at all.

Not tying everything down to "we have to be here and do xyz at these set times" gives you room to relax, to explore, and to act on spontaneity.

It also helps to avoid the temptation of micro-managing people (your team, your friends, your kids) when they don't have the same agenda that you do.

No one likes a busy-body time keeper any more than an anxiety-inducing project manager.

So do yourself a favor and plan less. Or at very least make room for idle time.

Life doesn't have to be so grounded.