These two personalities pose a few challenges in a marriage,
or any close relationship. A planner likes things, well, planned. They like to know
what to expect, stay organized, and be prepared. They can be rigid and stuffy if
they don’t allow some flexibility.
A panster likes to swing it, be spontaneous, go with the flow,
fly by the seat of their pants. They are usually easy going and fun to be around, until their lack of planning leads to a crisis or disaster.
One case in point, a wedding. Spontaneity is great until
other people’s schedules (like magistrates) don’t match up with the panster’s
scheme. My panster husband almost blew the wedding by not mentioning it to our
travel agent until almost too late. Bless the woman, after her initial heart
attack, she managed to get it arranged.
On the other hand, a planner tends to over plan, over
schedule, and end up frustrating herself and her partner.
Compromise is the key. The planner agrees to ditch the
schedule, except for important things, and the panster agrees to a plan for the
important events. Now both can enjoy the impromptu day trips, dinners, movies,
and other fun things, and not feel panicked or feel overwhelmed.
Thus, this planner did not pester her panster with thousands
of questions over morning coffee. He responded by announcing plans to take care
of a few tasks, at some point during the day.
Fair enough.
Which are you? A planner
or a panster?
I'm a plantser--but probably come down on the side of planner a bit more. It helps balance each other out, doesn't it? :)
ReplyDeleteThat is probably the healthiest of the two: a little planning and a little flying by the seat of your pants. :) That's my goal.... And yes, they do balance each other out.
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