Are you a planner or do you go with the flow?
There are two types of people (more or less):
1/ The ultra-planners. Тhey schedule everything down to the minute, know who they’re meeting three months from now, and already have their 2027 summer vacation mapped out.
2/ And then there are the freestylers. Тhey don’t know what they’re doing two hours from now, let alone next week.
Which one are you?
Personally, I’m somewhere in between.
I like planning ahead for some things. It gives me routine and mental space. But for others, I leave it completely open.
Case in point: I have no clue where or when I’ll take a vacation this summer. I know it’ll be in September and I want it to be by the sea, but that’s about it. I’ll figure it out later.
Curious where you land on the spectrum: planner, improviser, or a mix of both?👇
Replies
Not planning out everything down to the minute, but even in my side project I am using a Kanban style dashboard in order to sort my tasks. I am a person who needs some kind of structure, otherwise I'd never get to a release when being distracted by hunting from side quest to side quest 😅 Doesn't mean though I strictly stick to what I planned weeks ago
@fr31b3u73r 100% Love the Kanban style!
Three years ago, as a Ukrainian forced to make an urgent move to Slovenia, I lost the luxury of long-term planning. When your world collapses, plans become fragile. It compelled me to shift from planning the future to designing the present. I discovered that the only real control we have is the choice of where to direct our energy today. It's an existential choice. not just going with the flow, but consciously rowing toward your values, even when you can't see the shore.
@dmytrotomniuk That's terrible. Have you been able to go back to Ukraine to visit your loved ones, or is it not possible?
Uxia
I’m a mix of both. I plan my weeks in detail - meetings, workouts, personal stuff- but I’m not rigid about it. I like having structure, but I also leave space for spontaneous plans, especially when it comes to travel or weekends.
@borja_diazroig Yes, I try to do the same. I don't want to always plan where I'll go with my family, but rather to have freedom when making that choice.
Trace
I’m firmly on the freestyler side not because I don’t value structure, but because the process drains me. Opening a calendar, clicking through forms, typing every detail… it’s exhausting. I still plan my day (and even long-term goals) in my head.
The problem is, “for work” apps have turned into heavy automation machines integrated with everything — powerful, but overwhelming. And daily life productivity apps try to cover everything — habit tracking, goal management, calendars — until it’s hard to tell what they’re actually for.
Exactly the problem my team’s been working to solve, thanks for starting a great discussion.
@trace__subin Yes, sometimes this overload with tasks and calendars becomes too mentally draining. You end up doing more clicking than actual work.
Trace
@byalexai Exactly. There should be less clicking!
OFFLIGHT
It works both ways for me. Hard things (funding, launching) goes under the plan. Every less important thing goes as freestyle.
@daniel_hong And do you plan your operational day-to-day work, or not?
OFFLIGHT
@byalexai I used not. But since my cofounder who does the operation work for the team is now gone, I am thinking about setting a specific routine.
@daniel_hong Gotcha.
So now you're the main driver?
I like planning the things I don’t want to think about later. That’s usually logistics, meetings, ops stuff. The creative work like the strategy, copy, actual idea, stuff like that, I might leave those a bit loose. Most time the perfect execution for those do not show up on command, so I don’t pretend they will.
@a11yexpert I like this approach. Still, even for those things, you need to plan some time, because otherwise, you might never get to them.
I’m definitely a planner, but with a twist. I plan knowing full well that things will probably change. I love having a roadmap (it gives me a sense of control and direction), but I’ve learned to stay flexible. My main rule? Don’t get stuck in one way of doing things.
@lina_huchok what is your plan for the current week?
@byalexai Everything this week is orbiting around our Product Hunt launch, we’ve picked the date: September 23. I’m in the middle of pulling together our Core Team and mapping out the plan. If you’ve been down this road and have any tips (or things you wish you did differently), I’d seriously love to hear them. Always up for learning from people who’ve been in the launch trenches 🙌
@lina_huchok Happy to hear about your upcoming launch!
You can find me on X or Linkedin and we can chat! Have plenty of things I can share with you about a launch!
I am an Agile planner, if thats a term. I plan the basics and then always ready to improvise to the need of the hour!
Planning is very much required to do what's right for us so s to avoid the things that not to be done, for out of the box situations, those will be figured out later on. Since no one has to dwell over thinking rather doing.
I’m definitely more of a planner 🙋♂️ — especially when it comes to travel. I like having things sorted so I can actually relax once I’m on the trip. Funny enough, that’s what pushed me to build a tool for myself around weather + packing.
I always found that planning reduced the stress of forgetting something or overpacking. Curious how others here balance the fun of spontaneity with the peace of mind that comes from planning.