The PLAN

The PLAN Plot Summary

Introduction

Time management isn't just about squeezing more tasks into your day—it's about aligning your schedule with who you truly are. Many of us have tried countless systems, planners, and techniques, only to find ourselves feeling more overwhelmed than ever. We follow productivity advice designed for a generic person, not acknowledging our unique rhythms, hormonal cycles, energy levels, and personal needs. What if there was a more authentic approach? Imagine managing your time not by forcing yourself into rigid systems, but by embracing your whole self—including your body's natural rhythms, your emotional landscape, and the specific season of life you're in. This revolutionary approach doesn't start with where you want to be, but honors where you actually are. By bringing your authentic self to your planning process, you'll discover a more sustainable, compassionate, and effective way to navigate your days.

Chapter 1: Start Where You Are, Not Where You Want To Be

The traditional time management paradigm often begins with an idealized future—setting goals, visualizing success, and working backward to create a path. While visioning has its place, this approach misses a crucial truth: real transformation starts with accepting where you actually are right now. Many productivity systems expect you to function like a machine, following the same routine day after day regardless of your energy levels, hormonal changes, or life circumstances. Kendra Adachi challenges this approach by introducing a more human-centered alternative. She suggests that before creating elaborate plans, we must first acknowledge our current reality—our energy levels, responsibilities, limitations, and the specific season of life we're experiencing. Kendra shares the story of her own struggle with conventional time management. In her early thirties, with three young children and two side hustles, she felt perpetually exhausted despite following all the "right" productivity advice. She describes how she would meticulously plan her weeks using color-coded systems and five-year plans, only to feel like "a caffeinated squirrel on a treadmill." This approach left her feeling that the problem was her—that she lacked discipline or consistency. The turning point came when Kendra realized that the productivity systems weren't designed for her reality. Most time management books (93% according to her research) are written by men who don't have bosses, homes to run, or menstrual cycles—three notably unpredictable elements that significantly impact a woman's day-to-day experience. She discovered that women's bodies and lives often operate on different rhythms than the systems they're trying to follow. To start where you are, Kendra recommends a simple practice: name what matters in your current season of life. This isn't about what should matter or what will matter in five years, but what genuinely matters to you right now. Make this singular and specific. For example, instead of broadly saying "health matters," you might decide that "getting enough sleep matters most right now because I'm in a season of disrupted nights with a new baby." This approach brings immediate relief because it acknowledges your reality instead of fighting against it. Starting where you are creates a foundation of self-compassion that makes sustainable time management possible. Remember, you cannot build an effective system on a foundation of self-rejection or wishful thinking.

Chapter 2: Align Your Schedule With Your Hormonal Cycle

Traditional productivity systems operate on a 24-hour cycle, assuming consistent energy and focus day after day. However, women experience significant hormonal fluctuations throughout the month that directly impact energy, creativity, and focus. By understanding and working with these natural cycles rather than against them, you can transform your relationship with time. Kendra explains that women operate on approximately 28-day cycles, not 24-hour ones. These hormonal patterns create four distinct phases that align beautifully with the seasons of the year and offer different energetic advantages. She shares how she spent years fighting against her body's natural rhythms before recognizing that her shifting energy wasn't a flaw to overcome but wisdom to harness. During one particularly frustrating period, Kendra found herself unable to complete creative work that typically energized her. Her first instinct was to push harder, drink more coffee, and criticize herself for being "inconsistent." Then she realized she was in her menstrual phase—winter in her hormonal cycle—when her body naturally craved rest and introspection. Instead of forcing productivity, she shifted to more reflective tasks: answering emails, organizing files, and making space for quiet thinking. The result wasn't just better work, but a profound sense of alignment. Each phase of the cycle offers different strengths: The menstrual phase (winter/days 1-5) is ideal for noticing patterns and reflecting. The follicular phase (spring/days 6-12) brings rising energy perfect for preparing, planning, and starting new projects. The ovulation phase (summer/days 13-18) delivers peak outward energy ideal for presentations, social events, and living fully in the moment. The luteal phase (fall/day 19 until your period) offers excellent focus for detailed tasks and making thoughtful adjustments to systems. To implement this approach, start by tracking your cycle and energy patterns. Notice which activities feel easier or harder during different phases. Then, when possible, schedule your month accordingly—planning social events during your ovulation phase, deep work during your luteal phase, and rest during menstruation. For those using hormonal birth control or experiencing perimenopause, the fluctuations may be less pronounced but still present to some degree. Remember that life doesn't always accommodate perfect cycle alignment. The goal isn't rigid adherence but increased awareness and self-compassion. When you must complete high-energy tasks during low-energy phases, acknowledge the challenge and give yourself extra support. This cyclical approach isn't just for women with regular periods—the principles of energy management benefit everyone, regardless of hormonal status.

Chapter 3: Replace Urgency With Intentional Priorities

Our modern culture thrives on urgency—that persistent feeling that everything needs immediate attention. This sense of urgency fragments our focus, exhausts our mental resources, and often prevents us from addressing what truly matters. Breaking free from urgency addiction requires a fundamental shift in how we approach our priorities. Kendra describes her own experience with what she calls "Everything at Once" syndrome—the overwhelming feeling that all tasks hold equal importance and require immediate action. She would find herself pushing her palms against her eyeballs multiple times daily, doom-scrolling in the bathroom, and attempting to listen to an audiobook while cooking dinner while helping with homework—all in pursuit of getting everything done. One particularly chaotic Tuesday stands out in her story. Kendra had a podcast to record, a school pickup to manage, dinner to prepare, and client emails demanding responses. Everything felt equally urgent until her daughter called with a genuine emergency—she'd forgotten her inhaler and was having trouble breathing. This crisis provided instant clarity about what truly mattered in that moment. This experience taught Kendra an essential distinction: urgency is when something requires immediate attention, necessity is when something is required or indispensable, and importance is when something is significant or valuable. We often conflate these categories, treating everything as urgent and missing what's truly important. To replace urgency with intentional priorities, Kendra suggests using her NOW, SOON, LATER, NEVER MIND framework. First, identify tasks that genuinely need attention right now (NOW). Then, categorize tasks that should be handled after the urgent matters are addressed (SOON). Next, identify necessary but non-urgent tasks (LATER). Finally, recognize which items actually don't need your attention at all (NEVER MIND). This approach prevents the manufactured urgency that keeps us in a state of stress-induced productivity. By intentionally categorizing your tasks according to true urgency rather than perceived urgency, you can focus your attention where it genuinely matters most. The framework also helps you notice patterns—if everything always feels like a NOW, you might need to reassess your commitments or your perception of urgency. The beauty of this method is its flexibility. NOW is relative, allowing you to adjust based on changing circumstances without feeling like you've failed at your plan. This creates space to tend to what matters most in each moment while still ensuring necessary tasks get completed before they become genuinely urgent.

Chapter 4: Break Down Projects Into Small, Manageable Steps

Large projects often remain perpetually unfinished because they're too overwhelming to approach. The key to completing meaningful projects isn't just about finding more time or summoning greater willpower—it's about transforming how you break down and structure the work itself. Kendra introduces the concept of "noncritical projects in the nonspecific future"—those important but ambiguous tasks that linger indefinitely on our to-do lists. Whether it's organizing family photos, planning a vacation, or pursuing a creative passion, these projects stay incomplete because they're too big to tackle as single items. They create what Kendra calls "Big Black Trash Bag Energy"—the frenzied frustration that everything is falling apart and the only solution is to completely start over. She shares a personal story about wanting to write her book. Initially, Kendra approached it as one massive task—"write a book"—which repeatedly stalled her progress. She would set aside time to "work on the book," but faced with such an enormous undertaking, she'd find herself organizing her desk or checking email instead. The breakthrough came when she recognized that "write a book" wasn't a task—it was a project requiring dozens of decisions and actions. To effectively complete projects, Kendra outlines a specific approach. First, recognize the four characteristics that define a project: it has one primary objective, it has an end, it's outside your ordinary routine, and it requires multiple decisions or tasks. Once you've identified something as a project, confirm the objective (why it matters), establish a specific end date, set aside dedicated time, and break it down into individual decisions and actions. The most crucial step is making the project smaller by separating decisions from actions. For the book project, Kendra listed decisions (What structure should the book follow? Which stories should I include?) separately from actions (Draft chapter one, research statistics for chapter three). This distinction prevents decision fatigue and creates momentum by clarifying exactly what needs to be done next. Rather than scheduling the entire project, focus on scheduling just the next couple of tasks. This creates momentum without overwhelming you with the entire scope. For Kendra's book, this meant scheduling three hours on Thursday to outline a chapter rather than trying to map out the entire writing process. Once those initial tasks are complete, schedule the next few. Remember that not every project deserves your attention right now. Before starting something new, ask yourself: How will this project affect my life? Do my expectations match the energy I'm willing to give? What will happen if I don't do this? Is there another season when this would make more sense? Answering these questions ensures you're investing your limited time and energy in projects that truly matter in your current season of life.

Chapter 5: Bring Your Whole Self to Planning

Traditional time management treats people like productivity machines, ignoring the beautiful complexity of being human. True effectiveness comes not from forcing yourself to follow rigid systems, but from embracing your unique personality, circumstances, and needs in your planning process. Kendra shares how she struggled with conventional planning approaches until she realized she needed to incorporate her whole self into the process. As a self-described "recovering perfectionist," she had spent much of her life believing that not meeting a goal represented a devastating personal failure. Additionally, most of her early goal-setting revolved around changing her body—losing weight, fitting into smaller sizes—which left an unhealthy residue on her relationship with planning. She describes a pivotal moment during the early pandemic months when life suddenly slowed down. Without her usual frantic pace, Kendra noticed how little attention she had been paying to where she actually was in life. She had been primarily focused on what was coming next, on how to make life better, using her present merely as a stepping stone to some idealized future. This realization transformed how she approached planning. To bring your whole self to planning, Kendra suggests acknowledging several key elements of your humanity. First, recognize your personality and planning style. Some people thrive with detailed plans while others feel suffocated by them. Some naturally excel at preparation, others at adjusting in the moment, and still others at noticing patterns. Honor your natural strengths while developing capacity in areas that don't come as easily. Next, consider your neurodiversity and mental health. Kendra cites KC Davis, explaining that conditions like ADHD, depression, and anxiety affect executive function, making traditional planning more difficult. Some people require up to 100 times more mental energy to plan compared to those whose brain chemistry naturally aligns with conventional approaches. This isn't a personal failing—it's simply how your brain works. Your physical state matters tremendously too. Your hormonal cycle, energy levels, hunger, and fatigue all impact your capacity on any given day. Kendra describes how she repeatedly exhausted herself by ignoring her body's signals until it would finally force her to rest through illness. Now she views her body as a wise partner rather than an obstacle to productivity. Finally, bring your values and spirituality to planning. What gives your life meaning? What truly matters in your current season? Let these deeper values guide your decisions about how to spend your time rather than external expectations or arbitrary productivity metrics. The practical application is simple but profound: Create flexible systems that work with your authentic self rather than against it. If you know you struggle with mornings, don't schedule important work then. If your energy fluctuates with your cycle, plan accordingly. If certain tasks drain you, break them into smaller steps or find support. Planning isn't about becoming someone else—it's about supporting who you already are.

Summary

The art of time management isn't about optimizing every minute or following someone else's perfect system—it's about creating a life that honors your authentic self and what truly matters in your current season. By starting where you are, aligning with your natural rhythms, replacing urgency with intentionality, breaking projects into manageable steps, and bringing your whole self to planning, you create a foundation for genuine fulfillment and effectiveness. As Kendra powerfully reminds us, "You are not a robot. You're not a machine to program. You're not a steadily humming operating system. You're not something to fix, leverage, or optimize." This truth liberates us from the exhausting pursuit of productivity for its own sake. Instead, we can embrace a more integrated approach that supports our humanity rather than fighting against it. Your challenge now is to select just one principle from this book that resonates most deeply, and apply it to your life this week. Notice how it feels to work with your authentic self rather than against it, and let that experience guide your next step toward a more aligned relationship with time.

About Author

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Kendra Adachi

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