what to do when things don't go according to plan

Today, the 4th of April, was supposed to be my wedding day. I could hardly foresee that it wouldn't happen since exactly one month ago I was securing payments with vendors, booking non-refundable rooms for our honeymoon and finishing the guest list.

But the wedding didn't happen. Everything is closed, the streets are empty, everyone's staying home. And I'm staying home, too, doing other more mundane things.

Sometimes things don't go according to plan. It can happen to anyone but, right now, it's happening to a lot of people. And before you do any of the things I will suggest in the next few minutes, remember that postponing an event is getting a second chance at something and there are thousands of people out there that will not get a second chance and who are living through difficult times. Practicing gratitude and being thankful about your life, despite the difficulties, is what matters the most right now - and the fate of your plans goes second place.

If your plans got cancelled, postponed or ruined because of this crisis, allow yourself to cry it out. It's unfair, it's terrible. You’ll have to call people or companies - maybe a trip got cancelled and you’ll have to ask for a refund on your flight and accommodation. Maybe you were going to start a new school program, a new job or your final exams were cancelled. Now things won't be as perfect as you imagined them, you'll have to plan everything again and your effort, time, blood, sweat and tears were wasted towards nothing, right?

Well, maybe not. What you need to know is that, when things don’t go according to plan, you need to gain back two things: the novelty factor and the feeling that it will happen in the right time.

**[Novelty]**

Despite the difficulty in setting a date, try to at least establish a distant timeframe for completion of your project or event. Defining a date will help you regain novelty and timeliness because there’s an actual day to look forward to.

To regain novelty, you need to think about what will need to change because of this postponement. This set back will force you to **rethink things differently** and maybe that can be an exciting intellectual or artistic challenge for you. Planning out the details you will have to rethink, which things you will be able to keep, and which things will have to be remade from scratch, can improve that feeling of novelty. You have a new second chance at doing this thing - and you can go back to your alternative scenarios and ponder things over, no strings attached.

And because you’ll have to make things differently, you can also **make things better**. If your cancelled project had a strict budget, maybe you just gained enough time to deposit a few extra bucks in your bank account towards that goal you had. You also gained time that you can use towards preparing better and more thoroughly for the event, project or task you postponed - either through more detailed planning, extra education and skill building and so on.

**[Timeliness]**

More time also equals **new objectives.** You can create or bring back old milestones that you would enjoy seeing achieved in that date. Maybe you want to take a class on a specific subject, pay your student debt, get in shape, change your diet or redecorate your living room. Independently of the nature of your goals, you can challenge yourself to do something for yourself before the new due date arrives and that will motivate you and provide a very specific reason for the postponement.

Embrace your new plans with a positive attitude and create enough opportunities to look forward to a second date. Think of time as a less absolute and more stretchable resource than you think it is - some milestones don’t necessarily have to be achieved at a certain age or time of the year. Sometimes it can be more important to build the right mindset and skills instead of checking something off your bucket list.

Also, make the process fun. If you’re planning to postpone an event or project, get yourself a new small notebook or planner to get all the details in order or journal or vlog the process. If you’re canceling or coping with other type of failed plans, share your experience with others going through the same, try to think of other crazy ideas that you can start planning now and will take your mind out of the subject and join. Also, take your mind off things and start making a list of fun things to do during this time - skills you can improve, books to read, things to learn and series to watch.

And since part of my entertainment factor is limited to my laptop and tv, it's much easier to rely on platforms that allow us to watch interesting and educational content during other this time and for that you have a great combo which is goday's sponsor CuriosityStream and Nebula.

FTC: This video is sponsored by CuriosityStream.