Being organized is important. It will help keep you focused on what currently needs to be done and prevent things from falling through the cracks. Even so, sometimes reality gets in the way and things don’t go according to plan.
When this happens, it may not make sense to just stop and wait while the problem detail gets sorted out. In fact, it’s almost always best to move on, do what you can, and when the detail gets resolved, then come back to where you’re at now.
Stopping and waiting can cause you to miss valuable planning or preparation time. But other times, it does make sense to do just that.
Here are some strategies you can use help you stay organized even when reality works against you.
2 examples I’ll refer to
For example, you have asked a friend to play a flute solo during the ceremony. But she’s not sure she’ll be able to do it and will need some time to respond. Do you put your music planning on hold until she decides?
Another example: you just can’t make a decision on the piece to use for your processional. Do you hold off moving forward until you can find that perfect piece?
Strategy 1
Use a checklist. This will help you make sure that when you move on, you don’t completely forget about the detail that still needs to get resolved.
Wedding Music Unveiled offers a detailed church wedding music checklist that you can download and use to stay organized.
A checklist allows you to review your status and quickly identify uncompleted steps. This prevents tasks from being forgotten. Wedding Music Unveiled’s checklist even includes reminders at the end of each phase to go back and check for uncompleted steps from previous phases.
A checklist will help you make the decision about whether to move forward or to wait by letting you quickly see the next steps. You can make an informed decision by weighing the two options (see the next item).
Strategy 2
Be deliberate in your decision about whether to wait or move on. Understand the cost of stopping and waiting. Are you delaying something that may cause problems later?
In our examples earlier, waiting for your friend to decide whether she’ll be able to play means that other musicians you could choose instead may not be available anymore (especially if your wedding is during a busy wedding season).
Waiting for yourself to find that perfect processional may keep you from choosing musicians or getting music approvals from your church.
If you choose to move on, decide whether you’ll eventually come back to the detail in question or whether you’ll just move on and just make alternate plans.
For the example of the flute-playing friend, when you move on, you’ll also decide either to give the friend time to make her decision and get back to you or to look for a different flute player or perhaps just not use an instrument.
For the processional example, when you move on, you’ll also decide either to make your decision later (or perhaps to keep looking in parallel with your next steps) or to ask your musician(s) for recommendations.
If you choose to come back to the details, you need to make sure that you will! So decide when you will come back to it and set some kind of reminder for yourself.
What’s the point of all this?
The most important thing you can learn is something I learned from many years managing engineering projects. It’s that things will occasionally not go according to plan and when this happens the best approach is a calm and rational one. Don’t freak out. Just think about how you want to handle it and then continue according to that planned response.
What do you think?
What advice or examples of how you dealt with certain situations do you have to share with fellow readers that might just be starting their wedding planning? Your comments are welcome and appreciated!
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