Future Me is awesome. She’s smarter, stronger, healthier, and has cash to spare. Friends and family love her, strangers want to know her, and onlookers want to be her – more than they already do today 😉 She has a perfectly organized schedule, is as productive as humanly possible, and yet maintains a sense of calm and an aura of peace. She’s the perfect mix of work and play, and tears and laughter, and her home is the coolest place ever with amazing decor and even better furniture. She’s a great speaker, attentive listener, and expert planner. She has a laundry list of accomplishments and an impressive resume, but more importantly, she has another list of things she wants to do – as the future Future Me.

Sorry to get all meta there at the end.

Point is, I spend a decent amount of time planning for Future Me. I eat a big piece of pie from Thanksgiving because Future Me is going to burn extra calories on a long bike ride. I purchase something with my credit card because Future Me will pay for it. I toss my clothes on the bed because Future Me will hang them up. I put off taking a risk because Future Me will be more prepared. I miss an opportunity to step out of my comfort zone because Future Me will be more confident.

Planning for Future Me isn’t all bad. There are a lot of important things that involve planning for the future, whether it be investments, school, moving, or even breakups. Sometimes I close a door because I know there’s a better door to open for Future Me. And sometimes I open a door because I think there are some even better windows coming after that door.

The line between procrastination and smart planning can be blurry sometimes. I think the main difference is that smart planning, even if it is for Future Me, still involves some sort of action, while procrastination is simply putting something off for one reason or another, be it good or bad. Of course this isn’t always true, that would be too easy. But hey, we live the blurry, gray zone that is reality. I’m just trying to figure it out in a somewhat soapboxy, introspective blog post. Think about my thoughts as you will.

How many things do you let slip by because “future you” will take care of it? And yes, this has all been a casual reference to How I Met Your Mother (future Ted and future Marshal). If you get it, you get it. Love that show.