Fall Planning

Well, here it is, already October! The summer road tripping has wound down, and we are into the fall season. Termination dust covers the mountain tops, and weather reports include frosty mornings.

This year we decided to slip down to explore the lower 48 with stops along the way for family and of course, work. Having the flexibility for semi-full time RV living brings the challenge of too many choices! So we are at a crossroads for winter. Everyone gets to make choices that are right for them. Have you thought much about the choices that you make and how you make them?

While it does not seem quite the road trip blog topic, making decisions is an essential tactic for an RV lifestyle. How do we make those choices that are the best for us? We would like to be on the road all winter exploring the lower 48, but there are some drawbacks for this winter. We had some unforeseen challenges:

• Family obligations
• Business obligations
• Possible finance challenges

These are challenges that everyone has on a different scale. For me, those challenges on the surface seem daunting. Will we ever just get on the road with the romantic view of traveling, care-free down the highway with the tunes turned up and warm wind blowing back my hair? How do we make those decisions? You know that is just a fantasy, right? But can we work towards that reality? How does your fantasy stack up with your visions?

So, I decided to review how we go about making some of our lifestyle decisions. I also am reviewing some of those changes that happen when life gets in the way of all of our best-laid plans. This is what we did to come up with our new plan, Plan B.

We hope these steps will help with your planning as well!

We had a family meeting. In reality, It was a series of meetings over coffee and beer. Every family is differen, but tht is how it works with my family.

1. Define Each Challenge

What priority does each challenge fall under in your list of life-goals? I like to list them all out with a priority  number. Sometimes I use a five point scale, other times, I use a ten point scale. I like the ten point so that it is easier to see where that challenge fits into our life. To be honest, sometimes those points can change when “life gets in the way of our best laid plans.” I like to remain flexible.

2. Pros and Cons

I write out pros and cons to each challenge, and then we prioritize where our wants versus our needs sit on that priority scale. What are the solutions? Write it all out. Every idea has its place regardless of how it fits in the reality scale. Often one “out there” idea will bring about some perfect solution because the brain is open to novel solutions. Everyone in the family gets a say when everyone has to live by the solutions.

3. Life Goals and desires

I have a prioritized list of our goals and dreams for both my husband and me. We review those goals and view where our winter decisions sit with our choices. Decision making becomes much easier this way. We also have some non-negotiable items in our plan. For example, a family member in need trumps a side trip. This is, of course, is based on our priorities.

4. Annual Goals

We look over our annual goals and decide how we can best meet those goals on the road. Sometimes a road trip does not look as good as finishing a goal that is not compatible with a road trip. When a new challenge is presented, how does it fit into those goals? How can we work towards those goals while still addressing some new life challenge? This is where we tweak those annual goals. Refine them, and you are ready for some serious planning.

5. Monthly and Weekly Schedules

After we decide on the big ideas, we narrow our ideas down to what we would like to accomplish in a month, then a weekly schedule. This is where the planning is the put into action with deliberate steps to not only address the new challenges but make those changes realistic with scheduling. This allows the changes to mix with the original goals. How will you still accomplish those long-range goals with those challenges as part of the plan rather than conflicting with the plan? Whenever we make concrete monthly and weekly schedules, we also reserve the right to change those schedules as we see fit.

Our Winter Decisions

This winter looks much different than we originally planned. We were planning on a winter-long series of road trips. Unforeseen family events caused those plans to change. Now, we will be semi-stationary this winter with small road trips radiating from one location. This was a compromise that we made. We love our family, and we want to be there to help. We also wanted to explore the lower 48. So, we decided to take shorter trips and explore nearby places instead of a longer trip across the country. Now we satisfy both our life priority of family first as well as our desire to explore and enjoy our camper.

Your Winter Decisions?

How do you make your travel decisions? On the fly or do you go through a similar process? So, we may not go far this winter, but we will still get to go, and we will go small and see some amazing places in the Western United States. See you out there!