Thoughts about the future are experiences had in the present. Be mindful of the present feelings of thinking about the future. Also, practice meditation.
A written budget that has “fuck it” money as a line item.
If I run out of fuck it money, I have to stop or steal more from another bucket. Am I stealing from retirement? From my next car purchase? Being able to see the impact of my decisions is enough.
I set aside an hour in the morning, best after exercise, to think about the future and write down what I need to do. Then the rest of the day I do what’s in front of me and work my way through the to-do list without having to spend too much mental energy on it.
Being present in the moment means not having your mind wanders. You can still have moments dedicated to planning for the future. And you can also be present in those moments, planning while not having your mind wanders.
Now I think it’s also important to add that it’s normal for the mind to wander. You don’t learn to be present in the moment by being mad at your mind for wandering. Just refocus on your subject once you’ve noticed that you’ve wandered away.
You figure out where you want to go. Plan how to get there, and then do things in the present to get there. Don’t get stressed out how things turn out; you can only really have some notion of control of what you are doing. If the current plan doesn’t work, change it, and keep doing it, until you get there, or not.
Joking, but also serious. The more you try the harder it is, but you gotta try right? Paradox.
In the meantime maybe break it up. Plan a day ahead, then maybe a week. Go with that for a bit. Maybe you’ll eventually start planning farther ahead, or maybe you’ll find contentment with a bitesized scope. I don’t think there are any hard and fast rules. But above all, be kind to yourself.
