Uncertainty – The term mostly used when we are not certain as to what holds for us in the future. In our day to day lives we face uncertainty in every aspect of our life. Arrival of unexpected relatives, technical problems while commuting to work, rescheduling of an important meeting, absence of necessary co-worker are few examples. No matter how certain we are about things to happen or not happen, uncertainty does show up. (I have been trying to write this article since long time but every time I start I am unable to continue putting words. That’s uncertainty).
No amount of planning can outcast its presence, however it does reduces its impact. Maybe this also increases the very importance of planning things and including margin for uncertainty. Every plan should incorporate space for uncertainty. What happens if your car doesn’t start up, what if the traffic is more than usual? What if while writing this article I forgot the next point I wanted to write? (I just did).
Nobody on this planet expected in 2020-21, they would be working at home on account of a Pandemic. Neither any school student expected that there exams would be cancelled and they would be promoted to next class and schools won’t open till God knows what time.
In the book Essentialism – The disciplined pursuit of less, Author Greg Mckeown states the importance of having prepared for unexpected. Putting out an extract of the same – “The reality is that we live in an unpredictable world. Even apart from extreme events such as famines, we face the unexpected constantly. We do not know whether the traffic will be clear or congested. We do not know if our flight will be delayed or cancelled. We do not know if we’ll slip on a slick road tomorrow and break our wrist. Similarly, in the workplace we do not know if a supplier will be late, or a colleague will drop the ball, or a client will change his or her directions at the eleventh hour, and so on. The only thing we can expect (with any great certainty) is the unexpected. Therefore, we can either wait for the moment and react to it or we can prepare. We can create a buffer. A “buffer” can be defined literally as something that prevents two things from coming into contact and harming each other. For example, a “buffer zone” at the periphery of a protected environmental area is an area of land that is used to create extra space between that area and any potential threats that might infiltrate it.“
Facing uncertainty is difficult at times, but if we create proper buffers to face those unexpected times, we can ease the situations little bit. Those buffers can be in the form of extra time, proper planning, taking into consideration different contingencies which might come up later, creating appropriate tools and resources for contingencies. All this might help us survive the situation easily. We can face those hard unexpected times with less pressure and losses.
Saving money for your future, making timely investments, taking appropriate rest and exercise, accumulating resources as required, minimizing wastages, working or studying consistently on projects, all those things will reduce your chances of getting stuck up when the actual deadline turns up. You won’t face the last minute hustle that is faced by people who are unprepared for the actual event and even if uncertainty comes you would have required strategy and tools to face the same with ease.
More efforts you put into planning and preparing for the uncertainty at the time when you have things in control will in return help you to have control over those uncertainties.
#essentialism #uncertainty #gregmckeown #
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