The Spontaneity Spectrum

As WordPress continues to recycle old prompts, I pulled another prompt from The Coffee Monsterz Co to respond to today

Are you a spontaneous person?

I am an absolutely spontaneous person. In fact, I’m the Prince of Procrastination. I’d call myself the King, but I’m sure there’s someone out there even more “last-minute” than I am.

For a long time, I thought I was just disorganized. But I’ve reached a point where I realize my brain often doesn’t function at its peak unless I’m under a sufficient amount of pressure. I need the deadline to create the spark.

The Creative Spark

I approach productivity the same way I approach writing: you can’t force the vision. If the creative juices aren’t flowing, I can’t get into the mindset to work. I’ve often wondered if this is more than just a habit—if perhaps I’m navigating an undiagnosed form of adult ADHD or some level of neurodivergence. Seeing the way Kid Too processes the world, I can’t help but see reflections of myself in that spectrum.

I’ve learned to live with the fact that I need the “emergency” of the clock to fuel my execution. It’s not just laziness; it’s the rhythm I’ve learned to navigate to make my brain function at its peak. While I sometimes wish I were different, it’s the way I’m wired.

Spontaneity vs. Strategy

There is a limit to this, of course. I’m not the type to wake up and say, “Let’s go on a random road trip!” My recent emergency dash to Madison to see my son in the hospital was spontaneous by necessity—booking hotels while already on the highway—but my dream “baseball stadium tour” is different.

That trip is a slow-burn project. To make it happen this year, I have to fight my nature and embrace the “Art of Moving Slowly.” It requires a budget: one paycheck for tickets, the next for the hotel, the next for travel. It’s a lesson in sticking to a plan to afford the freedom of the experience.

The “Plan B” Philosophy

This tension between order and chaos is most visible in my teaching career. Teaching requires a roadmap—lesson plans and semester timelines are the standard. But I refuse to be the person who is so over-coordinated that they panic the moment a schedule slips.

I keep my plans loose on purpose. Teaching is fluid; you have to be able to think on your feet and adapt when a lesson needs an extra day. By allowing for that flexibility during the week, I find it’s much easier to shed the “teacher armor” when Saturday finally rolls around. I’ve realized that a little bit of spontaneity isn’t just a habit—it’s the “Plan B” that keeps the whole system from falling apart.

Today’s post is inspired by the WordPress Daily Prompt. While I’ve taken the topic in a more personal direction for the Road to 1,000 Days, you can find more responses to today’s prompt HERE.

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AI art created with Google Gemini

The article “The Spontaneity Spectrum” first appeared on Rebuilding Rob.