Don’t ignore the middle future.
I’m pretty good at thinking about what I have to do tomorrow. I’m less good at thinking – at least in detail – about what I have to do in two months.
The practice of taking a few minutes to think in detail about the middle future is one I’m interested in cultivating. I’m not talking about the long-term future of 5 years down the road; that’s good for dream conversations on long walks. And I’m not talking about the near future of this weekend or next week. That’s good for a morning to do list.
The middle future is thinking about 1-3 months down the road. It’s about envisioning the first concert on the day of the first rehearsal. This sort of forward thinking will surely help me shape my near future to be more effective, and have me ready for those middle future events when they inevitable turn into tomorrow.
(I’m writing this in June and thinking about making our Touring Choir August retreat more effective. There are things I can do now to make it effective that I couldn’t possibly give time to the week of the event.)