--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I plan years in advance, but I like to…" description: "\"I plan years in advance, but I like to leave enough space in the narrative scheme to change things, because I always get my best ideas the closer I com..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e76/grant-morrison-2360_change-things_i-plan-years-in-advance-but-i-like-to-le_159473.jpg" --- # I plan years in advance, but I like to leave enough space… ![“I plan years in advance, but I like to leave enough space in the narrative scheme to change things, because I always get my best ideas the closer I come to the end of a project, after I've lived with it for a while.” quote by Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e76/grant-morrison-2360_change-things_i-plan-years-in-advance-but-i-like-to-le_159473.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e76/grant-morrison-2360_change-things_i-plan-years-in-advance-but-i-like-to-le_159473.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e76/grant-morrison-2360_change-things_i-plan-years-in-advance-but-i-like-to-le_159473.jpg) > “I plan years in advance, but I like to leave enough space in the narrative scheme to change things, because I always get my best ideas the closer I come to the end of a project, after I've lived with it for a while.” [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Planning ahead is valuable, but leaving flexibility allows ideas to evolve, especially near a project's end. **In simple terms:** Plan early, stay flexible for late insights. Key Takeaway Embrace adaptable planning. Themes creativity flexibility project management innovation process Mood reflective optimistic pragmatic Type creative process motivational When to use this quote - writing - software development - product design - research Key Concepts creative thinking systems thinking narrative design Questions to Reflect On - When should you lock in a plan? - How do you decide which late ideas to keep? A Different Perspective Too much flexibility can cause scope creep and missed deadlines. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Narrative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrative/) [Schemes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/schemes/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) ## Related quotes > [Everyone is a genius at least once a year. The real geniuses simply have their bright ideas closer together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-is-a-genius-at-least-once-a-year-the-real-geniuses-simply/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I love movies and I like a lot of good television. At the end of the project, I don't care if they changed \[it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/i-love-movies-and-i-like-a-lot-of-good-television-at-the-end-of-the/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [At the end of a project I get very weird, you know, in my head because I'm not doing it. It's like an addiction.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberta-williams/at-the-end-of-a-project-i-get-very-weird-you-know-in-my-head-because/) [Roberta Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberta-williams/) > [At the end of any of my project I miss the material. I pick subjects I love and then get very engaged with them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-swensen/at-the-end-of-any-of-my-project-i-miss-the-material-i-pick-subjects-i/) [Cole Swensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-swensen/) > [You know, when you see yourself on a big screen, I tend to watch from behind my hands. There is absolutely the regret. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/you-know-when-you-see-yourself-on-a-big-screen-i-tend-to-watch-from/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [As you get to the end of the project you want to run all the tests cases against one version and make sure that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/as-you-get-to-the-end-of-the-project-you-want-to-run-all-the-tests/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [“Endings don’t have to be failures, especially when you choose to end a project or shut down a business. . . . Even the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/endings-don-t-have-to-be-failures-especially-when-you-choose-to-end-a/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [You can only have a short sight because things change a lot. You can't plan what the years will bring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-hegerberg/you-can-only-have-a-short-sight-because-things-change-a-lot-you-can-t/) [Ada Hegerberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-hegerberg/) > [You can plan for a hundred years. But you don't know what will happen the next moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neem-karoli-baba/you-can-plan-for-a-hundred-years-but-you-don-t-know-what-will-happen/) [Neem Karoli Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neem-karoli-baba/) > [Plan your hours to be productive...Plan your weeks to be educational...Plan your years to be purposeful. Plan your life to be an experience of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iyanla-vanzant/plan-your-hours-to-be-productive-plan-your-weeks-to-be-educational/) [Iyanla Vanzant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iyanla-vanzant/) > [My plan, for several years, has been to simply let one year merge into the other, without fanfare, so that the Grim Reaper won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-dent/my-plan-for-several-years-has-been-to-simply-let-one-year-merge-into/) [Grace Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-dent/) > [If your plan is for one year plant rice. If your plan is for ten years plant trees. If your plan is for one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/if-your-plan-is-for-one-year-plant-rice-if-your-plan-is-for-ten-years/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [I wasn't thinking about my pension plan until about two years ago. When I was in my twenties, the idea that you'd be thinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gordon/i-wasn-t-thinking-about-my-pension-plan-until-about-two-years-ago/) [Mary Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gordon/) > [I had a plan ever since I was nine years old, when I said "Mama, I'm a buy you a nice house and pretty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mr-t/i-had-a-plan-ever-since-i-was-nine-years-old-when-i-said-mama-i-m-a/) [Mr. T](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mr-t/) > [Me and my family, we sort of had this plan to... once we had kids, we had a plan that about every six years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-steele/me-and-my-family-we-sort-of-had-this-plan-to-once-we-had-kids-we-had/) [Taylor Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-steele/) ## More by Grant Morrison > [Your head's like mine, like all our heads; big enough to contain every god and devil there ever was. Big enough to hold the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/your-head-s-like-mine-like-all-our-heads-big-enough-to-contain-every/) [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) > [“Look at it, Dane. Look at the city and the world in its proud array, like a cask of jewels laid open for you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/look-at-it-dane-look-at-the-city-and-the-world-in-its-proud-array/) [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) > [Sometimes I pretend not to look at my own characters, because that's like different people getting off with your girlfriend or something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/sometimes-i-pretend-not-to-look-at-my-own-characters-because-that-s/) [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) > [Why am I in Hell? It hurts. It hurts all the time. Why am I in Hell? I just want to go home and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/why-am-i-in-hell-it-hurts-it-hurts-all-the-time-why-am-i-in-hell-i/) [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) > [The more I think about it, the more I realize that schools are just factories for turning out robots, that's all. They get you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/the-more-i-think-about-it-the-more-i-realize-that-schools-are-just/) [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) > [Talking to oneself, I have often thought, is the best way to be sure of intelligent and witty conversation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/talking-to-oneself-i-have-often-thought-is-the-best-way-to-be-sure-of/) [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) > [I'm a fan myself, so I try to write the kind of comics I want to read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/i-m-a-fan-myself-so-i-try-to-write-the-kind-of-comics-i-want-to-read/) [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) > [Everyone does magic all the time in different ways. "Life" plus "significance" = magic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/everyone-does-magic-all-the-time-in-different-ways-life-plus/) [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) > [“If our shallow, self-critical culture sometimes seems to lack a sense of the numinous or spiritual it’s only in the same way a fish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/if-our-shallow-self-critical-culture-sometimes-seems-to-lack-a-sense/) [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) > [Only nothing is impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/only-nothing-is-impossible/) [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) > [Remember it's all just a mirror we made to see ourselves in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/remember-it-s-all-just-a-mirror-we-made-to-see-ourselves-in/) [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) > [“Hell is only the Cringe Eternal and the Place of our Self's Undoing. When Nietzsche proclaimed "God is Dead!" he forgot to add that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/hell-is-only-the-cringe-eternal-and-the-place-of-our-self-s-undoing/) [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) > [“Idealists and reformers all become executioners in their turn. The road to utopia ends with the steps of the scaffold, the endless moment of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/idealists-and-reformers-all-become-executioners-in-their-turn-the/) [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) > [I think that superhero comics in particular are really useful for talking about big emotions and feelings, and personifying and concretizing symbols.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/i-think-that-superhero-comics-in-particular-are-really-useful-for/) [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) > [“You have given them an ideal to aspire to, embodied their highest aspirations. They will race, and stumble, and fall and crawl…and curse…and finally……](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/you-have-given-them-an-ideal-to-aspire-to-embodied-their-highest/) [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) [Explore all 169 Grant Morrison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) ## More Change things quotes > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) Phil Hogan > [“I’m not saying Jesus won’t come back; I’ve just decided I can’t keep hoping to be rescued from my life. Maybe it’s up to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-hartzler/i-m-not-saying-jesus-won-t-come-back-i-ve-just-decided-i-can-t-keep/) [Aaron Hartzler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-hartzler/) > [What really distinguishes this generation in all countries from earlier generations ... is its determination to act, its joy in action, the assurance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/what-really-distinguishes-this-generation-in-all-countries-from/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [“why would white dudes want to change things when they held all the cards?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/why-would-white-dudes-want-to-change-things-when-they-held-all-the/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [“Gandhi is best remembered for his adherence to the principle of nonviolence; but no less important was his adherence to non-demonization. Even when he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-truett-anderson/gandhi-is-best-remembered-for-his-adherence-to-the-principle-of/) [Walter Truett Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-truett-anderson/) > [Simply having rules does not change the things that people want to do. You have to change incentives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-wales/simply-having-rules-does-not-change-the-things-that-people-want-to-do/) [Jimmy Wales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-wales/) > [I used to believe that prayer changes things, but now I believe that prayer changes us and we change things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-used-to-believe-that-prayer-changes-things-but-now-i-believe-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You cannot change the things, so you don't need to stress if you're going to change them. So why complain? It looks so simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrey-rublev/you-cannot-change-the-things-so-you-don-t-need-to-stress-if-you-re/) [Andrey Rublev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrey-rublev/) > [I'm always trying to change things - change my character, change my look, change my hair, change my facial hair, change my costumes, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-jericho/i-m-always-trying-to-change-things-change-my-character-change-my-look/) [Chris Jericho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-jericho/) > [When something doesn't go your way, never lose hope in Allah. That faith could be just enough for Him to change things around for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-something-doesn-t-go-your-way-never-lose-hope-in-allah-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you're a black superhero, you can't erase the notion that you're black. If you're black, living in the community, and you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheo-hodari-coker/when-you-re-a-black-superhero-you-can-t-erase-the-notion-that-you-re/) [Cheo Hodari Coker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheo-hodari-coker/) > [It's crazy how much time can change things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alaska/it-s-crazy-how-much-time-can-change-things/) [Alaska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alaska/) > [The point of the essay is to change things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-tufte/the-point-of-the-essay-is-to-change-things/) [Edward Tufte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-tufte/) > [“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them. Try to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-may-not-control-all-the-events-that-happen-to-you-but-you-can/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) Browse all 661 Change things quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I plan years in advance, but I like to leave enough space in the narrative scheme to change things, because I always get my best ideas the closer I come to the end of a project, after I've lived with it for a while.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Grant Morrison" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/i-plan-years-in-advance-but-i-like-to-leave-enough-space-in-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Change things" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/i-plan-years-in-advance-but-i-like-to-leave-enough-space-in-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e76/grant-morrison-2360_change-things_i-plan-years-in-advance-but-i-like-to-le_159473.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e76/grant-morrison-2360_change-things_i-plan-years-in-advance-but-i-like-to-le_159473.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e76/grant-morrison-2360_change-things_i-plan-years-in-advance-but-i-like-to-le_159473.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I plan years in advance, but I like to leave enough space in the narrative scheme to change things, because…” — Grant Morrison", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Grant Morrison", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I plan years in advance, but...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/i-plan-years-in-advance-but-i-like-to-leave-enough-space-in-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/i-plan-years-in-advance-but-i-like-to-leave-enough-space-in-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```