--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The problem with a plan is that you fill…" description: "\"“The problem with a plan is that you fill up the blank page of a new day with a ' to-do ' list before you get there. And if you're not careful there's ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db4/john-c-parkin-52876_blank-page_the-problem-with-a-plan-is-that-you-fill_681902.jpg" --- # The problem with a plan is that you fill up the blank page… ![“The problem with a plan is that you fill up the blank page of a new day with a ' to-do ' list before you get there. And if you're not careful there's no room for anything else. A plan, especially a very focused one, narrows down the possibilies of the future to just a couple of things: that things…” quote by John C. Parkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db4/john-c-parkin-52876_blank-page_the-problem-with-a-plan-is-that-you-fill_681902.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db4/john-c-parkin-52876_blank-page_the-problem-with-a-plan-is-that-you-fill_681902.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db4/john-c-parkin-52876_blank-page_the-problem-with-a-plan-is-that-you-fill_681902.jpg) > ““The problem with a plan is that you fill up the blank page of a new day with a ' to-do ' list before you get there. And if you're not careful there's no room for anything else. A plan, especially a very focused one, narrows down the possibilies of the future to just a couple of things: that things either go to plan, or they don't.”” [John C. Parkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-parkin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Plans can become restrictive, leaving no space for unexpected opportunities or flexibility. **In simple terms:** Plans may limit flexibility. Key Takeaway Allow room for spontaneity. Themes planning flexibility uncertainty productivity Mood anxious reflective Type advisory philosophical When to use this quote - daily scheduling - project management - creative work - travel planning Key Concepts Opportunity cost cognitive bias risk management Questions to Reflect On - How can you build flexibility into your daily plan? - What unexpected benefits might arise from unplanned time? A Different Perspective Over‑planning can stifle creativity and adaptability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blank page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blank-page/) [Control](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/control/) [New day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-day/) [Strategy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strategy/) ## Related quotes > [“Girls were like that, though- they had to know things. They had to plan.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecily-von-ziegesar/girls-were-like-that-though-they-had-to-know-things-they-had-to-plan/) [Cecily von Ziegesar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecily-von-ziegesar/) > [“while nobody plans to mess up their life, the problem is that few of us plan not to. That is, we don’t put the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/while-nobody-plans-to-mess-up-their-life-the-problem-is-that-few-of/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [Each new day is a blank page in the diary of your life. The secret of success is in turning that diary into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/each-new-day-is-a-blank-page-in-the-diary-of-your-life-the-secret-of/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [The whole trajectory of my life has changed through the realization that life transcends self sustenance and the challenges we try to solve. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trinity-chasara/the-whole-trajectory-of-my-life-has-changed-through-the-realization/) [Trinity Chasara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trinity-chasara/) > [Each new day is a blank page in the diary of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-pagels/each-new-day-is-a-blank-page-in-the-diary-of-your-life/) [Douglas Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-pagels/) > [Each new day is a blank page in the diary of your life, the pen is in your hand but the lines will not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/each-new-day-is-a-blank-page-in-the-diary-of-your-life-the-pen-is-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Every moment has infinite potential. Every new moment contains for you possibilities that you can't possibly imagine. Every day is a blank page that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-parkin/every-moment-has-infinite-potential-every-new-moment-contains-for-you/) [John C. Parkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-parkin/) > [“If you're a lumberjack, you know what to do. You see trees, and you still have a job! If you're a writer, you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-re-a-lumberjack-you-know-what-to-do-you-see-trees-and-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Actually, who hasn't been through the ghastly experience of sitting in front of a blank page, with its toothless mouth grinning at you: Go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/actually-who-hasn-t-been-through-the-ghastly-experience-of-sitting-in/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [“One of the vital things for a writer who’s writing a book, which is a lengthy project and is going to take about a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roald-dahl/one-of-the-vital-things-for-a-writer-who-s-writing-a-book-which-is-a/) [Roald Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roald-dahl/) > [You can't edit a blank page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/you-can-t-edit-a-blank-page/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [“You can always edit a bad page. You can't edit a blank page.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/you-can-always-edit-a-bad-page-you-can-t-edit-a-blank-page/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Staring at the blank page before you, Open up the dirty window, Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-bedingfield/staring-at-the-blank-page-before-you-open-up-the-dirty-window-let-the/) [Natasha Bedingfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-bedingfield/) > [“As I stare at the blank page, I am at once awash inwords but unable to find the ones I want to use.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-ryan/as-i-stare-at-the-blank-page-i-am-at-once-awash-inwords-but-unable-to/) [Carrie Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-ryan/) > [The acting background helped a lot when I started writing. I was training for it. In acting class they teach you about the stakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-higgins-clark/the-acting-background-helped-a-lot-when-i-started-writing-i-was/) [Carol Higgins Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-higgins-clark/) ## More by John C. Parkin > [The key to being able to let go of all the stuff you're holding on to is knowing that you'll be okay if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-parkin/the-key-to-being-able-to-let-go-of-all-the-stuff-you-re-holding-on-to/) [John C. Parkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-parkin/) > [“It goes something like this: I am one person among 6.5 billion people on Earth at the moment. That's one person among 6,500,000,000 people.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-parkin/it-goes-something-like-this-i-am-one-person-among-6-5-billion-people/) [John C. Parkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-parkin/) > [The problem for a lot of people is that they don't really know what they want. They have vague desire: to 'do something creative'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-parkin/the-problem-for-a-lot-of-people-is-that-they-don-t-really-know-what/) [John C. Parkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-parkin/) > [“Maybe it's because we innately know that everything is impermanent that we so desperately cling to it. But cling we do. We know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-parkin/maybe-it-s-because-we-innately-know-that-everything-is-impermanent/) [John C. Parkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-parkin/) > [Every moment has infinite potential. Every new moment contains for you possibilities that you can't possibly imagine. Every day is a blank page that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-parkin/every-moment-has-infinite-potential-every-new-moment-contains-for-you/) [John C. Parkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-parkin/) > [To lead a successful life, then, it's a good idea to work out what you really want. Then get together some plans. Then set…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-parkin/to-lead-a-successful-life-then-it-s-a-good-idea-to-work-out-what-you/) [John C. Parkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-parkin/) [Explore all 7 John C. Parkin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-parkin/) ## More Blank page quotes > [The acting background helped a lot when I started writing. I was training for it. In acting class they teach you about the stakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-higgins-clark/the-acting-background-helped-a-lot-when-i-started-writing-i-was/) [Carol Higgins Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-higgins-clark/) > [“As I stare at the blank page, I am at once awash inwords but unable to find the ones I want to use.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-ryan/as-i-stare-at-the-blank-page-i-am-at-once-awash-inwords-but-unable-to/) [Carrie Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-ryan/) > [Staring at the blank page before you, Open up the dirty window, Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-bedingfield/staring-at-the-blank-page-before-you-open-up-the-dirty-window-let-the/) [Natasha Bedingfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-bedingfield/) > [“You can always edit a bad page. You can't edit a blank page.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/you-can-always-edit-a-bad-page-you-can-t-edit-a-blank-page/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [You can't edit a blank page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/you-can-t-edit-a-blank-page/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [“One of the vital things for a writer who’s writing a book, which is a lengthy project and is going to take about a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roald-dahl/one-of-the-vital-things-for-a-writer-who-s-writing-a-book-which-is-a/) [Roald Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roald-dahl/) > [Actually, who hasn't been through the ghastly experience of sitting in front of a blank page, with its toothless mouth grinning at you: Go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/actually-who-hasn-t-been-through-the-ghastly-experience-of-sitting-in/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [“If you're a lumberjack, you know what to do. You see trees, and you still have a job! If you're a writer, you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-re-a-lumberjack-you-know-what-to-do-you-see-trees-and-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For years, when I was popular, I would face the blank page to write, and I couldn't think of anything that I thought was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-russell/for-years-when-i-was-popular-i-would-face-the-blank-page-to-write-and/) [Leon Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-russell/) > [You can fix anything but a blank page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/you-can-fix-anything-but-a-blank-page/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [Writer's block.. when one curses the blinking cursor on the blank page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regina-brett/writer-s-block-when-one-curses-the-blinking-cursor-on-the-blank-page/) [Regina Brett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regina-brett/) > [“Why didn’t I become an architect? Answer: Because I thought the sheets of paper on which I was to pour my dreams were blank.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-borden/why-didn-t-i-become-an-architect-answer-because-i-thought-the-sheets/) Iain Borden > [“The hours spent forming a written work can make one obsessive, distracted, compulsive, and neurotic even, especially when it comes to those rare, precious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/the-hours-spent-forming-a-written-work-can-make-one-obsessive/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [Tomorrow is the blank page.Be author of your own fortune & portrait every moment of tomorrow with eliminating negative thoughts & inculting innovative thoughts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dranil-kr-sinha/tomorrow-is-the-blank-page-be-author-of-your-own-fortune-portrait/) [DrAnil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dranil-kr-sinha/) > [“Well,that was fun," she said lightly as he maneuvered out of the lot. "I'm really glad you talked me into going out. My day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/well-that-was-fun-she-said-lightly-as-he-maneuvered-out-of-the-lot-i/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) [Browse all 254 Blank page quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blank-page/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The problem with a plan is that you fill up the blank page of a new day with a ' to-do ' list before you get there. And if you're not careful there's no room for anything else. A plan, especially a very focused one, narrows down the possibilies of the future to just a couple of things: that things either go to plan, or they don't.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John C. 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