Today is the first day of my week off and I start it, somewhat annoyingly, by meeting with a financial adviser. The meeting is at 10:30, but I have to be out to drop the Kinderbesten at school for 9am, which means I have 90 minutes of time to kill. The financial planning aspect, plus the inconvenient timing, has prompted me to think about living in the moment vs planning for the future.

I’m looking forward to a full week off work, which means I’ve felt able to have a relatively lazy weekend–given that I have a whole week in which to get things done. In part, I’ve taken the week off because I want to do things (such as gardening) that I don’t usually have time for during the average working week. I’m also taking a week off because I want to have some time to do … nothing.

One thing I have learned during this year is that you can spend too much time looking at the future. I’m now finding it almost refreshing to be taking things one day at a time: to live in the moment. On the other hand, this financial adviser meeting reminds me that I *do* need to keep an eye on the future, or possible futures: I need to make sure I’ve got adequate insurance; I need to make a will; I need to make sure that the Kinderbesten are covered if anything happens to me. I need to be there for them now, but also in the future. I need to be in two times at once!

So, when it comes to living in the moment vs planning for the future … ultimately you’ve got to do both. Too much of one will come at the expense of the other. The future is out there, waiting, whether you like it or not. But, if you’re not doing something with the [majority of] the moments that you’re given right now, maybe it’s time to stop and smell the roses.

Oh, and the financial adviser meeting was a big waste of time. So, I don’t really know where that leaves all of this …