#Planning March 5

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Today contribution to the 30-Day Letter Writing Coach4aday Challenge is on PLANNING

The challenge involves composing a letter to yourself when you were an earlier age. The goal is to focus on a value, habit, or choice that needs to be adopted or made.

My letter today goes to me when I was 35 years old and coaching basketball at UNC Pembroke in 1988. During the fall semester I would meet someone who would be a great friend and show me a PLANNING tool that changed how I approached life, work, and family.

Day 5-Letter about Planning

August 30, 1988

Dear 35-Year-Old Dan:

Writing to inform you that something significant is about to happen to you in the upcoming months. Your campus is getting a new Dining Hall Manager named David Vandenberg and when you meet him your approach to daily planning will be altered for the rest of your life.

David in 1988 is working for Marriott and they have a campus food division. That division has the contract for food services at Pembroke State (in 1996 the name will change to UNC Pembroke). Corporate America including Marriott in the 1980’s will invest a lot in training their leaders how to be productive utilizing various tools. When you meet David he is going to share one of those devices with you.

Prior to meeting David you relied on a legal pad to create a “Daily To Do List” you also prided yourself on having appointment calendar in your office and at the house. One day in a meeting David is going to break out his leather Franklin Day Planner and your curiosity is going to lead you to purchasing one also.

Since purchasing that planner in 1988 you will begin each day looking at the tasks that will help you prioritize what you need to be the best in every role of your life. Along the way you will get tips from Hall of Fame Basketball Coach Don Meyer on how to implement the planner specifically as a coach. Even in retirement it will be the tool that helps you give purpose to each day.

You owe a lot to David and in 2023 you continue to mourn his passing on August 25, 2022. Each day as you mark off tasks you can’t help but thank him for helping you become better at PLANNING.