Listen. Plan. Execute.

THIS. RIGHT. HERE…!!! ↑

Between the screenshots I have run across recently that are shown above and the title of this post, I’m giving you a few freebie notes that folks (*ahem, cough* guys) may want to take advantage of, consider it my way of putting some goodness out into the universe on women everywhere…I’m just saying….

I was having a conversation with one of my close male friends a few months ago and somehow we got on the conversation of our 2 love lives (whatever state they were in at the time). I mentioned that for me when it comes to dating, my expectations are simple-I want the man to LISTEN, I want the man to PLAN and I want him to EXECUTE-of course me being the type of person I am I just shortened it to Listen, Plan, Execute (Catchy right?). Shouldn’t be too hard to comprehend and put in motion right? Sheesh-you’d be surprised.

Listen:

Now I don’t know about y’all but last time I checked you couldn’t really “listen” to someone via text. Sure you may be able to pick up on a few cues, but as far as I know, unless I use some overt emoji or long winded typed explanation as to why I’m saying what I’m saying, you really can’t tell my passion or feelings or whether or not the topic makes me happy or sad or angry or anything else about what’s going on via text-feel free to dispute me…Anybody? Is there one? Moving on. With all this being said – PICK UP THE DAMN PHONE AND CALL A PERSON. Whew, glad I got that off my chest early! I’ve said it before in previous posts and I’ll say it again-I am not a fan of texting. I think it’s fine for short little cute messages like Good Morning, Thinking about you, On my way, Hey boo, or even little pictures or quotes or the like-that’s cool. But please don’t think our only form of communication should be a text-if we get to that point then I got 2 feet out the door cause that means we actually can’t sustain a real conversation and nothing turns me on more than a good, quality conversation on a myriad of topics with a fine man. Oh- and a sense of humor, and a man who knows how to dress, and a man who smells good, and a man who knows how to handle business, and a man who treats me well and likes to travel and loves sports and his momma….okay a lot of things turn me on but I digress. If you TALK to someone long enough you will start to hear things that will give you clues as to what they like and don’t like. The more you listen the more stuff you’ll have to pull from when it’s time to impress the person you are with. For example, the main theme a person that actually LISTENS to me would hear is that I am a HUGE romantic. If a guy can’t pick up on that-he CLEARLY isn’t paying me the least bit of attention-verbally or non-verbally.  

Plan:

I admit, by nature I have what some people see as a great asset and what others may see as a character flaw-I am a planner. Don’t get me wrong, I am definitely a laid back, go with the flow type of girl and can be as spontaneous as the next chick but I got to tell you-I get a little OCD and start to get the shakes when a person doesn’t have a plan-I mean like no plan whatsoever. Please for the love of God don’t say to me “whatever you want to do”, or “I don’t know” or heaven forbid, “I didn’t really think about it” (YIKES-I may just spontaneously combust on the spot!)…I’m working on it, and I try not to take over but listen, if you don’t have at least half of the plan set before the date/event/trip/outing/whatever starts I’m gonna have a serious side eye-whether I let a person see it or not. Honestly, I know today, Tuesday the 8^th what I’m doing next Saturday the 19^th. Is there room to make changes and adjust my plans? Of course, but do I basically know where I will be and what I will be doing then? Yup. Fellas-please, please, please, PLAN SOMETHING. In my line of work I always have to be on top of things. I have to lead people, projects, timelines, budgets, etc. Sometimes I just want someone else to take care of it. I don’t want to have to find stuff, buy stuff, plan stuff, reserve stuff, look up stuff or make all the decisions. I’m totally okay with following your lead (as long as it doesn’t put my life and well-being in danger). How can I look at a guy seriously as a potential husband and head of household if he can’t even head up a date? I’m just supposed to aimlessly follow you down this road to nowhere? That’s setting both of us up for failure. Plus if you did what I said in step 1 and listen to what I like, then if what you plan is in line with my interests you will earn serious bonus points-because that means you actually put in some effort and effort + attention = interest.

Execute:

After doing all of that, all you have to do is execute. Why waste all that time and effort if you don’t follow through? Whether it’s something big or small it’s all about the execution. I would give you the same props for pulling off a flawless picnic in the living room in front of a fireplace as I would you planning a night out on the town-JUST MAKE IT HAPPEN. All women want to be dated, treated like a Queen and made to feel special. We want to feel like we are a priority, like we are important to you, like you are serious about what your intentions are. That means we are watching all your actions- what you do and what you DON’T do. If I say I love to travel more than anything and you never plan a trip-not even a short close one (if we are serious) - then what do you think I’m thinking? If I say I’m a quality time kind of girl and we never spend any time together how long do you think that’s gonna last? Execution is about more than just dates, it’s about overall presence, thought and effort. Execute on your feelings, execute on the things I say, execute on what you want us to become-see it through or leave it alone. Period.

As always, I can’t speak for everyone but I think many would agree that Listen, Plan, Execute is a pretty good idea. Try it out and see for yourself (you too ladies)-I’ll send you my billJ.

Peace. 

Twitter: @Frommysoapbox