the first kind is a situation where you are overloaded; tired, stressed, etc. That's a first aid question

the second kind of overload is where a large scale system is overloaded - Like trying to shop for groceries the day before thanksgiving. Or trying to find bottled water as a storm approaches.

Both kinds are easily avoided by good planning.

That's a good point! I have to get better at planning. However, I swear there is something inside of me that kind of likes the adrenaline rush associated with waiting until the last minute. Is there a name for this condition? Ugh... In college, we had this expression: If you wait until the last minute, it only takes a minute to do.

Also, preplanning for emergencies gives you a big leg up over decision fatigue. If you've planned for something, when it happens you don't have to decide what to do, you can just execute your plan. Much easier and much better than relying upon your in-the-heat-of-the-moment judgement.

Agree with chaosmagnet, however, in real life we may be living with people who live life a minute at a time.

I know some people who think that "planning" is a way to (complicate an otherwise simple life).

Prior planning prevents p*ss poor performance.

I have been accused of being a kamikaze shopper. I go in, get what I want/need and get out. I know generally where the stuff is, go to it, get it, move on.

I also have planned for several "what ifs" by having tools/food/water on hand, two adult BoBs and two pet BoBs (darn cats will not haul their own stuff, no matter how much I try).

For me, plans in place give me peace of mind. If I know what is coming up I can deal with the variables better.

Getting across LA quickly at rush hour - Just ain't gonna happen

These are small horse saddle bags.Girl took right to it like it was completely natural,but you have to keep weight balanced.

click to enlarge

See related post about power outages occurring in India

I've seen at work the difference between being proactive and being reactive against industry events, such as security incidents. Folks do much better executing a planned response than a reactive one - there is far less stress on people and far fewer variables to go wrong or random on you if you are guiding the response rather than reacting to it. A planned response with options is the best.

I deal with people every day whose personal disasters come suddenly - no one expects a house or apartment fire. My experience is skewed because the Red Cross doesn't often turn out when the family was prepared, by having renter's insurance (someone else to care for them in the event of this disaster), we turn out when people don't have renter's insurance or coverage for the event that includes replacing their food, shelter and clothing and getting back to where they once were. Most of the reasons for not being insured boil down to simple economics, no spare funds in the budget for insurance. Sometimes though its just denial, like it could never happen to them. They are totally reactive when standing barefoot on pavement with their vehicle a smoldering hulk in what once was their garage, with their clothing and kitchen, glasses and personal meds somewhere in the rubble. Emotionally they are a wreck, although usually they're operating on adrenaline and are in a state of shock, which can get them through the immediate disaster. I hear a lot of stories of victims crashing after we're gone, when the entirety of the event finally hits them. When all they have is a hotel room, and a debit card to begin to replace their food and clothing. At that point, I expect not being prepared is a fairly scary prospect. In the greater scheme of things, I would hope that folks could scrimp and save and try to sustain that $7-10 a month for renter's insurance that begins to provide replacement value, and do some other planning. One less pizza a month is all that takes.

Planning takes effort and a certain mind set. My Dad didn't plan for his end of life decisions. When he was lying in bed dying, it was up to the rest of us kids to sort this out, we'd never been down that road. My sister the nurse had a certain familiarity with dying and hospice, but it was too late to call them in - and she was an emotional nervous wreck, she couldn't express her views well at all. I'm no hero, but I stepped up and offered the difficult decisions - not to take Dad to the ER, not to put him on a ventilator, etc. To let him pass. In a family of 11, there were voices for every life sustaining measure. Dad had advanced Alzheimer's had been through multiple strokes, had not communicated with anyone for several months; he did not have any prospects for a quality of life following those measures, so hooking him up would be a comfort and an emotional benefit for the living, not for Dad. Harder still was what to do after he died. The assisted living facility helped with the basics - who to call etc. They provided abundant dignity for Dad. They had been through this before, many, many times. That helped, and helped my family begin to recover. But with a committee of 9 'kids' (actually all middle aged adults), it still took one to make the decisions, and again that was me, from internment to ceremony to the casket and all the incidentals. Dad didn't make any of this very easy, not before his illness had advanced, not by planning for his own care, nor for after he was dead. I suppose I took a lot of comfort from thinking, what would Dad want, and going with that as much as possible. He could have made it a little easier with a bit of planning, even a discussion with one or a few of us for his last wishes. Maybe he was scared, maybe he was shocked that he would be totally at the will of others, helpless, maybe he just waited too long. I won't make the mistake of not being prepared for dying, I've already got my living will outlining my wishes and directing competent people to follow through on my behalf. I want to make it a little easier on my family, my kids, and my wife if she outlives me. I remember though that through those 2-3 weeks of doing what I felt my Dad wanted, I was on cruise control, but when it came time for the memorial service, my family had recovered enough, I didn't play an important part, I didn't even speak at his service. I couldn't. I came away realizing my family is not terribly prepared for every eventuality, and sometimes those of us with a bit of a different mindset will have to step in and help out, and sustain us all through the hard times. That's ok, as long as the trial isn't too great.

One of my favorite quotes:
"Plans are worthless, but planning is everything."
-Dwight D. Eisenhower (Supreme Allied Commander for the Normandy invasion)

Emergencies will will rarely if ever happen exactly as you expect (that's in the nature of emergencies), so things will not work out exactly as you planned. However, you are still much better off by having done the planning. You will have evaluated your assets, strengths, and weaknesses. Presumably you will have tried to compensate for areas where you are weak.

It is always easier to modify an existing plan to fit the circumstances, rather than to start from scratch under extreme duress.

I have to agree with that thought

I have been involved in disaster work of one form or another for over 50 years. I don't plan for a disaster.....

I plan multiple contingencies, each an individual component to be selected as the problem unfolds.

Communications, Medical, Shelter and so forth are components. Even if I am mentally confused, I can revert to the training for a particular component.

I do make lists... lots of lists. Sometimes I even use them. The most useful describe short tasks. How to set up a radio system. Which items I need to grab and go.

I break it all into the smallest manageable tasks, then practice the task and document it well.

After an event, I spend quite a bit of time compiling an "After Action Report". The military taught me how valuable it can be. I even write them down formally, like it was going to be sent somewhere. It forces me to examine each component I used, how I planned to use it, how I really did use it and what worked and what did not.

All that may seem a bit obsessive, but it always seems to be worth the effort. I am constantly amazed at how poorly I perform as opposed to how I think I will perform. But then I try to set very high standards. Gives me room to improve.

Nomad

Everyone on the Gulf coast is busy buying waters, d cells and raincoats...all on the day before the Hurrcane

I don't remember who said it or what the exact words were, but here's my version: We don't rise to the occasion, we revert (or fall) to our level of training.

Seen it on a few forums,very true,concise and such excellent advice as it fits so many circumstances.

Weve used it to plan and practice things we had never even thought of running thru beforehand.

Having a plan pop into your head instead of having to brainstorm one under stress.....thats just a good thing.

The day before Thanksgiving shopping always reminds me -- Plan ahead. Even one day and there is more product and less rush. A good reason to pay attention to the weather reports. ( and calendar)

One place to see this is raincoats and umbrellas...as soon as it rains, stores sell out.

It is almost always best to have thought out some things up front. An emergency is not the best time to be thinking about what to do.

Having said that, these situations tend to be pretty fluid and you also need some flexibility in your thinking.

"Both kinds are easily avoided by good planning."

Yes agree. what I've realized that I need to do is to go thru my garage and hi-grde all my camping and survival gear. Then get it packed in Ready To Go (RTG) boxes. So I have one box for cooking items, one box for sleeping items, one box for medical etc. That way there is no "decision fatigue" or forgetting of critical items. I can throw these boxes in the back of a vehicle and be ready in 10 mins.

That's the goal, anyway :-)

Pete2

It's often a consequence of efficiency. The more efficient a system is, the less slack there is to take up when the load varies. If a system is running at 75%, when the load varies you can push it up to 100% briefly and adsorb the extra with overloading. If it is running at 95%, there's no spare slack and it will get overloaded and fail. Efficiency and robustness are opposed.

Many stores now stock on a "just in time" system. It saves them money by not having stock sitting around not selling itself, but means if there is a transport disruption they will sell out surprisingly quickly.