Always have a backup plan

You have a great daily plan but suddenly you are unable to complete one of your tasks. For example, your task is to buy groceries at "Joe's groceries". You are at Joe's but Joe was robbed 2 hours ago and you cannot buy what you want. "Jane's groceries" is nearby but prices are 5% higher. Of course, there is "Cheap Joe's groceries" one mile away where prices are 2% lower. It is important to notice you probably have a tight schedule. In situations like this we are usually mad that our plans are falling down and we might make bad choices.

What should you do?

Obvious answer is to calm down and think. However, as an emotional being it is unlikely that you can do that. So the real question is "What you should have done before?" My suggestion is to go through your task list and ask yourself for each task: "What should I do if that task is impossible to complete at the moment?"

Don't think to long about each item, it is important only to have one or more backup procedure. Some answers could be: Try tomorrow, ask somebody to do it, don't do it at all, go somewhere else, modify the task. For example you want to buy chocolate as a present for your kid. What are alternatives? You could try to buy tomorrow after work, or you could ask your spouse to do that, or you could decide that your kid should not eat sweets anyway, or go to "Jane's groceries" or buy the white chocolate in a nearby white chocolate shop.

There is another benefit of this "what if ..." procedure. If you fail at completing certain task you will not become too emotional because you are prepared and you know that there are other ways to achieve what you want.