52 Weeks of Life
Do You Have A Life Plan?
The men who built America didn’t spend much time thinking about work/life balance. The social standards kept women in the home and men choosing where the country would go and how. They spent as much time as necessary working with others to provide for their families and make money.
I doubt the Carnegie, JP Morgan, Ford, Roosevelt and Vanderbilt dynasties sat down and discussed these two topics:
- How hard do you want to work?
- How big do you want to get?
They mostly sought respect through money and power. And the impact on society came from their wives and how they shared and influenced through their values. Many of those women were given a life plan by their support for their husbands and family. Eleanor Roosevelt was the best example of that. She developed a plan using her values and today’s Women In Business need to do the same in order to achieve a successful work/life balance.
Elements
If you want a work/life balance you first need to create a life plan.
I know, so many of us hate the thought of any kind of plan, you just want to “shoot from the hip” or live impulsively. The reality of life is having a plan and working your plan brings you the most success, both personal and financial. And your life plan doesn’t need to be more than one page. You just need to have a goal for each of the five areas of your life. This first time through, just think about what that goal will be for the 1-3 years coming up. The areas are:
- Financial
- Intellectual
- Physical
- Spiritual
- Social
Financial
Start with your hopes for financial well-being. Think of your career, wealth, savings, budget and retirement. Set your 1-3 yr. goal. Remember, goals need to be SMART.
Intellectual
Next, consider the intellectual aspects of your life.
How will you gain knowledge?
Will you travel?
What direction would you like your life to go?
Physical
Physical condition plays a larger role than we normally consider. Our health, eating habits and amount of exercise impacts our chievements far more than we’ve previously considered. Boomers were not taught the consequences of poor diets and the value of home-cooked meals with fresh ingredients. Be realistic in setting these goals as they pertain to your current health conditions and age.
Spiritual
Spiritual aspects of your life includes your physical and non-pysical relationships, your family, your creativity, your Inner child, and yourself.
The quality of our relationships often determines the quality of our lives. Ask yourself:
Who am I attracting into my life now? What are the common themes and characteristics in my relationships?
Who do I want to include in my life?
Become Your Own Best Friend.
Shirley Maclaine said it best:
“The most profound relationship we’ll ever have
Is the one with ourselves.”
Social
Social goals are centered around Reputation, Fame, Inner and outer circle events, and volunteer and non-profit work and your social media efforts should reflect those interests.
Don’t try and do more than quality time will allow. There are hundreds of places you can volunteer, make sure it matches your goals.
That’s true for your responses to invitations to work or play, you can respond, “I’ll check my calendar and get back to you”, but what you really need to do is check your goals. If what someone wants you to do doesn’t help you achieve a goal, decline it. You’ll be amazed how easy it is to choose events and projects that help you and the people inviting you to join them.
Remember, this is your life plan, not a business plan. Write your life plan first, then your work plan. Both have similar elements, but with different goals, vision and slightly different values.
Get your Life Plan Checklist here.