3 Aspects of Life Management You Can Control

Create your system to align with the way you think, act and organize.

Manage Your Life YOUR Way

Are you trying to manage your life the way that other people tell you that you “should” be managing your time, money, activities, etc.? You can find a variety of “best ways” to do everything - when to wake up; when, what and how to eat; when, what and how to exercise; how to be productive; and even how to meditate. All of these ideas are wonderful and probably actually worked for the people sharing them. But are they truly the best ways for you? The best way to manage your life will be the way that resonates with you and your unique traits. In my blog, 3 Keys for Managing Your Life, the second key is to use the TAO of Interdependence to consider all your needs and relationships.

TAO of Interdependence

Your system of achieving your GOALS is impacted by the way you think, act and organize, and by the way you embrace your interdependence with others.

TAO means the Way, which I thought was the perfect term to use as an acronym for the way you manage your life. Taoism uses some basic principles to live in alignment with the natural way. TAO is your natural way of doing things without rushing, by allowing things to happen effortlessly, and by accepting everything as it happens. Follow your natural energy cycles and adapt to seasonal changes. Develop your unique life management system, using the aspects of the way you:

• Think

• Act

• Organize

Shift your thoughts to boost your energy and increase your productivity. Act in alignment with your vision and values. Organize all your resources for your most effective and efficient way to achieve your goals. Be sure to remember your interdependence with all as you develop your best way to live.

Think

If you think you have to do anything in a way that doesn’t resonate with you, then the related stress will steal your energy and slow your efforts. You may find ways to procrastinate or self-sabotage. So the first aspect of doing things effectively and efficiently is to have a self-affirming mindset. You know yourself better than anyone else could possibly know you. Be confident that you can make the decisions that are right for you. 

The way you think is mostly a result of your subconscious beliefs. So if you have any beliefs that are negative and limiting, they will prevent you from achieving your goals, and ultimately your vision. When you believe that you are worthy of achieving your goals, that you can have collaborative relationships to help you achieve your goals, and that the universe is friendly and supportive of all, you can consciously challenge any negative, limiting beliefs that contradict those positive beliefs. You are meant to thrive interdependently with other people and the natural abundant flow of the universe. 

Affirm your truth each day. Claim:

• I am worthy of achieving my goals!

• I deserve mutually beneficial relationships, where we collaboratively achieve our individual and collective goals!

• I live in a universe that is friendly and naturally supports me, others and all LIFE.

Add any other affirmations that uplift you, then set your intention to achieve whatever you have planned for your day, sending positive energy to all you intend to meet during your day. Modify these steps in any way that resonates with you, and add any other personal rituals, which will start your day off with a high energy level.

Act

In my previous blog, 5 Steps to Accomplish Your Goals, I discussed breaking down your goals into objectives that have small doable steps. No worthwhile goal is within your comfort zone. That’s why each step needs to be something you believe you can achieve. Making the steps easily doable and focusing only on the one you are doing now will help quiet any anxiety coming from the voice of your comfort zone. Manage which steps you take and when based on how your energy level ebbs and flows throughout the day.

Your energy level naturally ebbs and flows throughout the day, and is also impacted by your stress levels and the energy of your interactions with others and your self-talk. Schedule the most difficult mental activities for the times of day when you have the most focused mental energy, which is different for different people. Some like to wake slowly and gradually step into their day. Others like to jump out of bed and get started immediately. Again, neither is bad or good, decide what resonates with you. Create your system based on your own natural rhythms. Alternate between mental, emotional and physical activities to allow yourself to rejuvenate between steps in each area. Create rituals to help appease the part of you that wants to stay in your comfort zone. Make that comfort zone the best possible to support you while you’re taking steps toward your vision.

Remember that your vision exists outside of your comfort zone, otherwise you would already be living it now. Bring to mind the image of your vision in full sensory detail as though it were happening in this moment. How does that feel? That feeling should be the best motivation you have to take the next step. If not, then revisit your vision to see if it is truly what you would love.

Still energized by your motivating vision, set your intention to achieve the next step. 

If this step is outside your comfort zone, welcome it as the growing edge of the life you have envisioned for yourself. Celebrate that you’ll be one step closer to achieving your goals and fulfilling your vision. Take consistent, decisive action toward achieving your goals. Do not hesitate, procrastinate and second-guess yourself. Be confident that you have made the right decisions and take each step you decide is right to achieve the life you’ve imagined. Taking small consistent steps is the way to achieve any goal. Even climbing Mount Everest requires one step at a time.

Organize

Claim your organizational style as uniquely yours. It doesn’t have to be like anyone else’s. Decide how you want to organize using your own personal style. The principles are the same whether you are talking about organizing your schedule, your finances or your possessions. Do you prefer to organize in small and detailed increments or in larger general buckets or somewhere in between? You will not be effective or efficient if you attempt to organize in a way that doesn’t resonate with you or if you focus more on the way you organize than actually on accomplishing your goals. Let’s take a closer look at organization through the lens of organizing your possessions.

Have you been trying to use someone else’s method and feel like a failure, because you just can’t seem to make it work? You haven’t failed; you’ve simply figured out what doesn’t work for you. As you read the next few paragraphs, really feel into whether or not the descriptions resonate with you or how you might be different.

Some people seem very well organized with everything perfectly arranged in perfect containers, perfectly labeled and neatly stored. That is perfect for them as long as all the time used to perfect their system doesn’t actually take away time that would be better spent actually achieving their goals. If this is your style, then remind yourself of the reasons why you like to be organized. It’s not to just be able to organize a bunch of stuff. You probably like the ease with which you can find things when you need them. You might have a lot of activities with lots of things to organize for each. Having perfectly assigned consistent spaces saves you a lot of time. Whatever your reasons are for maintaining using such a meticulous organizational style, reassess it periodically to make sure it’s still working for you, and hasn’t turned into you working for your stuff.

Other people require everything to be visible, because “out of sight, out of mind”. Yet when they have a lot of stuff, they can lose what they’re looking for when the excess becomes a pile of clutter, covering what you need. If this is your style, then remind yourself that maintaining a map of everything in your mind at all times is taking your attention away from the most important thing - what you are doing now. Consider reducing the amount of things you have. You can also consider using come clear containers that still allow you to see what you need, but makes it easier to organize them. Some good examples of this are clear containers to how various nails and screws by type in a workshop or to hold toys like Legos with lots of pieces by color, by type, or by kit. Think about what you want to organize and the easiest way to find things that resonates with your personal style. 

Many of you will not be at either of these more extreme ends of organizing, but the principles are the same across the spectrum. Find the right level of materials you need to support your goals and an effective and efficient way to store them, whether visibly or in containers, based on your personal preferences. Once you create the system that works best for you, use it consistently. Decide on ways to prevent unmanageable clutter and/or time-wasters. Both are forms of self-sabotage that prevent you from achieving your goals. Your systems will include ways to maintain, review and make changes when necessary to always support you fully.

Interdependence

Reminding yourself of your interdependence with others will also help you make better decisions about the ways you think, act and organize. You’ll need to decide what activities are best for you to do yourself, what to delegate to others, and what to do synergistically and collaboratively with others. These choices often depend on current circumstances. Ask for help when you need it. Offer help to others, just don’t give up all your time for others. Ensure your needs are met.

Another principle of Taoism is that of impartiality - all are meant to thrive; nobody is favored over anyone else. The best leaders are those who empower all their followers to be able to decide independently and synergistically what to do and how to do it.  

The beauty of your interdependence is that everyone can thrive and collectively you can produce more than the sum of your individual achievements. Be bold and confident while acting synergistically for and with all to thrive together in unity with

the natural flow of the universe.

Going Deeper with the 3 Keys for Managing Your Life

In the next blog post, I will discuss the final key for managing your life in more depth.

• 3 Manage Styles, You Decide Yours

• Create your system to match your management style.