When I first started keeping a Life Binder, I went through kind of a process where I had to figure out what its true value is in my life. Do you know what I mean? There were periods of time in the beginning when I wouldn't use it at all. But I always came back to it because I realized one very important thing:
My Life Binder is always reflecting my life back to me. And the amount of attention that I paid to my Life Binder equaled the amount of attention I was paying to my life.
So I knew that when my Life Binder was starting to get cluttered and cumbersome, then it was a signal that my life was already looking and feeling that way too. And I knew that as soon as I would make the time to sit down and get my binder in order, my life would come back to order as well.
The reason for this is simple. The Life Binder is just one awesome, well-rounded, perfectly adaptable LIFE PLANNING TOOL. The process of taking 100% responsibility for designing your life comes down to the decisions you make when you put pen to paper. You cannot consider yourself a designer based on what you have stored in your head.
Think about it, what do designers do as soon as they have an idea for something they want to create? They commit it paper. They grab a pencil. They sketch it out. They draw it out again and again and again until all the rough edges get smoothed out. They know that if they don't do this one simple, crucial step, then they have no way of taking the next step to creating their vision with confidence.
Putting pen to paper is the beginning of fulfilling your potential.
Think about it, what do designers do as soon as they have an idea for something they want to create? They commit it paper. They grab a pencil. They sketch it out. They draw it out again and again and again until all the rough edges get smoothed out. They know that if they don't do this one simple, crucial step, then they have no way of taking the next step to creating their vision with confidence.
Putting pen to paper is the beginning of fulfilling your potential.
The same is true with your Life Binder. You are a designer - a Lifestyle Designer. And the act of sitting/thinking/writing/planning is even more vital in your case because you are not designing a dress, a cake, or a building. You are designing YOUR LIFE.
Doing this can be hard to get used to at first. So many people find it hard even to just design the day ahead of them. And as the quote goes, "People take more time planning out their vacation than they take to plan out their lives." Every time you sit down with your Life Binder, you are deciding to be better than that.
What do you think? Does your Life Binder reflect your life back to you?
Simply, but precisely, put! I am going to recommit to putting together a Life Binder of my own - at first I didn't think it was something that would work for me - but as I follow along with your posts, I am starting to wonder if this is why I am not as organized in my business life ...as I am in my personal life (I'm a natural and known organizer among the people in my life!). So, today I am going to put together a binder and create a routine of using it to guide my business life. Any beginner suggestions?
ReplyDeleteAwesome!
ReplyDeleteSo the first step is to write down all the aspects of your business.
-record of customers
-calendar of activity
-business goals - monthly, weekly, daily
-routine tracker
-brain storm, brain dump, ideas
-income and expenses
The different aspects will help you form the categories that you will divide the Life Binder into and then it's just a matter of having the right printables to go in each category.
For instance, for my cleaning company, I created a checklist in Microsoft Word that helps me keep track of activity.
I scheduled a time in my weekly routine for when I would go through my cleaning company business binder and make sure it's all updated.
Keep it simple, make it pretty. :)
Great! I'll definitely take your advice. I am hopeful that might be the 'missing' piece & answer to why I feel so 'scattered'. I'm usually so organized in every aspect, but for some reason I'm struggling with getting my business organized! You're the best! Thanks much!
ReplyDeleteI think this is exactly what I have been looking for. Thank you!
ReplyDelete