Organizing Your Life

So many people draw lines in the sand between their work and their personal lives. But the universe doesn’t always recognize these lines. I’ve learned not to either. I do not have a separate business and personal life — I have a life. Everything blends together: my work, my family, my friendships, and my personal time. The same lessons I apply to my business life are exactly the lessons I apply to my personal life, whether I’m exploring health-related activities or attending a business meeting.

It’s funny how many people make rigorous use of their personal organizers during their Monday-to-Friday working lives. Yet on weekends and holidays their days often turn into free-for-alls. Have you ever heard someone say, “The weekend passed so quickly and I never got to the movie I wanted to see or the gardening I hoped to do. I wanted to spend time with my kids but the house needed cleaning.” Chances are, they didn’t schedule these things as priorities. If they had put them on their lists or in their personal organizers, they likely would have achieved these things. So we need to readjust the way we think about our personal organizers. Instead of associating them exclusively with work, we need to make them all-encompassing navigational plans for our lives.

Excerpt from 'LifeManual' by Peter H. Thomas. www.lifemanual.com. Copyright 2005, 2006. All rights reserved.

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