On this last day of August I'm reflecting on all of the good I've enjoyed this summer, and particularly what of it I want to keep in my life as we move into autumn next month.
But whilst it's been a beautiful fun-filled summer that I don't want to kiss goodbye to yet, there's a part of me that's ready for a return to a little more normality.
The kids back to school, a bit more routine, the ability to focus again on things that have taken a back burner.
And I have a yearning as I always do at these turning points of the year to refresh my goals.
To make sure that I know what to focus on to ensure that the next phase of this year is another up-level.
If you feel the same, here's a simple yet powerful exercise you can do to identify how to up-level your life in the next 90 days.
1. Get a piece of paper and draw a large circle on it.
2. Divide that circle into eight – with four lines dissecting it top to bottom, left to right, and on the diagonals.
3. Now label each of those lines in turn:
– Career
– Money
– Relationship
– Family
– Friends
– Home
– Health
– Fun
4. Imagining that the centre of the circle – where the lines cross – is 0 and the end of each line where it hits the outside of the circle is 10, draw a mark on each of those lines to score where your life is in each one of those areas.
0 would mean that this area of your life is as bad as it can be and 10 would mean that it couldn't be any better.
It should look something like this:
5. Now you have a score for each area of your life currently, decide what would enable you to increase each score by two or three points. Make it realistic and ideally something small that when done consistently will over time make a big impact. So for example, instead of ‘Have more fun' it could be committing to a doing something new every week, or instead of ‘Be healthier and lose weight' it could be increasing the steps you walk by 1,000 each day.
6. Look at this list of eight and consider whether that is a realistic set of commitments. Can you really commit to all eight? Or would you be better served by picking three that would make the most difference to your life, or improve the three lowest scoring areas?
7. Then simply make a note somewhere you can easily check daily – your phone, a post-it above your desk or a spreadsheet on your desktop for example. Get in the habit of tracking your consistency daily and, if the commitment becomes too easy, step it up at intervals through the 90 days.
The clarity of where you want to be in 90 days with the consistency of small, regular action is a powerful combination that will have a huge impact on your life.
When you've done the exercise, drop me an email on josh.peckATyourbestlifeuk.com and let me know what you're committing to – a little accountability will make an even bigger difference.
