How to get the most out of life this year

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

It's hard to know where to go if you don't know where you are now. Fix it with a simple technique.

Investor and coach Steve Schlafman has been detailing all areas of his life every year for three years. According to him, this activity allows you to dump the accumulated burden, inspires and brings new ideas. It helps to determine what is important and what is not, and to abandon the latter. For example, Steve himself decided to quit alcohol, quit an unsuitable job, and start coaching professionally. His personal report can be used as a basis to independently sum up the results for any period and set goals for the future.

Preparation

Set aside 30-60 minutes every day for a week to review your current position. Don't expect to get it all done in one sitting.

Create the right environment to focus and immerse yourself in your work. Close your browser, turn off the internet, or block all devices altogether. Find a comfortable place. Perhaps headphones and soft music can help you relax. Keep a notebook handy so you can take notes as you go, jot down interesting ideas, and whatever comes to mind.

You know better than anyone what helps you get into the flow state. Do it.

Be sincere, bold, and even selfish. Don't lie to yourself. All this analysis you do only for yourself and for no one else. What you get in the end depends on how you work on it.

And one more thing: it is not necessary to strictly follow the plan outlined by Steve. You can follow all four steps in sequence, or concentrate on just a few. If you don't want to answer a question, just skip it and move on.

Perhaps this system will not help you find the meaning of life and solve global problems. But the author promises that you will start the year with a clearer understanding of what you want to achieve and where you need to move.

Analysis

Step 1. Write down all the important moments and life stages

Steve always starts his review of the past year with a spreadsheet. There he puts all the main things that have happened in the last 12 months. Such important moments can be any achievements, events, actions.

Here are a few ideas for what to include on the list: you took a course, acquired a new habit, ended a relationship, took a big risk, fell in love, found a new friend, received an award or promotion, or had an unforgettable vacation. What important points did you personally have?

Step 2. Analyze and reflect on what you have written

Now that you have a whole account of your life, the real work begins. Below is a series of questions to help you make sense of it all. Get ready to take an open look at your successes and failures, relationships with people, life lessons, and things that made you think seriously. Take your time, be honest, and have fun with the process.

Success and growth

• What were your 2-3 greatest achievements?
• Are there any achievements that you are proud of?
• Describe your personal growth over the past 12 months. What changed?
• Have you managed to form good habits?
• What new skills have you learned?
• What are the biggest difficulties you have overcome? What exactly happened? What internal and external resources did you have to use?
• Which 2-3 of your solutions have become the best over the past period? What did this teach you?
• What risks did you have to take and what came of it?

Failures and failures

• What were the biggest mistakes? What lessons did you learn from them?
• What goals did you fail to achieve? What prevented?
• Have you developed any bad habits?
• What were the worst 2-3 decisions you made in the past year? What lesson did you learn from this?
• What did you plan to achieve in the past year, but did not achieve? What can you do for this in the new?
• What have you spent too much time and other important resources on?

People and relationships

• What new relationships have appeared in your life? How did this happen?
• Which person has influenced you the most (positive or negative) over the past year?
• What connections are most valuable to you personally and professionally? What makes these people different?

Lessons and Reflections

• What are the most important life lessons you have learned over the past year?
• What were the tipping points? How did you overcome them? What have you learned?
• What was the worst moment?
• How can you describe the past year in 5-7 words?
• What are you most grateful for?

Step 3. Assess your life

Remember, it's hard to know where to go if you don't know where you are. To do this, Steve Schlafman suggests evaluating 10 areas of life - health, friends, love, money, career, spirituality, personal growth, entertainment, technology, and the environment - and tabulating the results.

The score depends on your level of satisfaction. This should be the current state of affairs: do not try to remember what you experienced before or what you want in the future. Think about how things are now.

The purpose of this exercise is not to make you feel inferior, but to help you see the imbalance and get rid of it.

How does the rating system work? Assign one to ten points to each area based on your satisfaction. One point means "completely dissatisfied", ten - "it couldn't be better." Remember, it's important to stay honest with yourself.

Here are some questions to help you complete the table:

• Health. How does your body and mind function? Assess your energy, nutrition, sleep, physical activity, mood, mental state and everything else related to health.
• Family and friends. What do you think about your relationships with loved ones, friends, colleagues?
• Love. What about the romantic aspect of your life? This includes a relationship with a loved one, spiritual intimacy, and sex.
• Money. How are things going with finances? Assess your income, expenses, debts and degree of financial freedom.
• Career. What do you think about your work and professional development? Analyze your current position, status, career strategy, field of activity, work and leisure balance, relationships with colleagues.
• Spirituality. Is your mind busy with more than your day to day worries? It is about religion and beliefs, rituals, meditation, various spiritual practices and self-expression.
• Personal growth. How much time do you devote to self-improvement: reading, learning, practice, training?
• Entertainment. How much time do you spend on vacation? This includes a variety of events, concerts, travel, walks and anything else that you find interesting. Is this enough for you?
• Technologies. How attached are you to devices, how much time do you spend on the Internet, and is it easy for you to refuse it? Check out all the advantages and disadvantages.
• Environment. What do you think about the material environment? It's about your living space, country, city and workspace.

Steve shared his result:

Remember that this exercise is not about getting the perfect top 10 in all respects. Take a close look at the results in your chart and select the areas you want to focus on improving in the next 12 months. Better if there are no more than three of them.

Step 4. Make a plan for the next year

You are close to the last step. The time has come to outline the direction of development. You will have to ponder the following questions.

Goals and growth

• What are your top three goals for this year? Why are they important?
• What 2-3 new skills will you get?
• What is your main talent to help you achieve your goals?
• How do you plan to change by the end of the year?
• What do you want to become?

Forward movement

• What is the time to throw it away?
• What no longer benefits you?
• What should you give up?

Habits and behaviors

• What habits or behaviors do you want to get rid of? Define no more than three.
• Which ones do you want to buy?
• Which ones do you plan to continue developing in yourself?

Obstacles and fears

• How will you get out of your comfort zone and deal with your fears?
• What obstacles will you face? How will you overcome them?

Relationship

• Who among your entourage deserves more attention?
• Who do you want to build a new relationship with?
• Who can you mentor for? Whom will you help?

Planning

• What other steps can you take to achieve your goals? Be specific.
• What resources are needed for this?
• Who should you contact for help?
• How can you achieve the first small results that will set the pace for further success?
• How will you measure your progress?

At the end of this Stage, you will achieve greater clarity and get your own detailed plan for how to get the most out of life in the new year.