Life domains + Goal setting = The Life You Want

[Johnny boy]

One of the most fool-proof ways of improving your life, getting clarity and figuring out the best immediate course of action is by implementing a combination of self reflection, categorization, and objective measuring, all in a cycle that feeds into itself in an upward spiral.

I can look back and see that the greatest improvement I’ve ever had in my life came from doing some very basic but powerful things.

Anyone can use this and it is probably THE most powerful, lowest common denominator type of advice that can improve the life of anyone that follows it.

It is so basic that you will probably say “this is so obvious. It shouldn’t even be considered advice”. And I almost agree, except I would ask “are you actually doing it though?”

I didn’t learn this from anyone, or if I did I forgot. It just “made sense” and now looking backwards I see how powerful it has been.

Here’s how I do it. It isn’t even very important if you follow it exactly. What matters is simply that you are doing some of it, and redoing it often.

1. Write down everything you hate about your life. Write down what causes you grief. Write down what you lack and what makes you miserable. This will help make step 2 more obvious.

2. Write down your personal life domains. These are simply “life categories”. I have 6. If you’ve ever played video games, you already know how this works with character attributes. Step one was useful for this, as it highlights some things you need to focus on since they are affecting you in a negative way.

Here’s my personal 6 categories and in no particular order. Having one of these things and neglecting the others would make for a miserable life.

Body: covers fitness, body composition, health, etc. when I am out of shape I feel like shit.

Style: covers the “things” in my life. Having a clean house. Having good clothes. It covers cars, material things, etc. Its nice to have good things and be clean and organized.

Money: covers business, savings, investments, taxes, my career, etc. “how I make my money” and even the “lifestyle” that surrounds my income generation is included.

Relationships: friends, sex life, love, parties, etc. it covers the overarching “how I interact with other people” part of my life

Mindset: my beliefs, my thoughts, my happiness, my mental ability, my talents, skills, overall mental health, etc. my brain, the software installed in my mind.

Adventure: covers all of the fun things in life. Do I have an adventure lined up? Do I have something that scares me on the horizon? Am I doing cool shit or just existing?

3. Now that you have identified what’s important and what you want to fix, and have categorized your life accordingly, it’s time to set goals within each of those categories, in addition to any goals that might fall outside of those categories.

Goals come from an emotion. You take an ideal that you feel you are not achieving in, and turn it into words. That makes it a goal.

You take that goal and identify where you are now. With those two things, you have a road map. You take that roadmap of where you want to go and where you are, and you create a plan.

You take that plan, and create a to-do list. A to do list let’s you objectively start moving towards your plan, and subsequently your goals, in a strategic clear way. 1,2,3. Straight from a to b, not going around in circles.

4. Now, you repeat this as you gain clarity and experience. Do it as often as you like. It feeds into itself and you’ll be spiraling upwards.

Broken down…here’s all you do. Make it simple as F*ck.

1. What sucks about your life?
2. Divide your life into categories. Maybe like 4-7. Not 2, not 20 (usually..)
3. Make goals, with respect to those categories. Then a plan, then a to-do list.
4. Repeat whenever

I am constantly analyzing my life in regards to these things. The people that do this naturally… you’ll find that they are all fit, free, wealthy, getting laid, and smiling a lot. If you go hard in only one category you’ll find that in ten years you’ll wake up still miserable because you only wanted to be fit, or only wanted to make money, or read books all day, etc. You have priorities that are unique, your goals should reflect that. And if you realize that nothing else matters except for 1-2 things, that’s okay. What matters is doing what’s important to you and setting the right goals for what your prioritize.

This is a perfect way for you to get started with some clarity and direction when you’re just starting out.

Keep this shit simple. Simple is genius.

 

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[YoungPadawan]

One of the most fool-proof ways of improving your life, getting clarity and figuring out the best immediate course of action is by implementing a combination of self reflection, categorization, and objective measuring, all in a cycle that feeds into itself in an upward spiral.

I can look back and see that the greatest improvement I’ve ever had in my life came from doing some very basic but powerful things.

Anyone can use this and it is probably THE most powerful, lowest common denominator type of advice that can improve the life of anyone that follows it.

It is so basic that you will probably say “this is so obvious. It shouldn’t even be considered advice”. And I almost agree, except I would ask “are you actually doing it though?”

I didn’t learn this from anyone, or if I did I forgot. It just “made sense” and now looking backwards I see how powerful it has been.

Here’s how I do it. It isn’t even very important if you follow it exactly. What matters is simply that you are doing some of it, and redoing it often.

1. Write down everything you hate about your life. Write down what causes you grief. Write down what you lack and what makes you miserable. This will help make step 2 more obvious.

2. Write down your personal life domains. These are simply “life categories”. I have 6. If you’ve ever played video games, you already know how this works with character attributes. Step one was useful for this, as it highlights some things you need to focus on since they are affecting you in a negative way.

Here’s my personal 6 categories and in no particular order. Having one of these things and neglecting the others would make for a miserable life.

Body: covers fitness, body composition, health, etc. when I am out of shape I feel like shit.

Style: covers the “things” in my life. Having a clean house. Having good clothes. It covers cars, material things, etc. Its nice to have good things and be clean and organized.

Money: covers business, savings, investments, taxes, my career, etc. “how I make my money” and even the “lifestyle” that surrounds my income generation is included.

Relationships: friends, sex life, love, parties, etc. it covers the overarching “how I interact with other people” part of my life

Mindset: my beliefs, my thoughts, my happiness, my mental ability, my talents, skills, overall mental health, etc. my brain, the software installed in my mind.

Adventure: covers all of the fun things in life. Do I have an adventure lined up? Do I have something that scares me on the horizon? Am I doing cool shit or just existing?

3. Now that you have identified what’s important and what you want to fix, and have categorized your life accordingly, it’s time to set goals within each of those categories, in addition to any goals that might fall outside of those categories.

Goals come from an emotion. You take an ideal that you feel you are not achieving in, and turn it into words. That makes it a goal.

You take that goal and identify where you are now. With those two things, you have a road map. You take that roadmap of where you want to go and where you are, and you create a plan.

You take that plan, and create a to-do list. A to do list let’s you objectively start moving towards your plan, and subsequently your goals, in a strategic clear way. 1,2,3. Straight from a to b, not going around in circles.

4. Now, you repeat this as you gain clarity and experience. Do it as often as you like. It feeds into itself and you’ll be spiraling upwards.

Broken down…here’s all you do. Make it simple as f*ck.

1. What sucks about your life?
2. Divide your life into categories. Maybe like 4-7. Not 2, not 20 (usually..)
3. Make goals, with respect to those categories. Then a plan, then a to-do list.
4. Repeat whenever

I am constantly analyzing my life in regards to these things. The people that do this naturally… you’ll find that they are all fit, free, wealthy, getting laid, and smiling a lot. If you go hard in only one category you’ll find that in ten years you’ll wake up still miserable because you only wanted to be fit, or only wanted to make money, or read books all day, etc. You have priorities that are unique, your goals should reflect that. And if you realize that nothing else matters except for 1-2 things, that’s okay. What matters is doing what’s important to you and setting the right goals for what your prioritize.

This is a perfect way for you to get started with some clarity and direction when you’re just starting out.

Keep this shit simple. Simple is genius.

Yeah, this is true and similar to how I'm setting up my own life.

I've categorized the different aspects of my life and finally feel that in my late 20's, I'm finally getting things dialed in. (Getting ripped, relationships, good financial situation, etc)

 

[S.Y.]

Thanks for sharing @Johnny boy.

I am using a similar approach. But instead of thinking in terms of category, I think more in terms of identities. And each identity has a story of what I am going after, with the emotions I want to feel. The stories are consistently being reviewed and are reworked as needed.

I don't write what I hate but I do have stories of what things would look like if I keep certain habits or don't take certain actions. It is a bit similar to the above, but rather than good stories, I write the stories I don't want to see.

Seneca, the stoic philosopher wrote about "rehearsing death". The stoics actually have the practice of negative visualization, where we imagine losing everything that is valuable to us or people that we cherish. It can be hard and the emotions of both exercises are powerful. But it also gives you perspective and clarity.

 

[Guyfieri5]

One of the most fool-proof ways of improving your life, getting clarity and figuring out the best immediate course of action is by implementing a combination of self reflection, categorization, and objective measuring, all in a cycle that feeds into itself in an upward spiral.

I can look back and see that the greatest improvement I’ve ever had in my life came from doing some very basic but powerful things.

Anyone can use this and it is probably THE most powerful, lowest common denominator type of advice that can improve the life of anyone that follows it.

It is so basic that you will probably say “this is so obvious. It shouldn’t even be considered advice”. And I almost agree, except I would ask “are you actually doing it though?”

I didn’t learn this from anyone, or if I did I forgot. It just “made sense” and now looking backwards I see how powerful it has been.

Here’s how I do it. It isn’t even very important if you follow it exactly. What matters is simply that you are doing some of it, and redoing it often.

1. Write down everything you hate about your life. Write down what causes you grief. Write down what you lack and what makes you miserable. This will help make step 2 more obvious.

2. Write down your personal life domains. These are simply “life categories”. I have 6. If you’ve ever played video games, you already know how this works with character attributes. Step one was useful for this, as it highlights some things you need to focus on since they are affecting you in a negative way.

Here’s my personal 6 categories and in no particular order. Having one of these things and neglecting the others would make for a miserable life.

Body: covers fitness, body composition, health, etc. when I am out of shape I feel like shit.

Style: covers the “things” in my life. Having a clean house. Having good clothes. It covers cars, material things, etc. Its nice to have good things and be clean and organized.

Money: covers business, savings, investments, taxes, my career, etc. “how I make my money” and even the “lifestyle” that surrounds my income generation is included.

Relationships: friends, sex life, love, parties, etc. it covers the overarching “how I interact with other people” part of my life

Mindset: my beliefs, my thoughts, my happiness, my mental ability, my talents, skills, overall mental health, etc. my brain, the software installed in my mind.

Adventure: covers all of the fun things in life. Do I have an adventure lined up? Do I have something that scares me on the horizon? Am I doing cool shit or just existing?

3. Now that you have identified what’s important and what you want to fix, and have categorized your life accordingly, it’s time to set goals within each of those categories, in addition to any goals that might fall outside of those categories.

Goals come from an emotion. You take an ideal that you feel you are not achieving in, and turn it into words. That makes it a goal.

You take that goal and identify where you are now. With those two things, you have a road map. You take that roadmap of where you want to go and where you are, and you create a plan.

You take that plan, and create a to-do list. A to do list let’s you objectively start moving towards your plan, and subsequently your goals, in a strategic clear way. 1,2,3. Straight from a to b, not going around in circles.

4. Now, you repeat this as you gain clarity and experience. Do it as often as you like. It feeds into itself and you’ll be spiraling upwards.

Broken down…here’s all you do. Make it simple as f*ck.

1. What sucks about your life?
2. Divide your life into categories. Maybe like 4-7. Not 2, not 20 (usually..)
3. Make goals, with respect to those categories. Then a plan, then a to-do list.
4. Repeat whenever

I am constantly analyzing my life in regards to these things. The people that do this naturally… you’ll find that they are all fit, free, wealthy, getting laid, and smiling a lot. If you go hard in only one category you’ll find that in ten years you’ll wake up still miserable because you only wanted to be fit, or only wanted to make money, or read books all day, etc. You have priorities that are unique, your goals should reflect that. And if you realize that nothing else matters except for 1-2 things, that’s okay. What matters is doing what’s important to you and setting the right goals for what your prioritize.

This is a perfect way for you to get started with some clarity and direction when you’re just starting out.

Keep this shit simple. Simple is genius.

I do this as well. A little differently, but I like this organization. Lately, my wife and I have been reviewing our life pretty hard. It is so easy when you're not examining things for life to get bogged down with bs like a dead-end job or bad relationships when you're not watching close.

 

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[andyhaus44]

One of the most fool-proof ways of improving your life, getting clarity and figuring out the best immediate course of action is by implementing a combination of self reflection, categorization, and objective measuring, all in a cycle that feeds into itself in an upward spiral.

Thank you for sharing this, Johnny boy!

Wrote down the things I dislike, and then started using the LifeWheel app to create and rate my life categories, and then turned them into long-term goals

 

[Reynante Alvarez]

One of the most fool-proof ways of improving your life, getting clarity and figuring out the best immediate course of action is by implementing a combination of self reflection, categorization, and objective measuring, all in a cycle that feeds into itself in an upward spiral.

I can look back and see that the greatest improvement I’ve ever had in my life came from doing some very basic but powerful things.

Anyone can use this and it is probably THE most powerful, lowest common denominator type of advice that can improve the life of anyone that follows it.

It is so basic that you will probably say “this is so obvious. It shouldn’t even be considered advice”. And I almost agree, except I would ask “are you actually doing it though?”

I didn’t learn this from anyone, or if I did I forgot. It just “made sense” and now looking backwards I see how powerful it has been.

Here’s how I do it. It isn’t even very important if you follow it exactly. What matters is simply that you are doing some of it, and redoing it often.

1. Write down everything you hate about your life. Write down what causes you grief. Write down what you lack and what makes you miserable. This will help make step 2 more obvious.

2. Write down your personal life domains. These are simply “life categories”. I have 6. If you’ve ever played video games, you already know how this works with character attributes. Step one was useful for this, as it highlights some things you need to focus on since they are affecting you in a negative way.

Here’s my personal 6 categories and in no particular order. Having one of these things and neglecting the others would make for a miserable life.

Body: covers fitness, body composition, health, etc. when I am out of shape I feel like shit.

Style: covers the “things” in my life. Having a clean house. Having good clothes. It covers cars, material things, etc. Its nice to have good things and be clean and organized.

Money: covers business, savings, investments, taxes, my career, etc. “how I make my money” and even the “lifestyle” that surrounds my income generation is included.

Relationships: friends, sex life, love, parties, etc. it covers the overarching “how I interact with other people” part of my life

Mindset: my beliefs, my thoughts, my happiness, my mental ability, my talents, skills, overall mental health, etc. my brain, the software installed in my mind.

Adventure: covers all of the fun things in life. Do I have an adventure lined up? Do I have something that scares me on the horizon? Am I doing cool shit or just existing?

3. Now that you have identified what’s important and what you want to fix, and have categorized your life accordingly, it’s time to set goals within each of those categories, in addition to any goals that might fall outside of those categories.

Goals come from an emotion. You take an ideal that you feel you are not achieving in, and turn it into words. That makes it a goal.

You take that goal and identify where you are now. With those two things, you have a road map. You take that roadmap of where you want to go and where you are, and you create a plan.

You take that plan, and create a to-do list. A to do list let’s you objectively start moving towards your plan, and subsequently your goals, in a strategic clear way. 1,2,3. Straight from a to b, not going around in circles.

4. Now, you repeat this as you gain clarity and experience. Do it as often as you like. It feeds into itself and you’ll be spiraling upwards.

Broken down…here’s all you do. Make it simple as F*ck.

1. What sucks about your life?
2. Divide your life into categories. Maybe like 4-7. Not 2, not 20 (usually..)
3. Make goals, with respect to those categories. Then a plan, then a to-do list.
4. Repeat whenever

I am constantly analyzing my life in regards to these things. The people that do this naturally… you’ll find that they are all fit, free, wealthy, getting laid, and smiling a lot. If you go hard in only one category you’ll find that in ten years you’ll wake up still miserable because you only wanted to be fit, or only wanted to make money, or read books all day, etc. You have priorities that are unique, your goals should reflect that. And if you realize that nothing else matters except for 1-2 things, that’s okay. What matters is doing what’s important to you and setting the right goals for what your prioritize.

This is a perfect way for you to get started with some clarity and direction when you’re just starting out.

Keep this shit simple. Simple is genius.

Thanks Bro

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Upgraded to NOTABLE, great way to identify where one wants their life to go. Thanks @Johnny boy for sharing.

 

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[DarkZero]

"This is a perfect way for you to get started with some clarity and direction when you’re just starting out."

The exercise you proposed is also good for those who are not starting out. It's a great way to reassess when things get difficult or if you feel you're not on the right track. People should periodically do these types of exercises to get further clarity on where they want to go.

 

[FLTechGuy]

One of the most fool-proof ways of improving your life, getting clarity and figuring out the best immediate course of action is by implementing a combination of self reflection, categorization, and objective measuring, all in a cycle that feeds into itself in an upward spiral.

I can look back and see that the greatest improvement I’ve ever had in my life came from doing some very basic but powerful things.

Anyone can use this and it is probably THE most powerful, lowest common denominator type of advice that can improve the life of anyone that follows it.

It is so basic that you will probably say “this is so obvious. It shouldn’t even be considered advice”. And I almost agree, except I would ask “are you actually doing it though?”

I didn’t learn this from anyone, or if I did I forgot. It just “made sense” and now looking backwards I see how powerful it has been.

Here’s how I do it. It isn’t even very important if you follow it exactly. What matters is simply that you are doing some of it, and redoing it often.

1. Write down everything you hate about your life. Write down what causes you grief. Write down what you lack and what makes you miserable. This will help make step 2 more obvious.

2. Write down your personal life domains. These are simply “life categories”. I have 6. If you’ve ever played video games, you already know how this works with character attributes. Step one was useful for this, as it highlights some things you need to focus on since they are affecting you in a negative way.

Here’s my personal 6 categories and in no particular order. Having one of these things and neglecting the others would make for a miserable life.

Body: covers fitness, body composition, health, etc. when I am out of shape I feel like shit.

Style: covers the “things” in my life. Having a clean house. Having good clothes. It covers cars, material things, etc. Its nice to have good things and be clean and organized.

Money: covers business, savings, investments, taxes, my career, etc. “how I make my money” and even the “lifestyle” that surrounds my income generation is included.

Relationships: friends, sex life, love, parties, etc. it covers the overarching “how I interact with other people” part of my life

Mindset: my beliefs, my thoughts, my happiness, my mental ability, my talents, skills, overall mental health, etc. my brain, the software installed in my mind.

Adventure: covers all of the fun things in life. Do I have an adventure lined up? Do I have something that scares me on the horizon? Am I doing cool shit or just existing?

3. Now that you have identified what’s important and what you want to fix, and have categorized your life accordingly, it’s time to set goals within each of those categories, in addition to any goals that might fall outside of those categories.

Goals come from an emotion. You take an ideal that you feel you are not achieving in, and turn it into words. That makes it a goal.

You take that goal and identify where you are now. With those two things, you have a road map. You take that roadmap of where you want to go and where you are, and you create a plan.

You take that plan, and create a to-do list. A to do list let’s you objectively start moving towards your plan, and subsequently your goals, in a strategic clear way. 1,2,3. Straight from a to b, not going around in circles.

4. Now, you repeat this as you gain clarity and experience. Do it as often as you like. It feeds into itself and you’ll be spiraling upwards.

Broken down…here’s all you do. Make it simple as F*ck.

1. What sucks about your life?
2. Divide your life into categories. Maybe like 4-7. Not 2, not 20 (usually..)
3. Make goals, with respect to those categories. Then a plan, then a to-do list.
4. Repeat whenever

I am constantly analyzing my life in regards to these things. The people that do this naturally… you’ll find that they are all fit, free, wealthy, getting laid, and smiling a lot. If you go hard in only one category you’ll find that in ten years you’ll wake up still miserable because you only wanted to be fit, or only wanted to make money, or read books all day, etc. You have priorities that are unique, your goals should reflect that. And if you realize that nothing else matters except for 1-2 things, that’s okay. What matters is doing what’s important to you and setting the right goals for what your prioritize.

This is a perfect way for you to get started with some clarity and direction when you’re just starting out.

Keep this shit simple. Simple is genius.

I've been trying to do this for awhile now. My question is what do you do when you are strapped with a 9-5 job, have maybe 3 hours a night to make and eat dinner and do whatever else and then repeat the same thing the next day and weekends are a to do list a mile long of comprising of grocery shopping, mowing the lawn etc.

Where do you find the time to workout, to learn new skills, to try to run a business etc. ? there are only so many hours in a day and if I skimp on sleep i can forget trying to learn anything as im so mentally exhausted from work I just nod off reading most things. Many things I cannot put off as much as I would like to because if I dont do it no one else will.

I want to change many things but I find exercises like this become extremely frustrating due to the lack of time available to commit to multiple changes simultaneously. It will start out well and within a couple weeks, many interruptions have occurred, many unexpected events that cant be put off or ignored and the wheels come off the whole thing...

What do you do in these scenarios ?

 

[tracerent]

Broken down…here’s all you do. Make it simple as F*ck.

Awesome Post

I have done something similar to what you mentioned I called it an Assessment exercise

Step 1 ) - Created life categories on what is important to me ( 1st Attempt) 2020
1) Social
2) Family
3) Health
4)Career
5)Investment
6)Mental
7)Business
8) Finance

Step 2) Then Added Positives and Negatives on each Category

Health
Negative - Too Much TV
Negative - Low Energy
Positive + Started walking regularly

Finance
Positive + Credit Card Decreased
Negative - Less reserve funds

Step 3) Rate the overall category on scale 1 to 10

1) Health 2/10
2) Finance 4/10

Step 4) Combine Categories to be 5-7 . I have columns on easel post it note
This is hard but helps .

Step 6) Assign adjective / noun to the category to feel the connection
Example Health Guru, Finance Master

Step7) Here is hard part only select 2/3 actions that are critical in area you want to improve in and write then in format of GOAL that can be measured . You can use SMART format if you desire I kept it simple

- Walk 5 times a week
- Run 5 k in 6 months
- 12 miles/ week
- Do 3 Family Trips
- Save 5% more

Step 8) Asses and adjust every month.

Since 2020 , I have made a lot of improvement on my health and happiness

On side note: I started doing this as Family Meeting. I shared my stuff with my sons. We did setup our independent goals . And in this meeting I am not coming authoritative as parent but we all are guides, sharing success and failure and adjusting.

 

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[Vas87]

I've been trying to do this for awhile now. My question is what do you do when you are strapped with a 9-5 job, have maybe 3 hours a night to make and eat dinner and do whatever else and then repeat the same thing the next day and weekends are a to do list a mile long of comprising of grocery shopping, mowing the lawn etc.

Where do you find the time to workout, to learn new skills, to try to run a business etc. ? there are only so many hours in a day and if I skimp on sleep i can forget trying to learn anything as im so mentally exhausted from work I just nod off reading most things. Many things I cannot put off as much as I would like to because if I dont do it no one else will.

I want to change many things but I find exercises like this become extremely frustrating due to the lack of time available to commit to multiple changes simultaneously. It will start out well and within a couple weeks, many interruptions have occurred, many unexpected events that cant be put off or ignored and the wheels come off the whole thing...

What do you do in these scenarios ?

Wake up earlier, and work on your business before going to your 9-5 job.
Meal prep your dinners in bulk so you can just microwave and go.
A workout doesn't have to be 1 hour or even at the gym. A pair of kettlebells will murder you in 10-15 minutes right at home if done right.

 

[Vinz]

I underline the importance of writing these things down.
Writing is having many of the good benefits you mentioned. My brain is more organized. I feel clearer, lighter.
I'm writing every day, when I open my pc, what I feel how I feel or what I'm thinking.
And I've been in the best mental health zone of my life. Everything feels clearer, I'm more confident.

I really like the organization of life in areas.
Mainly, I'll divide :

• Wealth
• Health
• Relationships
• Exploration / Purpose

Then these four have their own subcategories.
I tend to organize mentally a lot. Love it.

Thanks for the post !

 

[Issi007]

One of the most fool-proof ways of improving your life, getting clarity and figuring out the best immediate course of action is by implementing a combination of self reflection, categorization, and objective measuring, all in a cycle that feeds into itself in an upward spiral.

I can look back and see that the greatest improvement I’ve ever had in my life came from doing some very basic but powerful things.

Anyone can use this and it is probably THE most powerful, lowest common denominator type of advice that can improve the life of anyone that follows it.

It is so basic that you will probably say “this is so obvious. It shouldn’t even be considered advice”. And I almost agree, except I would ask “are you actually doing it though?”

I didn’t learn this from anyone, or if I did I forgot. It just “made sense” and now looking backwards I see how powerful it has been.

Here’s how I do it. It isn’t even very important if you follow it exactly. What matters is simply that you are doing some of it, and redoing it often.

1. Write down everything you hate about your life. Write down what causes you grief. Write down what you lack and what makes you miserable. This will help make step 2 more obvious.

2. Write down your personal life domains. These are simply “life categories”. I have 6. If you’ve ever played video games, you already know how this works with character attributes. Step one was useful for this, as it highlights some things you need to focus on since they are affecting you in a negative way.

Here’s my personal 6 categories and in no particular order. Having one of these things and neglecting the others would make for a miserable life.

Body: covers fitness, body composition, health, etc. when I am out of shape I feel like shit.

Style: covers the “things” in my life. Having a clean house. Having good clothes. It covers cars, material things, etc. Its nice to have good things and be clean and organized.

Money: covers business, savings, investments, taxes, my career, etc. “how I make my money” and even the “lifestyle” that surrounds my income generation is included.

Relationships: friends, sex life, love, parties, etc. it covers the overarching “how I interact with other people” part of my life

Mindset: my beliefs, my thoughts, my happiness, my mental ability, my talents, skills, overall mental health, etc. my brain, the software installed in my mind.

Adventure: covers all of the fun things in life. Do I have an adventure lined up? Do I have something that scares me on the horizon? Am I doing cool shit or just existing?

3. Now that you have identified what’s important and what you want to fix, and have categorized your life accordingly, it’s time to set goals within each of those categories, in addition to any goals that might fall outside of those categories.

Goals come from an emotion. You take an ideal that you feel you are not achieving in, and turn it into words. That makes it a goal.

You take that goal and identify where you are now. With those two things, you have a road map. You take that roadmap of where you want to go and where you are, and you create a plan.

You take that plan, and create a to-do list. A to do list let’s you objectively start moving towards your plan, and subsequently your goals, in a strategic clear way. 1,2,3. Straight from a to b, not going around in circles.

4. Now, you repeat this as you gain clarity and experience. Do it as often as you like. It feeds into itself and you’ll be spiraling upwards.

Broken down…here’s all you do. Make it simple as F*ck.

1. What sucks about your life?
2. Divide your life into categories. Maybe like 4-7. Not 2, not 20 (usually..)
3. Make goals, with respect to those categories. Then a plan, then a to-do list.
4. Repeat whenever

I am constantly analyzing my life in regards to these things. The people that do this naturally… you’ll find that they are all fit, free, wealthy, getting laid, and smiling a lot. If you go hard in only one category you’ll find that in ten years you’ll wake up still miserable because you only wanted to be fit, or only wanted to make money, or read books all day, etc. You have priorities that are unique, your goals should reflect that. And if you realize that nothing else matters except for 1-2 things, that’s okay. What matters is doing what’s important to you and setting the right goals for what your prioritize.

This is a perfect way for you to get started with some clarity and direction when you’re just starting out.

Keep this shit simple. Simple is genius.

Very similar to what I am applying, the main challenge for me is in step 4, sticking to that map, i think I am imposing too difficult tasks to follow...

Gotta keep that shit simple,

Thanks for sharing !


Thanks for sharing

 

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[Andreas Thiel]

I've been trying to do this for awhile now. My question is what do you do when you are strapped with a 9-5 job, have maybe 3 hours a night to make and eat dinner and do whatever else and then repeat the same thing the next day and weekends are a to do list a mile long of comprising of grocery shopping, mowing the lawn etc.

Where do you find the time to workout, to learn new skills, to try to run a business etc. ? there are only so many hours in a day and if I skimp on sleep i can forget trying to learn anything as im so mentally exhausted from work I just nod off reading most things. Many things I cannot put off as much as I would like to because if I dont do it no one else will.

I want to change many things but I find exercises like this become extremely frustrating due to the lack of time available to commit to multiple changes simultaneously. It will start out well and within a couple weeks, many interruptions have occurred, many unexpected events that cant be put off or ignored and the wheels come off the whole thing...

What do you do in these scenarios ?

Kinda my exact thoughts. Like the kettlebells idea, but I prefer a workout and skill practice in the morning and working on the business after work because I need the option to turn 2 hour blocks into 4 hour blocks sometimes.

A nice benefit of the "diversity" crap that is happening everywhere is that the strict "show up from 9 to 5" is under attack and if you play your cards right you might be able to transition out of it.
I personally managed to transition into a bigger company in Germany. I take 2 week vacations spread out over the year and consider adding in unpaid vacations.

One other problem I have is that I seem to have little control over ... anything. People just decide they don't want to have anything to do with that freak. I feel pretty much like a ghost all the time.
One example is speed dating. If you gather all your energy and show up, imagine what getting the usual Tinder feedback: no swipes right and then reading about how 80% of participants get at least one match.
Pretty much I experience the "you need to be successful to be successful" even though I never believed in it and am trying to disprove it.

You need a strong belief that there even is such a thing like getting things dialed in.
I have tried a lot and never gotten any results.
When I do the exercise, I don't see any options. The whole "we know what we need to do but we don't do it" is something I have never been able to relate to.

 

[Johnny boy]

I've been trying to do this for awhile now. My question is what do you do when you are strapped with a 9-5 job, have maybe 3 hours a night to make and eat dinner and do whatever else and then repeat the same thing the next day and weekends are a to do list a mile long of comprising of grocery shopping, mowing the lawn etc.

Where do you find the time to workout, to learn new skills, to try to run a business etc. ? there are only so many hours in a day and if I skimp on sleep i can forget trying to learn anything as im so mentally exhausted from work I just nod off reading most things. Many things I cannot put off as much as I would like to because if I dont do it no one else will.

I want to change many things but I find exercises like this become extremely frustrating due to the lack of time available to commit to multiple changes simultaneously. It will start out well and within a couple weeks, many interruptions have occurred, many unexpected events that cant be put off or ignored and the wheels come off the whole thing...

What do you do in these scenarios ?

Eat less food so you aren’t a fatass, literally takes more time eating so much.

Do push-ups, sit-ups and air squats daily. You’ll look amazing from that alone and it takes 10 minutes.

You’re too busy being broke to start a business? Sounds like you should make your time more valuable.

Priorities bud.

What’s nice is that you can’t excuse your way out of a shitty life. Your excuses are trash and the punishment for being wrong is you’ll have to live your life. The reward for me not giving bullshit excuses is that I’ll get to enjoy my awesome life.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I do this too! it's so great that so many of us use variations on the theme. I was a business consultant in my previous iteration, and I've got a little how-to booklet, if anyone wants it. It's called The Lazy Man's Guide to Working Smarter.

My categories, in order of importance, are Connection, Health, Home, and Income. I reset my weekly task list accordingly; it takes about 5 minutes. Then I just knock over the dominoes! It's very satisfying.

 

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[Deleted106527]

One of the most fool-proof ways of improving your life, getting clarity and figuring out the best immediate course of action is by implementing a combination of self reflection, categorization, and objective measuring, all in a cycle that feeds into itself in an upward spiral.

I can look back and see that the greatest improvement I’ve ever had in my life came from doing some very basic but powerful things.

Anyone can use this and it is probably THE most powerful, lowest common denominator type of advice that can improve the life of anyone that follows it.

It is so basic that you will probably say “this is so obvious. It shouldn’t even be considered advice”. And I almost agree, except I would ask “are you actually doing it though?”

I didn’t learn this from anyone, or if I did I forgot. It just “made sense” and now looking backwards I see how powerful it has been.

Here’s how I do it. It isn’t even very important if you follow it exactly. What matters is simply that you are doing some of it, and redoing it often.

1. Write down everything you hate about your life. Write down what causes you grief. Write down what you lack and what makes you miserable. This will help make step 2 more obvious.

2. Write down your personal life domains. These are simply “life categories”. I have 6. If you’ve ever played video games, you already know how this works with character attributes. Step one was useful for this, as it highlights some things you need to focus on since they are affecting you in a negative way.

Here’s my personal 6 categories and in no particular order. Having one of these things and neglecting the others would make for a miserable life.

Body: covers fitness, body composition, health, etc. when I am out of shape I feel like shit.

Style: covers the “things” in my life. Having a clean house. Having good clothes. It covers cars, material things, etc. Its nice to have good things and be clean and organized.

Money: covers business, savings, investments, taxes, my career, etc. “how I make my money” and even the “lifestyle” that surrounds my income generation is included.

Relationships: friends, sex life, love, parties, etc. it covers the overarching “how I interact with other people” part of my life

Mindset: my beliefs, my thoughts, my happiness, my mental ability, my talents, skills, overall mental health, etc. my brain, the software installed in my mind.

Adventure: covers all of the fun things in life. Do I have an adventure lined up? Do I have something that scares me on the horizon? Am I doing cool shit or just existing?

3. Now that you have identified what’s important and what you want to fix, and have categorized your life accordingly, it’s time to set goals within each of those categories, in addition to any goals that might fall outside of those categories.

Goals come from an emotion. You take an ideal that you feel you are not achieving in, and turn it into words. That makes it a goal.

You take that goal and identify where you are now. With those two things, you have a road map. You take that roadmap of where you want to go and where you are, and you create a plan.

You take that plan, and create a to-do list. A to do list let’s you objectively start moving towards your plan, and subsequently your goals, in a strategic clear way. 1,2,3. Straight from a to b, not going around in circles.

4. Now, you repeat this as you gain clarity and experience. Do it as often as you like. It feeds into itself and you’ll be spiraling upwards.

Broken down…here’s all you do. Make it simple as F*ck.

1. What sucks about your life?
2. Divide your life into categories. Maybe like 4-7. Not 2, not 20 (usually..)
3. Make goals, with respect to those categories. Then a plan, then a to-do list.
4. Repeat whenever

I am constantly analyzing my life in regards to these things. The people that do this naturally… you’ll find that they are all fit, free, wealthy, getting laid, and smiling a lot. If you go hard in only one category you’ll find that in ten years you’ll wake up still miserable because you only wanted to be fit, or only wanted to make money, or read books all day, etc. You have priorities that are unique, your goals should reflect that. And if you realize that nothing else matters except for 1-2 things, that’s okay. What matters is doing what’s important to you and setting the right goals for what your prioritize.

This is a perfect way for you to get started with some clarity and direction when you’re just starting out.

Keep this shit simple. Simple is genius.

Reading this put a smile on my face.

It‘s exactly threads like this that support my belief that being someone who achieves extraordinary things (or a „Fastlaner“ or whatever else you might call it) is something you might just simply get to be born as.

And while this might sound like a huge (humble)brag (It‘s not, I have not even achieved anything brag-worthy yet), I am happy to find such characteristics in myself; Just as you put it, I also came to these kinds of methods (Maybe just because they‘re kind of obvious, but then again, actually following through with them is another thing) „naturally“: The „domains“ (I love mindmaps for that), The writing down „what sucks“, the recurring nature of it all, etc…

Through this, I have fixed so many „weak areas“ of my life.

And while all of this (so far) means jack shit unless I actually achieve something, I am happy to see I share some similarities with successful people.

Thanks for the great read

P.

 

[Oso]

This is the first time I've legitimately sat down and wrote this out.

In the scope of 10 minutes, I quickly saw a misalignment between a few of my current goals/plans.

This has been rather enlightening. Thank you for sharing.

 

[ChetClarke83]

I've been trying to do this for awhile now. My question is what do you do when you are strapped with a 9-5 job, have maybe 3 hours a night to make and eat dinner and do whatever else and then repeat the same thing the next day and weekends are a to do list a mile long of comprising of grocery shopping, mowing the lawn etc.

Where do you find the time to workout, to learn new skills, to try to run a business etc. ? there are only so many hours in a day and if I skimp on sleep i can forget trying to learn anything as im so mentally exhausted from work I just nod off reading most things. Many things I cannot put off as much as I would like to because if I dont do it no one else will.

I want to change many things but I find exercises like this become extremely frustrating due to the lack of time available to commit to multiple changes simultaneously. It will start out well and within a couple weeks, many interruptions have occurred, many unexpected events that cant be put off or ignored and the wheels come off the whole thing...

What do you do in these scenarios ?

I would suggest figuring out a way to maximize your time/task management. Is there any daily tasks that you can figure out how to do faster and more efficient. Can you do things simultaneously ( listen to an audiobook about a concept that gets you closer to the fast lane life while you prepare dinner or while you prepare/commute to work. You will figure it out if you want it bad enough. The struggle is real. I was in the same boat trying to grasp how I can start with my goals. Currently I work 75 hours a week at a full and part time job, go to school full time online, and only get about 4 to 6 hours of sleep, but I’m making time to focus on my goals. If your dream is big enough prepare to lose sleep. Wake up earlier and go to sleep later and push your ceiling…..experiment with your sleep hygiene to get the best out of each day. It will only last as long as you want it to. I’m not there yet in the Fastlane, but I know I want that Fastlane life and I will sacrifice what I have to to get it. I know you want it to. How bad do you want it?

 

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[zendryn]

One of the most fool-proof ways of improving your life, getting clarity and figuring out the best immediate course of action is by implementing a combination of self reflection, categorization, and objective measuring, all in a cycle that feeds into itself in an upward spiral.

I can look back and see that the greatest improvement I’ve ever had in my life came from doing some very basic but powerful things.

Anyone can use this and it is probably THE most powerful, lowest common denominator type of advice that can improve the life of anyone that follows it.

It is so basic that you will probably say “this is so obvious. It shouldn’t even be considered advice”. And I almost agree, except I would ask “are you actually doing it though?”

I didn’t learn this from anyone, or if I did I forgot. It just “made sense” and now looking backwards I see how powerful it has been.

Here’s how I do it. It isn’t even very important if you follow it exactly. What matters is simply that you are doing some of it, and redoing it often.

1. Write down everything you hate about your life. Write down what causes you grief. Write down what you lack and what makes you miserable. This will help make step 2 more obvious.

2. Write down your personal life domains. These are simply “life categories”. I have 6. If you’ve ever played video games, you already know how this works with character attributes. Step one was useful for this, as it highlights some things you need to focus on since they are affecting you in a negative way.

Here’s my personal 6 categories and in no particular order. Having one of these things and neglecting the others would make for a miserable life.

Body: covers fitness, body composition, health, etc. when I am out of shape I feel like shit.

Style: covers the “things” in my life. Having a clean house. Having good clothes. It covers cars, material things, etc. Its nice to have good things and be clean and organized.

Money: covers business, savings, investments, taxes, my career, etc. “how I make my money” and even the “lifestyle” that surrounds my income generation is included.

Relationships: friends, sex life, love, parties, etc. it covers the overarching “how I interact with other people” part of my life

Mindset: my beliefs, my thoughts, my happiness, my mental ability, my talents, skills, overall mental health, etc. my brain, the software installed in my mind.

Adventure: covers all of the fun things in life. Do I have an adventure lined up? Do I have something that scares me on the horizon? Am I doing cool shit or just existing?

3. Now that you have identified what’s important and what you want to fix, and have categorized your life accordingly, it’s time to set goals within each of those categories, in addition to any goals that might fall outside of those categories.

Goals come from an emotion. You take an ideal that you feel you are not achieving in, and turn it into words. That makes it a goal.

You take that goal and identify where you are now. With those two things, you have a road map. You take that roadmap of where you want to go and where you are, and you create a plan.

You take that plan, and create a to-do list. A to do list let’s you objectively start moving towards your plan, and subsequently your goals, in a strategic clear way. 1,2,3. Straight from a to b, not going around in circles.

4. Now, you repeat this as you gain clarity and experience. Do it as often as you like. It feeds into itself and you’ll be spiraling upwards.

Broken down…here’s all you do. Make it simple as F*ck.

1. What sucks about your life?
2. Divide your life into categories. Maybe like 4-7. Not 2, not 20 (usually..)
3. Make goals, with respect to those categories. Then a plan, then a to-do list.
4. Repeat whenever

I am constantly analyzing my life in regards to these things. The people that do this naturally… you’ll find that they are all fit, free, wealthy, getting laid, and smiling a lot. If you go hard in only one category you’ll find that in ten years you’ll wake up still miserable because you only wanted to be fit, or only wanted to make money, or read books all day, etc. You have priorities that are unique, your goals should reflect that. And if you realize that nothing else matters except for 1-2 things, that’s okay. What matters is doing what’s important to you and setting the right goals for what your prioritize.

This is a perfect way for you to get started with some clarity and direction when you’re just starting out.

Keep this shit simple. Simple is genius.

Thank you for this. I have been having a lifelog on google spreadsheet, where I track (values 1-3) areas of life that are important to me Stocism, Body, Mind, Social, Work Awe. Glad to see we have so much overlap.

I tracked but did not break into goals and actionables. Will do so starting today.