Life is a balance of feeling unbalanced while still maintaining chaos, joy, clutter, schedules and sheer creativity. Whether you’re single, just beginning your career, raising a family, or raising a family and working, ending a career – at some point you’ve likely thought about how unbalanced you feel.
I remember often being late for everything when my first 3 children were little. I didn’t mean to be, but there was always the inevitability of a child falling down, losing something, forgetting something, fighting for “first”, running off, or bathroom disasters in the car seat (IYKYK 🤣🙃🤪).
We all have moments when things are not going as planned. These are the barriers you push through, because a breakthrough is at the other end. The sun rises, and eventually sets, thank goodness it does, too. The thing is, there is always a hidden gem in “unbalanced”.
WARNING ⚠️ You will burn out eventually if you are not in tune with yourself. The ‘bad’ days will feel crushing, and bad events or setbacks can destroy all that could have been great.
A long “To-Do List” can be overwhelming for most of us. Dwight D Eisenhower created a simple way to break down daily tasks, avoid burnout, and accomplish long term goals, minimizing craziness.
For a task-based & tactical approach to finding balance, I created this template for you in Canva. You will see Eisenhower’s example, then a place for you to customize your own💋
Eisenhower's 4 D's
Eisenhower’s breakdown includes the 4 D’s. This allow you to sort your tasks in a way that simplifies your day-to-day life so you can enjoy true balance. They are:
1. Do
2. Decide
3. Delegate
4. Delete (my favorite)
In its most basic form, you set your goals and anything that does not move you toward those goals gets deleted. The question at the top of your mind should always be “How does this activity or inactivity contribute towards the bigger goal?”
Break Down The 4 D’s Matrix
1. Do: The items you place here are any tasks that are both urgent and important to your long term goals, or most important things to do today.
2. Decide: What needs to be done now, scheduled for later, what can someone else do, and what really could be deleted that day.
3. Delegate: Urgent tasks, but not important. These tasks must be completed now, but they don't affect your long-term goals. Who can help you accomplish them? Delegate out what you can.
4. Delete: When you have gone over your lists, prioritized what must be done, what’s urgent and what you have delegated out to someone else, or gotten help with to execute, you can then turn to Delete for the things left on the list. Why? Because they are keeping you from moving forward, and freezing you because it’s “on the list”. At this point, they have become distractions.
WARNING: They will prompt you to add a project inside Asana, that was complicated to me, and at the time of writing this, I did not feel it important to learn how. But, I love Asana as a project manager and use it in all my business, coaching and personal life.
Their blog article will walk you through the entire process and gives you a template you can use for yourself. I find this matrix very helpful when I’m finding myself stuck and not moving ahead, or reaching my goals. Most of the time, I am unwilling (or forget to) delegate and delete. That stems from perceiving I need more control, or perfectionism, but both are driving factors for me. You may find your own challenges. It’s important to recognize them and incorporate them into your own 4D’s.
There are many ways to take action. The most important element to a balanced life is by checking in with yourself, so you're not missing the mark, or missing out on what truly matters and the life you truly want to live.
Not someone else's definition of success.
When the wind howls and the storms rage - which they do, and will continue to do - you'll be able to stand strong in a full & vibrant life, even when it’s topsy-turvy.
The way I start my morning, and prioritize my days makes all the difference. Regardless of whether you begin your day at 4am or 10am, having a daily ritual is a great place to start to ground yourself, and get clear on your daily intentions. Routine’s make or break our day, even if we want to fly by the seat of our pants, routine is still part of our equation.