I’m on “staycation,” but this does not mean I haven’t been productive. In between eating, watching television and reading, I’ve achieved “resource alignment” across all devices I use to organize the content of my personal life and work. More specifically,the content folders in my laptop, Web browser, smart phone, tablet–and Evernote program that is synchronized across each of these–are identical to each other and devoid of duplication or title confusion.
Alignment should always begin with vision and goals. My content folders fit into one of four “mega folders,” and one of these includes my personal vision slide and the other incorporates my five-year professional goal plan. The other two umbrella folders include my professional work itself–executive coaching and writing books and freelance articles–as well as key items related to my Web sites.
The vision slides specifies, succinctly, the kind of person I am striving to be: “A loving, conscious person committed to intellectual, emotional, spiritual and physical engagement.” The visuals on the slide flesh out key tactics under each of these four dimensions, and a quick glance provides me with daily reminders of how to live purposefully and in an integrated manner. Living in such a way creates space, energy and positive emotion for executing my career plans. Myfive-year goals one-pager details revenue objectives for coaching and writing from 2013 through 2018, including concrete action steps related to cultivating client niches, marketing and networking.
The contents of the other two mega folders, then, fully align around the clarity of my vision and goals. I’ve eliminated or re-purposed any endeavors, tools or documents that do not meet such alignment, in true less-is-more fashion. The result is a more intense focus on taking the most productive and fulfilling action steps each day, much freer of the information smog and data clutter that can be even more overwhelming than the stuff laying around the house that really needs to go to a yard sale or Goodwill.
Try this! Spend some quiet time gaining clarity on your personal life vision and key goals, and capture these in writing or graphic visuals. Then, ruthlessly go through your paper files (which I no longer possess!), electronic files, Web favorites, etc–any place where you store information–and determine what fits your vision and goals. Begin to prune away the excess that does not help you produce or feel satisfied with yourself.
Need help finding your way? Please reach out to me for a complimentary coaching session, through emailing john@dev.johnmichaeldemarco.com
Happy holidays, and happy alignment!
