{"id":32683,"date":"2016-04-22T04:45:14","date_gmt":"2016-04-22T09:45:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/michaelhyatt.com\/?p=32683"},"modified":"2016-04-22T04:45:14","modified_gmt":"2016-04-22T09:45:14","slug":"not-architect-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/not-architect-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Not Architect Your Own Life?"},"content":{"rendered":"

We usually take our workplaces for granted, don\u2019t we? But skyscrapers are colossal achievements. Architects must design them with variables like winds, earthquakes, communication, traffic, and the surrounding environment in mind.<\/p>\n\n

It\u2019s impossible to imagine building one without architectural plans. But here\u2019s the thing: The lives of everyone working inside those towers are infinitely more complex.<\/p>\n

Our daily existence requires coordinating a million variables: just think of all the personal and professional obligations and aspirations we constantly juggle. Yet most of us do so without a plan.<\/p>\n

Building Without a Plan<\/h3>\n

Instead, we cobble bricks together, hoping nothing will jostle them down. But it\u2019s a constant struggle, and we usually have few long-term goals for our activity.<\/p>\n

Research indicates we gain significant satisfaction from making progress toward meaningful goals, so the more we grind without an endgame, the more our quality of life suffers.<\/p>\n\n

And that\u2019s not the least of our troubles. Others, including bosses, parents, friends, and spouses, seem determined to add their own bricks to our building regardless of whether they fit.<\/p>\n

How are we supposed to bring structure to all the external demands and requests so they integrate with our internal desires and hopes? One solution is to become the architects of our own lives. We can start getting the balance and direction we need with a Life Plan.<\/p>\n

A Blueprint for Your Life<\/h3>\n

My friend Daniel Harkavy and I detail the Life Planning process in our new book Living Forward<\/a><\/em>. To architect our own lives, we need to keep three elements in mind.<\/p>\n

1. Our Vision<\/h4>\n

Architects don\u2019t start by arranging bricks or drawing plans. They start with a vision. \u201c[G]reat buildings are often the result of a single\u2014and sometimes very simple\u2014idea,\u201d says Witold Rybczynski in How Architecture Works<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Architects can stand back and envision the entire structure. They can imagine how the different elements and materials will come together for the final effect. It\u2019s the compelling picture of the completed building that inspires and informs the plans that follow.<\/p>\n

A life plan works exactly the same way. In Living Forward<\/a><\/em>, we recommend taking a full day to fill out the picture of your life, considering all the aspects: health, relationships, career, finances, everything. Until we get a vision for what our lives can be in full, we can only approach them in fragmented, reactive, haphazard ways.<\/p>\n

2. Our Priorities<\/h4>\n

Whatever the vision, an architect must work in a particular setting on a particular site. \u201c[A]rchitecture is always part of a particular place,\u201d says Rybczynski. The ground, plot, slope, and surroundings\u2014not to mention physical laws\u2014all limit what\u2019s possible.<\/p>\n

A great architect can find inspiration within these constraints. It\u2019s the same for us. We\u2019re not working with a blank slate. We have certain realities and commitments already in place. Some are essential to what we\u2019re building. Others we can work around. Some we can change.<\/p>\n

The trick is to start ranking them in order of importance. How important is your career compared to your family, for instance? Or your finances compared to your health?<\/p>\n

Bringing our vision to life means devoting the appropriate resources to each of the many areas of our lives. If we don\u2019t know where the constraints are, we\u2019ll end up with a lopsided building.<\/p>\n

This also helps determine how others interact with your building project. By determining your priorities, you\u2019ll know what fits and what doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

3. Our Actions<\/h4>\n

Once you have a vision for your life and can prioritize what goes into it, you can set relevant, actionable goals. A plan without a to-do list is just a daydream. What are the steps you need to take to enact your priorities? Chunk them down to something doable, preferably starting immediately.<\/p>\n

What would it take to move the needle in your health, deepen your most important relationships, advance your career, secure your finances? Don\u2019t just list them, calendar them.<\/p>\n

And take it one step further: Do some advance planning. Let\u2019s say you want to establish better boundaries at work and deepen relationships at home. Leaving at five is one way to do that. But you\u2019ll get interrupted on your way out the door, and you\u2019ll be tempted to stay and deal with the requests.<\/p>\n\t\t