Create consistency and structure in a way that supports who you are and what you want to accomplish.
How do you feel when you hear the word “structure”? Whenever I thought about structure in the past, I felt myself tensing up. Structure seemed to be a way of holding me back, keeping me from the things I truly enjoyed. Wrong! A few years ago, my life coach introduced me to a new, positive way of looking at structure. It totally changed how I operate my business and approach my personal life.
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Consistency Is Important
Adding structure might mean scheduling time to implement a new, more efficient system in your business. How can you manage this important project while continuing to juggle daily tasks like payroll and scheduling? Organizing and prioritizing projects separately from regular activities will ensure that they get done more quickly and easily. Identify a consistent day that you will work on your projects and break each project down into very small steps. I designate Mondays and Fridays to spend time on project-based activities for my businesses and Saturday for my home projects. Depending on my availability I might spend a few hours or a few minutes. Remember, consistency is more important than quantity as you introduce structure into your life. You want to get into a habit that works with your schedule.
Quality Time
Where do you find gaps in your life, either professionally or personally? What items do you want to have happen that currently do not happen? Here is another example of structure that might help: when my youngest set of twins was preparing to head off to Ohio State, I realized how inconsistently we spent time together. I quickly implemented and scheduled “Butcher Boy Dinner Night” every Tuesday evening. That time became sacred. There would be nights where it would be all five of us, and other times when only two of my four sons could be there. Some Tuesdays we would go out, while others we’d stay in and cook together. Here is the really cool part – currently on Monday nights, one of my sons comes for dinner with his son, and on Wednesday nights another son comes with his daughter! They requested this time and the little people know they have their special night with Grammy. My grandchildren will happily tell you which night is theirs. Although this is certainly not the only time I spend with my family, it is structure that supports our mutual desire to spend quality time together. It doesn’t require a fancy system, just prioritizing and scheduling on a consistent basis.
Evaluate What You Enjoy
So take some time and evaluate what you truly enjoy and/or want to get done in life. Create consistency and structure in a way that supports who you are and what you want to accomplish. The more you do this, the more you’ll see that as humans we often spend more time on “busyness” than business and achieving other life goals. If you’re like me, adding structure both personally and professionally will help you get more out of every aspect of your life.
Marilou Butcher Roth is a dynamic, positive business coach. She combines an experienced blend of business and entrepreneurial success with deeply vibrant personal inquiry as the basis for her coaching practice, The MBR Group, located in Cincinnati, Ohio. For more information about The MBR Group, click here.
