The MAKE ROOM Planner & Journal makes use the 7 Key Themes that help to define our lives.
- Health (physical and emotional)
- Love & Relationships
- Spirituality
- Professional Significance
- Finances
- Setting
- Play
LEARNING is a thread that is present throughout each of these themes, but is not a theme all its own. We should constantly be learning, whether it be for professional significance, to play better, to grow our relationships, to grow spiritually, or however we want and need to learn.
Think of each of the themes like a bucket. By taking a little time to address each of them, you’re able to keep something in them, designing a balanced life. The following is a quick breakdown of each of the 7 Key Themes that the MAKE ROOM Planner and Journal utilizes.
HEALTH
Health includes both emotional and physical health, which are both important to our overall health.
Physical health includes both diet and exercise. By planning what you’ll eat, tracking how much water you’ve consumed, and planning your daily exercise, you MAKE ROOM for your physical health. Your physical health is important, because without it, you won’t have the energy to pursue your goals.
Meditation is an important aspect to mental health. Regular meditation has proven benefits that include an increase in focus, reduced feelings of fear and stress, and a greater sense of calm and clarity in our lives.
Much of what you’re doing here is creating healthy habits. MAKE ROOM for them, and you’ll have the energy to pursue all of your other goals.
LOVE AND RELATIONSHIPS
You have relationships with may different people in your life. You may also have a relationship with your pets. You define your own relationships. They may be friendships, family, or work relationships.
Relationships require time and energy. Taking time to create, maintain, and work on your relationships have many benefits. They include improved health and increased longevity. They provide a sense of belonging, and facilitate community and support.
Be sure to take some time to work on your relationships.
SPIRITUALITY
Spirituality means something different to almost everybody. It doesn’t necessarily have to be religious, although for many it is. For some, it is a sense of something greater. For some, it is more of a “virtue”, and an opportunity to spend time reflecting on, and acting on, things that are bigger than ourselves.
Taking time to address your spirituality can have important benefits that include increased gratitude, increased compassion, greater insight, and more fulfillment.
Since it does mean something different to so many people, how you address spirituality is completely up to you. Taking time to do it though is an important aspect to a balanced life.
PROFESSIONAL SIGNIFICANCE
We have professional goals. Those goals for one may be quite different for another. You may be a work from home mother that sews, and wants to grow as a sewist to make clothing for your family. You may be a photographer that is trying to start your own business. You may be a programmer that is trying to move up in your company. You may be somebody considering going to beauty school to become a cosmetologist. You may be a runner training for the Olympics. The point is that we all have different goals when it comes to professional significance.
Understanding your own goals and owning them is an important aspect to your own growth. Take some time to define what you want to be. Own it.
It’s also okay if it changes. In fact, it probably will. Document that too. It’s okay to pivot. Having a new MAKE ROOM Planner and Journal will help facilitate that evolution.
FINANCES
The simple fact that seems to come up over and over again is the idea that if you do not control your finances, they will control you. You have to MAKE ROOM for your finances. Taking time to address your goals and establish healthy financial habits will give you peace of mind.
You may be trying to get out of debt, create a savings account, plan for retirement, buy a home, buy a vehicle, or create a budget. Whatever your financial goals are, be sure to document them, and then MAKE ROOM for these activities in your life.
SETTING
You can think of SETTING like the setting of a play, a movie, or a story. It includes where you live, what you drive, what you wear, the things you own, where you work, what you watch, what you listen to, etc. Your setting will be contextual to you and those you live and interact with.
Take some time and be purposeful with your setting. Design your environment. Your setting has huge impacts on you. Consider the following questions…
Does your setting distract you or enhance your focus? Is your professional setting conducive to the success you’re trying to achieve? Does your setting promote a healthy lifestyle?
MAKE ROOM for considerations in your setting. What needs to be done? A complete redesign, or do the dishes just need to be washed? Consider these questions and more when you’re documenting your goals.
PLAY
Play is, unfortunately, something we tend to ignore, but it is so important in our lives. Play gives us opportunities that we don’t otherwise have in our lives. Not only does it illicit a feeling of wonder and happiness, but it also provides important developmental needs as well.
For example, playing gives us freedom to fail with very little impact to our lives. We can learn to take risks, and gain self-confidence when things work out. Play also fosters a sense of community among those that engage in similar activities. Play provides these, and so many other benefits.
Be sure to MAKE ROOM for play. If space isn’t set aside for play, it often gets ignored in favor of things that feel more pressing or important. Engaging in play will do more than help you feel better, it will also help you to evolve emotionally, intellectually, and physically.
What we pursue and where we place our priorities can fit within these 7 Key Themes. the MAKE ROOM Planner and Journal uses these themes as a framework to set goals and plot directions in. This same framework is used to design our time, thereby aligning our daily plans and actions in the direction of the goals that we set for ourselves.
This allows us to design our lives, and live each day with intent.