3 Rules to Rule Them All

I’ve been asked how exactly do I manage to balance work, study, play and family while living abroad and working online. Although the correct answer is, of course, ‘I don’t’, I still was able to formulate three rules that help me to at least sometimes look like I do.

This image is completely unrelated but it was sent to me while I was working on the piece, and it’s perfect. Thanks, Alex!

1. You should schedule everything. I use Basecamp, and more or less everything I have (or want) to do is there, either as a to-do or in the calendar. Literally everything, work, study, housework, dog care, personal care. I don’t ever pretend that I do everything that was planned for the day every day, but the hint here is to keep to-dos where you would see them so that it bugs you.
2. You should make plans. Thanks to a friend of mine, Mania (who is very pleased when I mention her name so I try to do so every time I get the opportunity), I discovered you could achieve your dreams if you work with them in a certain way. One of the things you should do is planning. You could organize the planning as you please. I find it effective to set several goals for the next year, set some plans for every month and then check the progress every two weeks. Again, I don’t fool myself into thinking everything will go exactly as planned. (I did; it didn’t) Plans change, but having them is essential.
3. You should practice self-discipline. I started the year with a self-discipline workshop, and it is the best thing I could’ve done. Some things were familiar to me, some were new, some were complete insights. My own organizational system became clearer and more effective. I realized or formulated important things that help my productivity. For example, for the last three weeks I (almost) haven’t been reading news feeds in the two social networks I use; apart from being extremely proud of myself, I see how good it is for my work and study process but also for the overall well-being. Give it a try.

So what’s you secret?