Most people whose life is out of balance are so busy, they can’t figure out how to get in the activities that they really want. Usually the remedy is to cut out activities that don’t give you a wonderful present or future, and substitute activities that do give you a wonderful present or future. But what do you cut? Here’s one idea:

1. Make a calendar for every day of the week with space for every hour of each day (days in columns, time in rows).
2. For the next week, record how you spend your time, and next to each activity, rate your pleasure and/or accomplishment using a 5 point scale, 5 being highest. Be sure to include sleep, eating, and work. For example, if you went for a walk in the woods and felt very good, you might rate that a P5 for high pleasure. Getting your bills all paid might be a A4 for a somewhat high feeling of accomplishment. Watching a TV reality show might give you a P1, because you realize by the end that you feel pretty bad having watched it.
3. Meanwhile, come up with a list of activities you’d like to include in your life, whether it is pleasurable or moves you towards your goals. See 10 Habits above for some pleasure ideas, see my Pleasure List, and see other areas on this site for goal oriented tasks.
4. At the end of the week, make a new calendar in which you schedule your week, cutting out your low P and A activities, and substituting activities from your new list. Leave some open spaces, and when the time comes, consider doing another item from your new list. If you find that your job or your spouse are not bringing you joy, I am not recommending cutting them out of your life. You could look at the other sections of this site for help with life mission, career, or relationships, and you could talk with your coach.
5. Spend another week doing your scheduled activities, and again rate the activities as you do them for pleasure and accomplishment.
6. At the end of the week, ask yourself if your feel better about how you are spending your time now. Do you feel better? Is there something different you want to do? If you experience resistance to cutting activities or doing your new activities, consider discussing with your coach. Revise the process as needed.

Let me know how it goes, or if you have other ideas.

Visit Creating Balance on Steve’s website.