Pod Insights Change Wired A simple 5-step Work-Life Integration process for ambitious people, living an unbalanced life. About this episode If your calendar predicted your future, would you like what it shows? In today's episode we'll walk through a clear, 5-step work-life integration system designed to turn values and your future self visions into the life you live daily. Instead of chasing someone else’s idea of balance, we strip away borrowed goals and define a good life in your words, for this season, starting now. It's a realignment process. We create a match between what you want in life...
Transcript 0:09 Speaker 00 Hello and welcome back to another episode of Change Wired Podcast. My name is Angela Sharina, I'm your host, your partner in change, executive health, high-performance, transformation coach, culture, transformation consultant, and just someone who is really passionate about unlocking, growing, using more of our human potential and specifically about building the ecosystem for more of our human potential to grow and sprout and develop at scale. And today, by the end of today's podcast, guys, I'm going to share with you one of
0:52 Speaker 00 the, I think, simplest, but also fundamental and so often overlooked tools to actually build the life that you absolutely love living, like it all starts there. If you don't use this tool, this system, I can guarantee you, you're not going to get to the vision of self, of life, or the impact you want to create. You're not going to get there unless you use this approach. I hear it from every single leader that I admire, I listen to a lot of interviews, and all of them use this system.
1:33 Speaker 00 Not all of them talk about that or more conscious about that, but all of them, we all, living this system. And it's better if you create it with conscious awareness, with intention, so you are more in control of where you and your life, and again, the impact in the world, where all those end up. It all starts with this system.
2:02 Speaker 00 And the system is the Work-Life Integration System. It has five steps and I teach it to almost all the leaders and entrepreneurs and founders at all the workshops and events. Yesterday, I led a workshop at the biggest tech conference in South Africa. It happens every year and this is the third year that I was presenting there. And at almost every workshop, I try to introduce this framework because every time I get new people in the audience and it's a mix of younger people and older people.
2:47 Speaker 00 But almost all of them, almost all of my clients, when we are in the period of transition or we are trying to improve, to change, to create something new that we don't have, almost all of us need to use the system, to reflect on it, to realign, to get more effective at getting where we want. So the system is very simple. It has five steps and you can do it probably in twenty, thirty minutes, maybe even less, depending on how well you use this kind of structure already. And the only thing you need is some sort of calendar that you use that reflects,
3:30 Speaker 00 some sort of planner that reflects what you do in your day and what you plan to do next month, next quarter or next year. So five steps, the Work-Life Integration System that actually works. And it's not about the, it's not about creating the perfectly balanced life or the one you see in glossy magazines or the one that somebody else thinks everyone should be living. It's not about that. It's about the life that feels good to you, that keeps your soul content.
4:04 Speaker 00 It's, again, all you need is a calendar and a bit of unfiltered honesty. What I mean by that is, if you want something, say you want it, no matter what it is. And if you want that, be ready to commit your calendar and your resources to it. And also realize that there is a lot of noise happening in our world. And we humans are social creatures. So sometimes what you think you want isn't actually yours. It's not something you really want. It's something that somebody else, maybe your parents, maybe your peers, think is cool to have.
4:43 Speaker 00 So before you jump into this exercise, I do recommend to do some reflection on what is I actually want from my life? Not because somebody else told me or the world thinks it's a great idea to have. But me, like, what do I want from my life? What's my ideal life, at least for now, looks like in my head, in my vision? What it is that I want to create more of and less of? So first, reflect on that.
5:14 Speaker 00 And then step number one of the work-life integration system that I teach, define what matters to you. And this reflection will already jumpstart this process. Specifically, define areas that make your life feel full right now. Not in some someday future, but right now. For me, those buckets, those areas where I need to invest my time and energy are meaningful work is kind of one of my top priorities. Health, relationships, learning, and fun. So those are the areas that for my life to feel full and complete, for me to be happy with my life,
5:58 Speaker 00 I need to invest in those areas consistently. Now, you can have more areas of meaning, of fulfillment, or buckets of fulfillment, as I call them. You can have less of them. You can have them more detailed, more specific, or less specific.
6:16 Speaker 00 And maybe one of your buckets is singing or baking or anything. So if it needs to be in your life for your life to feel complete, put it there. Don't be embarrassed, ashamed, or thinking it's not a good idea because somebody else doesn't think so. Like, what it is you want to be fulfilled, content, and yes, happy. Number two, step number two, define what success looks like to you. Not to me, not the world, not your mom and dad, not your spouse, not your kids. What success looks like to you? What would good life look like in each area today, this week, this month?
7:00 Speaker 00 Write it down, make it visible, make it as detailed or as simple as it needs to be for you to, for it to guide you to make the right kind of choices and set the right kind of priorities every day.
7:16 Speaker 00 And my example is what success looks like for me. Health, fit, strong, full of energy, no pain, limitless. That's the feeling, you know, health for me is always more like a feeling. It's not avoiding diseases, which isn't really a great goal to pursue because it's more negative and we are not inspired or motivated to pursue negative things. Relationships, few key relationships, fulfilling, satisfying, deep and honest. I don't like a lot of people in my life, but I like to have the people who matter and who feel my life, who make my life feel complete. And I like to show up for those people and I'd like those people to show up for me.
8:01 Speaker 00 So that's what matters for me in relationships. I don't need crowds, I need few key people. Learning, a top expert in my field, like I wanna feel like a top expert in my field. Fun and adventure. The ideal future is to just dedicate time to it, explore and discover, try new things, say yes to unexpected on a regular basis. And then for my work, impacting a lot of people, helping a lot of people to unlock more of their potential and feeling that because of me, the world is better in some way. And I wanna build and grow more and more of that.
8:44 Speaker 00 So again, so we all of us have a better chance, a better shot at growing and using more of our potential. So that's my vision of success in the areas that matter to me. Again, yours might be slightly or a lot different. We all value different things, guys, and that's okay. Number three, identify specific actions that you will take consistently. And here, we humans that have this optimism bias, we think that things will take less time and effort. So we had that. And knowing that, I always these days try to adjust my expectations and expectations of other people, people I work with, right?
9:29 Speaker 00 Different visions require different actions. Everything has a matching cost. You can't wish to be one of the world's greatest, let's say, athlete and think that amateur moves and spending just a little bit of time here and there will get you there. If you want to be extraordinary or even the best or one of the best, like make sure that you expect to put the effort that matches this aspiration, right? Match the price with the prize. And very often, we get frustrated with ourselves for no good reason. We just didn't adjust our expectations.
10:15 Speaker 00 Extraordinary life will require extra efforts. Schedule. And by the way, you don't need to be extraordinary in everything at all. Like if you like baking and you just wanna have a test hobby and do a few things here and there, that's totally fine. Or if you just like to feel good in your body, not the being on the cover of magazines, that's also a totally good aspiration. And if maybe your work isn't your top priority, that's also really good to have a good job that gives you the impact, the income you want. All of it matters i- in the context of your life, of your aspiration
10:58 Speaker 00 and what it means for you to live a good life. Now step number four, schedule time. Nothing meaningful manifests without spending time and effort on it. Like you can't manifest things, even to bake a cake, you need to dedicate resources and time and energy, right? To bake, quote unquote, bake anything in life, that's the same idea. You can't expect the result without putting in the work. Heck, even to buy a purse or a book, you need to spend some time choosing it. Some time and effort always has to be there. And that is where your calendar is such a great judge of
11:42 Speaker 00 what you have, where you're gonna be and what you're gonna achieve and create. You can't have, let's say, quality in your relationships or quality in learning. Or you can't have an adventurous life if you spend zero time on adventures. Like you might think, oh, I'm adventurous person. Well, when did the last time you go for an adventure and said yes to unexpected things? That's what adventurous people do, right? So schedule time for those areas of improvement for to build the vision of success that you have in those areas. And step number five, which is also very, very important.
12:26 Speaker 00 Set up the time to reflect and adjust regularly, weekly or bi-weekly or monthly, depending on the goal and aspiration and what makes sense for you, for that specific area and action. You'll change, your priorities will change. What a good life is for you will change. Let your calendar evolve with it. Let yourself evolve. Don't put yourself in the box and then feeling like you have to live in this box till the rest of your life. Humans are the best animals on earth. The in adaptation, we evolve, change and adapt. That's what we do.
13:08 Speaker 00 So don't put yourself in a rigid box and then feel like you have to live there forever. Change the box, get out of your box and find another box or live without a box, right? So let your calendar evolve with you, with your life. It should serve your life, not own your life or you. So fulfillment is actually not that complicated, guys. It just requires a little bit of thinking, a little bit of time, a little bit of consistent effort. Fulfillment equals the formula for fulfillment in life. Clarity of your vision plus consistency of actions to manifest this vision,
13:49 Speaker 00 plus reflection to adjust, because you are evolving. Your life is evolving and so your calendar should evolve with it. And the closing thought, there is no one way to live a good life, but there is one way to live a good life for you. The most important question is, are you living it?
14:17 Speaker 00 And that's about it. What I recommend you to do, guys, now, schedule some time on your calendar if you were driving, walking, or busy otherwise doing other things while listening to this podcast. Schedule 20 minutes on your calendar, at the very least, depending, again, on how long it was, maybe never, for you to do this kind of work. If you've never done it, then 30 minutes, or maybe the whole hour to first define. And really think about, what is a good life for me? And I also recommend to remove, that's the only way it can work, to remove all the notifications, all the distractions. And even better, get yourself
14:59 Speaker 00 out of your familiar contacts, maybe your home, maybe your office, and get yourself somewhere that makes you feel open, inspired, something new, something with views, something just inspiring to you, somewhere where you can just sit there with your thoughts, with your journal, with your calendar, perhaps, with your planner, and just write about what it is you want to become, what kind of life fulfills you, and then go through the process. Just put this podcast on, and after each step, take some time to go through the step, to define what matters to you,
15:39 Speaker 00 to define what success look like in that area, to identify specific actions you will take consistently, to schedule the time, and then schedule the time to reflect and adjust. That's it for today, guys. Please do share this podcast episode, perhaps with your friends, perhaps with your peer group, with whom you might stay accountable to actually do this work together. When we are accountable, it's one of the biggest, one of the most effective tools to actually do what we say we're gonna do, to keep yourself accountable to other people. So do it with other people, do it with your family, make it a practice with your family, set your
16:19 Speaker 00 whole family for better work-life integration and fulfillment. So do it together, do it also by yourself, if you need a little bit more private time, share it with at least one other person. Let's together start living a more fulfilling life. I can't do it without you, so please share this podcast with at least one other person.
16:44 Speaker 00 And that's it for today, guys. Thank you for tuning in. Thank you for listening. Thank you for being committed to your personal growth and unlocking more of your potential. And till next time, keep changing, keep growing, keep evolving.
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