In February 2017, I’ll be running my first “Indivisible Life” (IL) workshop. This course is based on the book I’ve been writing for the last 5 years and is a distillation of all the lessons I’ve learned, the experiences I’ve enjoyed, and endured, and my own prescription for living highly effectively.

Although it can be done at any time, October is often the month that many of us start to think about the year ahead and an important part of IL is having a plan that addresses all dimensions, not just the business. I find it incredible how many people have a business or career plan but leave all other areas of their life to chance or fate. To my mind this is the root cause of the frustration and discontent that seems so prevalent today.

In the very first “four-i weekly” I highlighted a simple process, (10’s, 25’s, 50’s & 100’s) that helps to identify the important things and experiences you would like to have. Building on this is another simple process for annual, quarterly, monthly, weekly and daily planning – “The Indivisible Plan” that will be a central part of the IL workshop. To give you a taster, here’s the first 10 questions to begin the process:

1. How’s your health, fitness and stress levels?
2. Reviewing the last year, what were your 25’s and 50’s? Did you have any 100’s? How would last year rate, was it your best year yet?
3. How about your 10’s? Which twenty additional 10’s you can add to your list?
4. List out all your significant relationships and score each 0-10, where 0 = the relationship has completely broken down and 10 = it couldn’t be better. What patterns do you notice?
5. Look at your asset schedule – how does this compare to 12 months ago?
6. What have been the key lessons learned this year? How would you have done things differently now you have that wisdom?
7. How has your career/business developed in the last year, what are the stand out achievements, what innovations and improvements are you working on?
8. What significant contributions have you made to others and your community? Do you feel you’ve done enough? What else might you do?
9. In what ways have you developed as a person? What significant milestones have you achieved? What are the things you’re still wrestling with?
10. What are the important things that you’ve not done, that you’ve allowed to be put off, (for whatever reason)?

Once you’ve answered these 10 questions (and the workshop has many more), you will then be in a much more productive state to start planning for the next 12 months, to “begin with the end in mind” as Stephen Covey would put it, to be ready to live your best year yet. IL is about being highly effective in every respect, not just financial or business, although these form an important part, but in all dimensions – and having an “Indivisible Plan” is the best way I know to setting the right course.