Imagine this: Last night when you went to bed something strange and magical happened while you slept. When you woke up your life had changed. Not upside down, topsy-turvy different. But it was different. And BETTER. All of a sudden, life was 20% better.
If your life became 20% better, how would it look?
What would be different in your work?
Different hours, time off, workload, responsibility or advancement? Has the work environment, relationships or policies changed?
What would be different in your marriage/dating/single life?
What would be different with your kids, family, close friends or those it’s been months since you talked with? Would you have more time together, better communication, more fun quality time?
How would your health be different? Maybe you eat more whole foods, experience less chronic pain, lost a few pounds or have more energy. Are you getting more sleep?
How would your habits be different? Do you have a morning routine? Are you offline more? Do you spend time reading, meditating or planning?
What about your free time? Is there a bit more? Is it more relaxing? More productive?
How about your living space?
Is it a bit less cluttered with that one pesky closet finally emptied? Maybe the donation pile finally was dropped off or those “to-sell” items. Maybe the living room was repainted and pictures were taken out of the moving boxes and hung on the walls. (Because why hang the pictures when you are planning on painting, right?)
What about your mood and mental state? Is there less stress and bitterness? More joy or gratitude? What do you think about when you first wake up and before you fall asleep?
And beings this is a personal finance blog, what would 20% better look like with your money? Are you more on target with your budget? Tracking better? Or following up on the nagging unfished tasked like 401k rollovers and shopping for new car insurance. Maybe you finally feel great about your asset allocation.
20% better isn’t a massive shift, but you can feel it.
I have to admit I really, really love our life! I don’t think it’s by accident or luck. Instead, it’s constant mindfulness, intention and taking small steps to make progress in the right direction.
But I’m not done either! Doing this exercise, I came up with a small laundry list of things that could be 20% better.
Homework Time!
While I’m not exactly a teacher, I do love giving people I mentor homework! So here is yours (if you want it!)
Think about 1-3 things that could be 20% better.
Find those level one actions you could take to start making progress. Just in case you missed this video I made, I’ll drop it here again.
The magic of the question
Some questions are oddly effective. Here is why I love this question:
You aren’t trying to make things crazy different, just a little better. So it helps guard against overwhelm or indifference. Some people will say, “There is just TOO much!” and not start. Others will say, “Well, my life is OK, I don’t need any big change.” But 20% is attainable and applicable.
It’s easy to make it bit sized and actionable. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE big ideas. But to get those going, we need to start small. We need to start with things we can tackle in an hour or two this week.
Traveling for 10 weeks has a been a perfect time to step back from my routine, reflect, and plan a few course corrections. But you don’t need a big trip for this! If you are one of my subscribers, just open my (arriving soon!) private resource vault and print out or download a copy of this worksheet and all my free resources.
20 minutes and your favorite beverage is all you need!
For conversation: Anything that you would love to see 20% better?
i would go with 20% better exercise. i have time. 20% less winter in the northeast would be good. you’re right, these things don’t happen by accident. lots of design and thought into your life along with some luck and you have it. tweak as necessary. i almost wrote twerk as necessary. isn’t it nice to be back home?
I feel you on the 20% less winter! I love winter….until February or March, then I’m over it. We are actually considering traveling more those months to get that 20% less winter. And yes to the exercise as well. We have a great routine before our trip but it was a hot mess while we were gone. Now getting back to it. I’ll be a little sore this week!
Hi Jillian–love your blog, and thank you for all you write about, you are super inspiring!
Thanks so much Danielle!
I just got finished the book “Why We Sleep” and will have a review coming out. I would no doubt like to sleep 20% better (and more)
That’s such a great goal! Sleep never comes easily for me, and I have to put a lot of thought and effort into getting good rest! My husband on the other hand….it’s his super power. 60 seconds with his head on the pillow and he’s out.
My brother who was also in the military can do the same thing! He says they train you to sleep on command when you get the chance, lol.
That would be such a gift. =)
This is a great approach, so much less overwhelming. I’ve noticed relationships with friends tend to get squeezed out while families are young and friends are spread across the US. Maybe we can’t do dinners out or weekends away easily these days, but 20% better might just look like putting it on the calendar each week to let a friend know I’m thinking of them or schedule a skype.
I’ve totally had to be more intentional about finding time to connect with friends. This is such a hard season in life for that. I even send friends the link to my work calendar and have them book time! =) But if we don’t months and months go by because the days are full.
I think right now, work is the area I’ll pick for my 20%. It’s been sort of on the back burner for quite a while. Over the last year and a half I’ve had a baby and moved twice. Now that the baby is almost one and we’re settling into permanent living quarters, it’s time to settle back into a routine with work.
I have a flexible work-mostly-at-home job which I am very grateful for but it also means I have to have a lot of self-responsibility. I am very good about being focused and on track when I’m working. I track my hours and am not off looking at Facebook or something. So 20% better probably just means 20% more time… a challenge with a little one underfoot, or in this case under the wheels of my office chair.
Also, this one is 2-for-1 since it’s also the thing that will make my finances look 20% better.
It’s SO hard to carve out time for work when things are transitioning! Good luck finding the extra time. =)
If my life was 20% better, I would have more time traveling to see family and friends plus with 20% more, I’d have much better sleep!
More time with family and friends is a big win to overall health and happiness! So much research points to this yet it’s often the first to go when we get busy.