I'll have a Balanced Life Scorecard please

You are the CEO of you.

Until you had a family, or got important at work, or started a new sporting event, you maximised your personal life satisfaction performance daily on demand. You wanted to run, you ran. You wanted to work, you worked. You wanted to drink a litre of wine, you did.

You saw an opportunity for growth or greatness. You perhaps merged with a husband, together you decided to build some new assets.

Married and with children, caring for an elderly relative or just 'in charge', you are still the CEO, but of a larger and more complex organisation and the task of maximising your personal life satisfaction just became exponentially harder.

Many will be familiar with the concept of a Balanced Scorecard - a mechanism to measure performance of an organisation.  Maximising your own life satisfaction requires that, in your increasingly complex world, you take a similarly deliberate approach.

How do you build yours?
Follow the 'A.C.T.I.O.N' plan.

Aspiration - What do you aspire to? Say it in a sentence and be honest.
&gt"I aspire to being like I was before my children came along, but now a great wife and mother as well." or, "I aspire to be the best mother I can possibly be."

Components - What constitutes your Life Scorecard? What do you aspire to spend your time on?
> Chose 5.
Examples: Family, Extended Family, Friends, Sport, Work, Charity, Baking

Targets - What do you aim to achieve in each of these areas?
> Set 2 or 3 achieveable targets per area e.g. 4 weekends with my Mum, 2 trips to the theatre a month, Olympic triathlon under 2hours30, £3000 for charity this year.

Insight - Against which of your Life Components would you say you were reaching your target?
> Mark 'Red' those that you aren't achieving. 'Amber' those that you are concerned about, and 'Green' those that you feel you are achieving.

Observation - Where is your Life Scorecard Amber or Red? What changes do you need to make? Why do you think you are not meeting your targets?
> Draw up a list of barriers to achieving your aspiration under each component.

Next Steps -  What's your plan to improve your Life Scorecard?
> Develop a list of initiatives designed to bring your Life Scorecard into balance
> Work with your partner to discuss areas where they may be able to help
> Perhaps you will need to accept that certain areas will, for a certain period of time, be sub-optimal. But, don't lose sight of these areas. Keep them 'Amber' or 'Red' on your scorecard and think of longer term solutions to improve them.

Taking the time to consider both your life aspiration, and your current and desired performance will ultimately raise your overall life satisfaction. Want it, plan it, get it.