How we strategise our lives in the same way as we do the business.

When Angus and I sat down with a performance coach, we spoke about our business and how planning is at the core of what we believe in. We’ve designed our company around the mission of helping people plan: to plan for the life they want to live. So, it’s a topic close to our hearts.

Planning is not just about booking activities into time slots in a calendar. Planning for a life you want to live means knowing what that life looks like first, not just keeping busy with life as it comes at you.

Real planning means prioritising the things that make up the life you want to live, and saying no to the things that don’t serve that.

“You strategise and plan in your business, so why don’t you do the same for your family / your relationship?” - the coach asked us.

This is where things start to get interesting.

At work, we’d never just start doing. First, we need to know the game plan. What’s the strategy? What are we trying to achieve? Only once we know that can we do our jobs properly.

So why not do the same in the most important areas of our lives?

Why not take a step back and write your LIFE strategy. And this certainly does NOT need to be your entire life - but what about how you want the next year, or just the next quarter - what would a great year look like? What resources (time + money etc) do you have to make that happen - what do you need to put in place to achieve the goals you set out?

Choose the ones you’ll prioritise this period, and get it scheduled in. 

Here’s an example that I recently developed in my own life, after spending time thinking about this - as my girls are now teenagers - and busy living their own lives, it's really important for me that we have some dedicated time together regularly - no phones, no housekeeping - just time together having fun. 

So, I have planned two monthly elements as part of this, one family day out, into nature for example, or an event, museum, beach day, National Trust etc - just us as a family. 

And, one Padel session a month - a sport we’ll all learn together (and Otis the ball boy). 

I’ve booked these into the calendar and made sure everyone keeps that time available for the family. 

At the end of the year, we’ll have 12 lovely days to look back on, and hopefully an excellent backhand. 

There are so many elements that make up a good life, different for everyone - from the people you spend time with, the food you eat, how you move your body, making time for the things that bring you joy. 

So, I encourage you to take a step back, and think, for a moment, of your life like your work - and plan accordingly.

Here’s what I’d do:

A simple system: Map → Prioritise → Build → Review

1. Map it.
Grab paper and list every area of life that matters to you: family, relationships, health, friendships, hobbies, wellness, money, creativity, adventure, work. These are your headers.

2. Get the vision down.
Under each header, free-write for five minutes. Don’t edit as you go. The question is: what would a good year look like here? Be bold.

3. Build. For each area, build a mini project plan. Ask yourself:

• Goal: what does success actually look like?

• Blockers: what has stopped this happening before?

• Steps: what has to happen, in order?

• Schedule: when does each step happen, and who is doing it?

Example: healthy lunches, three times a week.
Blocker: no time to think at lunchtime.
Steps: make a meal plan, shop, buy a lunch box, batch-prep on Sunday.
Schedule: Sunday 4pm, every week.

4. Put it in the diary.
A plan that isn’t scheduled is just a wish. Block the time in your calendar the same way you would a work meeting, and protect it the same way.

5. Review each quarter.
Life shifts. Revisit your headers, check what worked, and reset the next quarter’s focus.

This is what turns it from a one-off exercise into an actual system.