Rules For Life

Welcome to The Sunday Starter, a bi-weekly email for busy working parents who want to start taking back control over their lives.

Have you ever seen a group of Sheepdogs herd sheep?

Why does it work?

Because there are rules in place.

→ The Sheepdogs know what they must do.

→ The Sheep have boundaries they must follow.

Day after day, this turns into a habit where they flow in unison.

They don’t have to think about it. They each know their role.

Have you ever thought about that in your life?

Setting rules that inform your decisions well before the decision needs to be made.

Let’s discuss how that might be a beneficial practice going forward.

Are we conscious of the decisions we are making or do we always make them on a whim in the moment?

Certain decisions will need to be made in the moment but many can be set up in advance to avoid “decision fatigue” and give us confidence in the path we choose.

→ That’s why we need to set ground rules.

We need to structure boundaries that help guide us otherwise we’ll always be in reactive mode.

The Goal: To be in control of your time versus external factors controlling what you do.

Each of us leads unique lives so these rules can be anything but they must align with your values and how you want to show up in the world. You might already have some in place but you don’t even realize it.

→ I’ll give you a few examples of my “rules” that help guide me:

• I block off lunchtime every day to workout

• I edit/schedule my Podcast interviews the same day I record them

• The first 30 minutes of my day is quiet time without tech distractions

• I stopped drinking alcohol in February so it’s a “No” when someone asks if I want a drink.

→ Some questions to ask yourself to get started. These will help you start to think about areas in your life where setting boundaries or “rules” helps avoid falling into peer pressure, when you feel unmotivated or simply to guide you when the day gets busy.

• Where do you get energy from?

• What decisions do you make often that never change?

• What priorities tend to get bumped from the calendar?

• What project is important to work on for this upcoming year?

• What’s the one area of your life that needs the most focus right now?

And, remember:

→ There’s no correct list or no exact way this needs to be structured.

→ These don’t have to be major decisions, many won’t be.

→ You won’t be “perfect” with these 100% of the time. Life happens.

But some of the same decisions we make over and over, week after week, can be made easier if we are thoughtful about what outcome we are trying to achieve.

The intent is that, like the sheepdogs, you can corner the herd and direct them down the right path.

Without the sheepdogs, you’re always chasing down the sheep.

Without boundaries, you’re always chasing down your time.

It's challenge time once again!

Think about your life and where having some boundaries might help with your decision-making.

What ONE RULE could you add that would be helpful?

→ It always starts with your priorities. From there, you corner that time and don’t let anyone take it.

You start to make decisions well before the decision ever needs to get made.

You start bringing some order back into your life.

You begin to take back control.

What’s Coming Next:

Next week, we’ll hit on a framework that can help you stay focused as we roll into the New Year and become a Champion of 2024.

Thanks again for your support with this newsletter.

❓What did you think? I’d love feedback to continue to make this a superb resource for everyone. It can be positive or negative. Nothing is off limits so reply to this email and I’d love to hear from you.

✅ When you complete the challenge, Reply directly to this email and please share what rule you decided to put in place to make decisions easier.

How can I support your journey?

🙏 One of the coolest things about building the Just Get Started platform over the last several years is the number of interactions with new and interesting people who are on the cusp of getting started or early in their journey.

What are you starting that you are excited about?

If I can support you in any way, please let me know. You can reply to this email and let me know what’s going on in your world. I’ll try to help where I can!