Some people get stuck in daily routines that tire them out or fail to nourish their wants and needs. Are you one of them? We know that making changes is a daunting thought – perhaps even more so when you’re unsure of what needs changing in the first place. That’s why we came up with a 15 minute Life Satisfaction Quiz: to help you take a step back, look at how your life has been going and make a good plan of action.
The Quiz follows our Grid structure, so you will find that we invite you to think about your life in four main areas:
- your personal life (such as friends and family relationships),
- your self-care moments,
- your work, business or studies
- and last but not least, your career.
To give you an idea of how the Quiz works and why knowing your life satisfaction level is important, we’ve invited Emma Hudson to test it out! She is a virtual assistant – her business has withstood a slump caused by the pandemic, and now she is at her busiest. Emma found that as her client base grew, her existing productivity methods were no longer serving her needs at work or in her personal life. Here’s how our interview went…
I can make changes without feeling overwhelmed by them.
Emma’s experience after taking the Quiz
What did you expect to say about your life when taking the quiz?
“I suspected that things were out of balance in my life before I took the quiz. I’d been feeling like I was chasing my tail, and there was never enough time, yet I could not identify how I’d got to this point. I think of myself as an organized and efficient person, but clearly, something had changed to disrupt the status quo. I wanted to learn what it was to correct it.”
Were your ideal priorities aligning with the current state of your life?
“No, they did not align. Rather than being spread evenly, I was directing most of my time, energy, and focus to the ‘work’ part of my life grid. While my priorities in this area were being met, and actually exceeded, it was at the expense of the other areas. In particular, the part of my life that suffered was my self-care – I was making no time for myself.”
Has seeing your satisfaction level for each area of your life been helpful?
“Yes, it has. Working through the questions for each of the four key areas of my life that the quiz offered pushed me to think about what was going on right now AND what I wanted from each area.”
Did you notice any serious differences or common themes between these areas?
…seeing the same answer over and over, pushed me to think about making a change
Emma’s experience after taking the Quiz
that I’d been putting off.
“There was a common theme: lack of time. But while I knew going into the quiz that this was a problem, considering it, in the context of the questions and seeing the same answer over and over, pushed me to think about making a change that I’d been putting off.”
What actions are you taking after the quiz?
“After taking the quiz, I felt really motivated, and I spent some time thinking everything over. I hadn’t realized just how much the events of the past 18 months, the pandemic, had affected my mindset. Particularly, the suddenness and uncertainty of it. Nor did I appreciate how much things had changed for me.”
Emma’s experience after taking the Quiz
“Like many business owners, after months of limbo, I decided to focus my efforts on my business (my work) to make up for the losses of the past year – and, if I’m honest, the anxiety of it too. But I hadn’t realized quite how much of myself, my time, was now going into it. But also, my working life was now very different from what it was pre-COVID – I have a different client base with different needs to my previous clients.
“The old methods I relied on to balance the different areas of my life were no longer working. So, I needed:
- A new (better) method to manage my work and life and improve my productivity.
- To address my habits.
- To improve my mindset, (specifically) to act with excitement for the future and not out of fear of the past and what has already happened.”
“I chose the Get Productive Grid book as a starting point to work towards these goals, and I’m happy with the progress so far. Not least because it’s sustainable, and I can make changes without feeling overwhelmed by them.
What are your final thoughts regarding the quiz?
“If you feel something is off in the balance of your life, I highly recommend taking the quiz as a first step. The questions prompted me to think about each area of my life in a way I’ve never done before. As a result, I had an aha moment I would otherwise have missed!”
If Emma’s pre-Quiz situation resonates with you, then we think we can help! All you need to do is set aside 15 to 20 minutes and clear your mind.
To help you get the most from this experience we have also prepared a downloadable, 1-page PDF to help you record your key findings. Our experience tells us that a crucial part of making progress is being able to see how far we’ve come! Alternatively, you can also take notes on any piece of paper you’ve got on hand.
After taking the Quiz, check out our other free Grid related resources. This will be especially helpful if you’ve found any life areas you wish to improve. And, if you’re looking to get more organized and in tune with yourself, check out the Get Productive Grid book or our immersive Grid Introduction Training online course which takes you on a systematic personal development journey to create a satisfying and meaningful life, deliver results and avoid burnout.
Let’s Make Time Count!
