Week 1 of Living the Maximized Life

Introduction, Part 1
The Need for the Maximized Life
Ordering Your Private World
The Paradox of our Age 




We can't live the maximized life until we know what the maximized life means for us. When you hear the term, what do you think?

This is what I think:

Living each day to it's fullest potential. My days run smoothly. There is a time for every task and a place for every object. I wake up knowing my purpose and I have a plan of action to follow. There is order in my day yet enough flexibility that if things get out of kilter, I don't flip out.

Maximized living for me, means accomplishing what I'm called to do and not wasting my time on things that don't matter. Instead of being overwhelmed by everything, and therefore, not starting anything, I have a plan and I work my plan.

Maximized living is having a life that is just of full of relationships as it is projects and tasks. I stay in touch with people over the phone. I take the time to text when someone is on my mind. I go out of my way to write a letter. I allow myself to take a day out of the normal routine and have girlfriends over for an afternoon.

It has more essence of just being, than it does of doing. My identity comes not in finished to-do lists, wrapped up projects, and a clean house. It comes from who I am as a person. My character, my victories, my strengths, and even the weaknesses that I am working on overcoming. I know myself when I am living the maximized life.

It means I fall into bed at night and I feel like I accomplished what I set out to do - - and most importantly, I did not gyp my family of much needed love and time investment in the process. 

When I'm living the maximized life I'm constantly learning new things and applying them. My mind is every growing and expanding. It never grows stale and stagnant.

With this type of life I have a strong work ethic and my hours are filled, yet, at the same time, I know the meaning of rest. I know how to work long hours in the garden and I know how to snuggle on the couch and just watch a movie with the family. I accomplish a clean house on a daily basis but I also get in the bean bag chair and cuddle with my daughter as she reads her books and I read one of mine for a little bit.

A maximized life is full of finished tasks and jobs and it is also full of doing the things that I love, like sewing, reading, and writing for fun. I don't work all the time at the cost of my hobbies and I don't immerse in my hobbies so much that necessary tasks are neglected.


Assignment:
In this first week, write up a statement of what Living the Maximized Life looks like to you. Perhaps it means a cleaner house with organization. Less time in front of the TV. Weight loss with regular work outs. Dates with your husband on a regular basis. Playing more with your children.

Menus. A cleaning schedule. An organizer. Journaling on a daily basis. No more half-finished projects.

What does it look like to you?

Second, list what you need to get organized. Do you need to organize:

~ Your entire house?
~ Your cleaning schedule?
~ Your meal plans and shopping?
~ Balance work with rest and hobbies?
~ A time to spend alone in meditation, prayer, and spiritual growth on a daily basis?
~ Your eating habits and exercise?
~ Finances?
~ Spending time with your children?
~ Time with your spouse?
~ Social life?
~ Volunteer work?

Write down what you want to organize.

Then, number them in order of priority.

As the weeks progress, I will be touching on each one of these areas with book excerpts and organizer inserts that I have developed to help with the process. But in the meantime, a journey starts with the first step, and your first step is to know where you want to head.



Ordering Your Private World







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