Did you ever feel overwhelmed by the idea of prioritizing your life?

Setting your life goals can be really difficult but only if you don’t know how to start. Let me tell you, a little while ago I was struggling to find the right direction in my life, which I thought then, was kind of strange because everything seemed to be just fine. I had my everyday life routine, part-time job, two University degrees and long-term relationship with the love of my life but for some reason, I felt unhappy. Or more precisely, I felt lost. That was the time when my anxiety started to kick in and even waking up every day was a real struggle.

Unfortunately, instead of finding a reasonable solution for my problems I lived in a denial, constantly engaging myself in self-destructive behaviors (toxic habits) which obviously only made things worse. I should have known by then that untreated anxiety can easily lead to depression, which in my case happened to be true. If you went through a severe depression you know that it can turn your life into “living hell”. What was even worse was that high level of anxiety and severe depression could easily make you nihilistic and desperate which turn your life into meaningless existence. And so the question becomes: What now?

This was the moment when you have to ask yourself a question: Do you really want to live a meaningless life? The answer is: No, of course, I don’t, no one does. But in order to find the answer, you have to ask yourself this particular question. For me personally, that was a turning point in my life, a new beginning or more precisely, an opportunity to redefine myself as a person.

Learn About Yourself 

Do you want to know how I did it? Well, I got into a deep conversation with myself in order to understand what kind of person I really want to be and what is my real purpose in life? In order to find the answer to this question, I had to challenge myself. Especially because I started to realize that for many years I have been doing things that I was expected to do not because I consciously chose them to do. Sounds familiar? Don’t get me wrong. I don’t regret anything because every life decision I have made in the past has brought me where I am today even if it was unconscious. But it wasn’t enough for me. I wanted to know what determines if the choice we make is our own or if it is highly influenced by others and we do not even realize this. Sounds a little bit scary because it makes you question your independence as an individual human being. After many hours of analyzing this problem, I came to the conclusion that it has something to do with being mindful, listening to your intuition and your inner voice. How I do it? Personally, I like to talk out loud when I am working things out in my head. For me, it’s the best way to detect if it is speaking up my true self or I am only elaborating somebody’s else ideas. In my opinion, the worst thing you can do is to adopt some kind of “safe life model” invented by the collective mind instead of being a true self. Unfortunately, it happens in many cases. But, if you let other people choose your path for you, you will compromise your own vision of life, your goals, your dreams and incredible opportunity to find your happiness and personal satisfaction.

We shouldn’t be afraid of our potential which manifests itself in thinking out of the box. I personally think that the mystery of a human existence lies in defining the individual meaning of life. It’s the only way to find a real-life purpose. Remember, it’s not about being a perfect but about defining yourself and making your life worth living.

Oscar Wilde said: “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” That’s a great one!

The best way to define yourself is to prioritize your life. And this is how you can easily do it: get a sheet of paper and write down goals you want to achieve.

1. Plan A Life You Want To Have

• Have a deep conversation with yourself and ask yourself a question: “What am I willing to do in my life?”
• Create a personal vision for your future, that will justify your everyday effort.
• Specify your goals and ask yourself: “What is my purpose in life”. – The process of setting goals motivates us in turning our ideas of a perfect future into reality.
• Identify your macro goals and decompose them into micro goals by thinking strategically. – This way it would be easier to master them with a high degree of probability and avoid feeling overwhelmed.
• Give yourself a credit for every small achievement. – It is crucial because by consistent small achievements you are making a real-life progress and you build self-confidence.
• Stop wasting opportunities you have in front of you. – Be mindful and observe the world around you! Do NOT abandon some idea only because you think that you will not be able to realize it. TRY!

2. Make A Schedule And Stick With It

Schedule means getting things done. That is why you should not underestimate its importance, especially if you consider the monetary value of your time. And let me tell you, even if you are not at the working place at a particular moment, your time has still monetary value because you either saving money or investing them in your future. Always “Remember that time is money”, just like Benjamin Franklin said. For that reason, you should first ask yourself a question: How much is my time worth? It can be hard to answer this question precisely but it is worth trying.

Here are some good reasons why you really need a schedule:

• It helps you achieve your goals
• Provides responsibility, which makes your life meaningful and worth living because everything you do DOES matter.
• Makes you stay focus on your activities
• Motivates you to achieve your goals
• Fights the procrastination and saves our time  
• Improves self-discipline & conscientiousness which makes you much more efficient during the day
• Reduces stress and anxiety
• Provides more time to relax – yes, you should schedule a time for relaxing!
• Makes you feel in control – because you choose how your day is going to look like and let me tell you: it’s empowering!

The last but not least advice on making a schedule is to be rational, have a deep conversation with your conscience and always, always negotiate with yourself! Do not be your own tyrant. Design your ideal week and step by step achieve every single goal that you have scheduled before!

3. Create Your Daily Routine

If you are not sure why building a daily routine is so important the answer is quite simple: We are creatures of habit and through a healthy routine, we can achieve our goals.

In my opinion, to stay healthy mentally you need to adopt some kind of daily routine. Otherwise, it’s just sacrificing your sanity. And let me tell you, you cannot survive living day by day in a chaotic, unplanned manner. There is no way you can achieve anything this way. I’m sure about that because I tried it and I failed. If you build a good daily routine, adopt a schedule and set your goal structure, in this way you will find a real purpose in your life.

Here are other wonderful benefits from daily routine:

• Makes you grounded and mindful
• Builds better mental health – without a daily routine your emotions are dysregulated
• Provides structure and familiarity in your life
• Helps managing chaos or better establish a balance between chaos and order.
• Increases efficiency not only at work but also in your free time
• Helps you break bad habits and build the good ones
• Provide better sleep which undeniably improves your mental and physical health
• Saves our time by reducing the need to plan daily activities

Example of a healthy daily routine:

• Always get up early (if it’s possible) around the same hour for example 6-8 a.m. – even if you don’t have a typical office job, it’s still a good option because it’s the time most of the people get up
• Do some workout – the best would be quick (about 15 min) cardio or HIIT workout
• Eat breakfast and plan other meals of the day – it saves a lot of time and helps with a healthy diet
• Work
• Eat lunch/dinner
• Plan your next day/make a schedule
• Relax/Meditate/Do some yoga or pilates
• Take a hot bath or quick shower
• Prepare yourself to sleep

Take care and Good luck!