Concept Overview

Proactive management of your Work-Life Portfolio (WLP) means:

• Having a process for capturing or identifying everything that is on your plate across work and life now, and to the extent possible, in the future
• Defining at a sufficiently granular level what needs to be done by you (versus someone else) and what kind of personal energy it will take
• Being able to reference your projects and to-dos on-demand so you can choose what tasks to do, given your current priorities, time and tools available, and energy level
• Establishing a Review Practice so you stay current on the contents of your WLP

Your WLP includes big things like the strategic sourcing initiative you are overseeing or helping your parents downsize and move. And small things like reviewing your notes before a certain meeting or remembering to pick up your prescription before you go on vacation.

Beyond current projects and to-dos, your WLP includes things you might want to or need to do in the future.

When you have to drop everything to deal with a crisis (which seems like at least once a week), you know exactly what needs minimal attention so it doesn’t become its own crisis and what can wait. In general what you are choosing not to do because priorities have changed.

A WLP is agnostic to the type of system you use to manage it. Digital, analog, a hybrid – whatever works for you is the best system for you.

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