I’m a rhythmic person. As far back as I remember, I have always had a beat in my head. I can clock it at 59 BPM on a metronome, interestingly about the same pace as my resting heart rate. Every so often the rhythm in my head finds expression in my hands and feet as I silently fade off to sleep. My wife is quick to point it out.
I have not yet mastered the fine art of avoiding becoming overwhelmed. Admittedly, I attempt a lot at once. Yet, I feel an invitation to learn the art of calm in the midst of the tempest – a restful rhythming during life’s flurry. There are days when I find that rhythm and days when I do not. Because I know the rhythm exists, and have even moved to its infectious groove, I have become a willing student desirous to learn the simple rhythm.
A self-made tool that is greatly assisting me in finding a rhythm within the deadlines – of business, within family, and personal goals – has been a creation that I call “the Advance the Ball Grid”. I’m an Excel novice, so my template grid is by no means a masterpiece. It is a simple 8.5 by 11, 12-square grid whereby I place a title for each of the areas of my life that demand my attention.
Here’s how it works – Each of the 12 “Advance the Ball” squares contains a heading of each area of my life for which I am responsible. There are five squares making up the weekly “hats” of responsibility I carry in my business, three grids related to the family, kids and farm, two squares for my own personal goals, and two for those “pop up” responsibilities that are hard to plan for. The mission within the grid is simple: advance the ball (i.e. complete at least one task) within each of the squares each week.
What I have found is that advancing the ball in each area of responsibility keeps me from living crisis to crisis. In short, I manage the squeaky wheels by giving a little grease to each area of my life consistently…or said differently, I create the rhythm I desire to live by.
