IRL...
This month’s theme is IRL. Translation: Something that happened to me recently (all good) has given me food for thought. Last week it was the Social Media Blues. And this week it’s “Where did I put the manual?”
I had my dishwasher replaced recently since the one I had was dead. The new one is basically the newest version of the one I had. As with any appliance it came with a manual— pictures with labels of all the moving parts, instructions on how to run the different cycles and information on how to trouble shoot problems. Afterwards, my brain popped up with “life manual.” Yes, we would all love a manual that would give us instructions on how to live our lives, trouble shoot our problems and diagrams to show us all the moving parts in our lives (i.e. job, family, children, etc.).
Well, that doesn’t exist on a generic level. So, I have decided to create one for my life and business. This manual would have a copy of my weekly schedule, my tasks (weekly, monthly, semi-annually and annually), a job description for me in my businesses, best practices, rules (dos and don’ts) my yearly goals sheet and my mission statement.
I already have a family manual that includes “job” descriptions for my daughter and I, family mission statement, motto, and best practices. “A personal mission statement defines who you are as a person (or as a team member where you work) and identifies your purpose—whether that’s on the job or simply in life. It explains where you see yourself in the future, how you plan to pursue that purpose, and why it matters so much to you.” — Ken Coleman, Ramsey Solutions So, this would just be a version of this for me and my business alone.
It would also include what is known in the business world as a mission statement or value statement. This statement would define my values and give me a framework to make sure my goals are aligned to my values. “Mission statement – This defines your purpose. It's what you ultimately want to achieve in your life or career, expressed in a specific, measurable way. Vision statement – This is a bit more emotional. Here, you define your core values, and how you'll apply those values to your mission.” — Mind Tools
In fact, we can take a lot from a company handbook and use it for our personal lives to guide us to making good decisions, achieving our goals and staying true to who were are.
How to write a personal mission statement video