Life Management – making the best use of your time and your life is necessary to meet your highest potential, to pursue self-actualization, and to embrace your Excelerated Life™, a life of flourishing and well-being, and a life of meaning, purpose, and service.
“Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.” ~ Benjamin Franklin
What is life made of?
Not money.
Not things.
Not accolades or accomplishments.
It is made of time . . . and the energy with which you live that time.
That’s the essence of the Life Management principle in the Excelerated Life™ model. It sits squarely in the Maintenance section, the part of the framework designed to help you care for your most important asset: yourself.
The purpose of Life Management is not to get more done. It’s to make space for what truly matters, to optimize your time and life energy so you can pursue your Excelerated Life™ of well-being, meaning, purpose, and service.
There are three practices that bring Life Management to life:
- Excelerated Simplicity™ – freeing yourself from unnecessary complexity.
- Excelerated Organization™ – being clutter-free and well-enough organized to find what you need when you need it.
- Excelerated Habits™ – automating your best behaviors.
Each of these plays a distinct role. Together, they form the structure that supports every other part of your Excelerated Life™.
Why Life Management Matters
You only get one life, at least in this current manifestation. And while we like to think we’re in control of how we live it, many of us allow it to be shaped by clutter, chaos, distraction, and exhaustion.
Your time and energy are your most precious, non-renewable resources. Once they’re gone, they’re gone. And yet, how easily they slip through our fingers, in the name of obligations, distractions, and trying to do it all.
Life Management is about stewardship, using your time and energy wisely to pursue the life you are meant to live. That starts with simplifying, organizing, and creating systems that make your best behaviors automatic.
Excelerated Simplicity™ – Free Yourself from Complexity
“Designing a simple life means having fewer distractions in your life, so you can focus on what matters. It’s about saying no to everything that gets in the way, but saying yes to what’s right for you.” ~ Melissa Camara Wilkins
Simplicity is not simply owning fewer things or following a minimalist aesthetic, although that may be part of it for some. It’s concerned with making space. Space for rest, space for creativity, space for meaningful work, and meaningful connection.
Take your commute, for example. Research shows that shorter commutes are associated with greater well-being. And yet many of us opt for longer drives in exchange for larger homes and suburban neighborhoods. The result? More stress, less time, and diminished energy.
Simplicity asks us to make thoughtful choices and to remove unnecessary complexity, not just for the sake of convenience, but to make room for the life we actually want to live.
“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” ~ Attributed to Albert Einstein
Ask yourself: What can I let go of today to free up space for what matters most?
Excelerated Organization™ – Create Order Around and Within
“As within, so without.”
This old adage contains a surprising truth: your external environment reflects your internal state. A cluttered desk often mirrors a cluttered mind. A chaotic calendar often signals an overcommitted life.
The beauty is this: the relationship works both ways. If you bring order to your environment, your thoughts and emotions often follow. Declutter a drawer, and you might find unexpected mental clarity. Streamline your to-do list, and you feel more capable, more focused.
When you create a well-enough organized life — not perfect, but intentional — you remove friction. You reclaim time lost to searching, deciding, and second-guessing. And you become better able to focus on your most meaningful work.
You don’t have to get it all “under control.” You just need to bring enough order that you can find what you need when you need it, and create space for what matters.
Excelerated Habits™ – Automate Your Best Behaviors
“Success is a habit. So is failure.”
We like to think we are in full control of our decisions, but studies show that nearly 40% of our daily actions are habitual, automatic, subconscious, and repeated without much thought.
That means we are building our future — our health, our finances, our relationships — day by day, often without realizing it. Simple actions, repeated over time, determine the quality and direction of our lives.
Here’s the trap: we often try to change our lives by relying on willpower, gritting our teeth, trying harder, pushing through. But willpower is finite. We use it up throughout the day, and when it’s depleted, we fall back into old habits.
There’s a better way.
“Willpower is for people who haven’t decided what they actually want.” ~ Dr. Benjamin Hardy
Decide what you want. Then use your limited willpower to build systems and routines that make it easier to do the right thing until it becomes automatic.
This is the power of Excelerated Habits™. Instead of fighting yourself every day, you design your life so that your best actions happen naturally, without drama or resistance.
Bringing It All Together
These three practices — Simplicity, Organization, and Habits — support each other.
Simplicity reduces distraction and makes room for what matters.
Organization brings clarity and efficiency to your environment.
Habits allow you to follow through with consistency, without burning out.
Together, they free your time and energy to focus on higher goals, deeper relationships, and meaningful service. They are not “nice to have” extras. They are essential supports for the life you are trying to build.
This is Life Management. And it is a cornerstone of the Excelerated Life™.
Action!
You don’t need a life overhaul. You just need a place to begin.
Pick one of these three areas — Simplicity, Organization, or Habits — and take a small step today.
- Clear one drawer or digital folder.
- Say no to one unnecessary obligation.
- Begin one 2-minute habit that moves you forward.
Small steps, taken consistently, create powerful change.
Your Next Step
If this principle speaks to you, download this checklist of simple steps to put these ideas into action. Or explore more in the Excelerated Simplicity™ Workbook.
Then ask yourself: How well am I managing the life I’ve been given? What’s one step I can take today to steward it more wisely?
You don’t need to do everything all at once. But you do need to begin. For that’s how you embrace your Excelerated Life™!
What are you doing well in terms of simplifying, organizing, and creating helpful habits?
What is one thing you could do just a little bit better?
Share your ideas by leaving a post below.
Life Management – making the best use of your time and your life is necessary to meet your highest potential, to pursue self-actualization, and to embrace your Excelerated Life™, a life of flourishing and well-being, and a life of meaning, purpose, and service.
Read more about the Excelerated Life™.
This blog post includes research information and suggestions provided by ChatGPT, an AI language model developed by OpenAI. The content was generated with AI assistance and is intended to provide information and guidance. Please note that the suggestions are not official statements from OpenAI. To learn more about ChatGPT and its capabilities, you can visit the OpenAI website.