Famed comic actor Martin Short writes about "The Nine Categories" or how he chooses to work on aspects of his life in course-load terms, the goal being that you might not be high in one category (like your career) but you can get a higher grade in a different category (like your family) to boost up your average. This is an incredibly easy way to split your life into easily digestible worlds in which to provide some focus. Here are his nine categories:
The Self
How is your health? Do you do a yearly physical? Do you ever go to the gym? How is your diet? Do you like who you are? Why or why not? Give yourself a grade and perhaps choose this as a focus for a week or two.
The Immediate Family
Can your family relationships be made stronger? When was the last time you told your significant other/children that you loved them? Perhaps you would like to know more about family members (including your children) so you might want to ask them more questions. Maybe you rarely do something your significant other wants to do, and you decide to actually surprise them and do it!
Original Family
How is your relationship with those you grew up with...parents and/or siblings?
Friends
Are you keeping in touch with your good friends (and maybe even some not-so good friends) at all these days? Maybe give someone a call and just say hi.
Money
Many of us go through periods of financial ups and downs in life, we need to set goals for where we want to be and what we can do to get there. Can we pay the bills and cover the essentials? Do we have any savings? Any investments? Can we balance fun and work?
Career
What grade do your give your working life? Some of us can plan out our whole career on paper, from entry-level all the way to the pension. Some of us take a more zig-zag route of occupational existence...getting ahead, then a step back, but then getting ahead--and so on.
Creativity
Are you doing hobbies adequately, if your work isn't serving a creative purpose? Make sure you take some dance lessons, learn how to scuba dive, write a novel, or cook some gourmet meals etc... if your dayjob is not giving you the right opportunity to get out and do creative projects.
Discipline
Have the self-control to actually implement your goals. This is a tough one.
Lifestyle
Are you actually enjoying life? Are you doing anything to make the world a better place?
Look at these and assign yourself a grade in each category. One category can have subcategories (like your weight can be a subcategory of category 1). Just pick a time every week (like a specific time such as Monday morning) and go over this. Choose a category to focus on and get the grade up, rinse and repeat.
Thank you, Martin Short, for a cool way to improve!
