Hi, my name is Alix and I love structure. 

I’m a routine kinda gal. Like, I’m the type of person who keeps a hard copy, (like, REAL PAPER) planner along with a Google calendar and daily to-do list.

While I am a free spirited soul, there is still indeed a method behind the madness. I’ve tried NOT using lists, planners, calendars, what have you…and I’m here to tell you it doesn’t fucking work. Not for me, anyways.

I end up in a weird mind state kinda just floating about my day doing scattered tasks here and there. I’m getting anxiety just thinking about that. The horror!

No, I cannot live my life to the best of my abilities without it being orderly. That’s just how I am and it is what it is. And while I do like order, I also like freedom.

So I’m still chill with myself. Like, I have a daily list of important things to do and I try to keep that at a handful.

Once I’m done with those core tasks, it’s always by evening and just in time to have dinner, veg out and get lost in a good book. 

But NOW, during this particular time when I’m unable to leave my house, more than EVER do I need structure. Oh HELL, do I NEED structure. 

It’s something that we can all benefit from.

For me, it’s a control thing. I like things the way I like them. This is why I cannot work for anyone but myself.

I’ve tried to NOT be this way and it doesn’t work. It’s just the way I’m wired. 

So like, when suddenly I uproot my life to go stay with family friends across the country and fully understand my life will never be the same as I know it (which is a good thing, but it’s still change and change is always frightening because it’s venturing to the unknown)…yeah, I feel SLIGHTLY out of control. 

So instead of getting wrapped up in all the things I have zero control over or getting my head caught up in random stuff like where I’ll be living in 3 years and feeling like I have to have it all together…I just stop.

Breathe.

Get present again.

And give myself something else to do. Because often when we get caught up in the “What Ifs” spiral into a vortex of our own thoughts, it’s because we’re not busy enough.

There’s TOO much time to ponder. So there’s a bonus pointer for you.

When feeling anxious over something you can’t control right this very moment, get busy. Get productive. Get lost in something else aside from your own thoughts. 

 

 

So, back to structure and why it’s so important, especially now. 

I love it because…

It gives me a stabilizing routine. Like, I can always count on the fact that I have set tasks to do and that these tasks are all going to get me one step closer to where I want to go. 

It helps me form good daily lifelong habits. Like, eventually getting up in the morning to go work out became so ingrained in me that I no longer even think of having to do it. I just do it. And if I don’t, my entire day is thrown off. 

It keeps me focused and organized. I usually do around 5 business-related tasks for the day and 3 personal ones (this is as simple as making time for yoga and a bath sometime before bed). The personal ones are just as important, too.

I essentially schedule a non-negotiable appointment with myself for “Me” time. You can’t fill from an empty tank. 

Hello, confidence booster. Every time you complete something you told yourself you were going to complete, it’s like you level up in life. You followed through with a promise you made to yourself.

That’s the secret sauce for a high AF self esteem, BTW.

And really, there’s NOTHING like the feeling of satisfaction you have after a long day of crushing goals, having fun and treating yourself in between. 

It gives me clarity. Basically the way I structure my life (when it comes to business) is to give laser focus to a few things that are most important to me. Like, right now for me that’s continuing to create for and interacting with my fans, work on this blog/Youtube/IGTV and getting things that I feel I need to say out there into the world on a daily basis, and creating for and interacting with Fancy Monster fans.

That’s it. Any more than that and I would get too scattered and spread too thin.

So between all three of these babies, I’ve got my hands FULL.

And I love every second of it. 

 

 

Then to further break it down, I pick a big goal in each sector of my career life to focus on, then break down each of those goals into tasks. 

So for example, let’s say I plan to launch this blog when I have 35 posts up. That means I’ve committed myself to incorporating writing 2 posts a day (the tasks) every day until I have 35.

Boom, there’s one goal done. 

When all is said and done, the system is actually RIDICULOUSLY easy. 

The hardest part of it all is getting into the HABIT of structuring your life each day and being disciplined enough to not stop until every task is complete. No matter WHAT.

NO EXCUSES. 

That’s the difference between people who spend their lives talking about what they’re going to do and all their big plans, and the difference between people who actually DO them.

They DO the things they need to DO to get them to where they need to go.

Now, I know people who can get away with VERY LITTLE structure at all and still do well in life. And props, because I will never be one of them. 

But if you KNOW you’re the type of person who needs certainty every single day and thrives with organization and routine, then yes, this way of life is for you.

Welcome to the club 😉

This is ESPECIALLY for those who work for themselves. In fact I would argue that it’s crucial you do. 

But even if you’re happy AF working from home for your company in a 9-5,  structure is still your friend. 

ESPECIALLY now, during the weirdest times of uncertainty any of us have probably lived through. Ever. 

It’s the stuff we repeatedly do, every single day, that all adds up and defines our lives. 

For me, structuring every single day helps me make sure that there is no room for error when it comes to creating and living the life of my dreams and operating at my very best at all times. 

 

xo, al