Concept: Domains

In the process of developing a better self, an increased awareness and understanding of the self is engendered. So two things. The first is I realized, I like thinking in terms of "domains".

Domains are helpful for me because they categorize. The best domains are those with clear, defined boundaries. Domains also help me think about horizontal segmentation. A lot of times we hear the same rhetoric that when we're planning a big project, we need to break it down to smaller steps; this is so that the goal does not seem too daunting, and it's more manageable to achieve small goals, gain mastery and confidence, before moving to the next rung of the ladder. And that is helpful when you're looking at one ladder.

Life is not one big ridiculous long ladder, panning all the way to the sky, towering over us, insurmountable. It's a crazy criss-cross of odd shaped ladders and paths for us to manoeuvre. We can, however, focus on one ladder. We can also be aware that we have many ladders we need to manage and traverse at the same time.

And that's how I see domains being helpful for me as a concept: Vertically, the different steps of ladder, break up a big goal into manageable steps; Horizontally, the different domains, break up my seemingly boundless life, into manageable groups. That's "domains". Me likey them.

The second thing I like: visuals.

So, to combine my fondness of domains and visuals.

Click to enlarge!

Wow. How does it feel? Is this... my life? All on a powerpoint slide?

I think it's both scary and relieving to see my life sketched out into these domains.
There was the initial feeling of being overwhelmed, almost drowning in my own affairs, as I swam through my head to fish for what was important, and what groups were helpful for me to think about. But right now, with these domains in place, I feel like I've arrived ashore: it becomes more apparent to me, what I've committed myself to and what I want to commit myself to.

I've collected my ladders and arranged them nicely. Now I find them more manageable. The overall feeling is, "looks ok what! this is possible!"

And because I can see my ladders more clearly, I know what I can work on, and if I zoom in one domain (smaller rectangles) or a sub-domain (a bullet point), I can start to think about what is my ideal outcome for that domain, and thus set a goal, and work towards that. I see this as the way to improve and develop into a better version of myself; to improve in all the domains of my life that I love and care about.

Domains -> plan -> goals -> next-actions.

Simple.
Possibly disciplined.
Definitely happy.