Just as businesses have a sales funnel,
individuals have a Balance Funnel. The mix of things you put
into the funnel determines the mix that comes out.
If you only fill your funnel with work, then work
is what you'll get. If you add some activities for your church,
your family, and time for yourself, then the "output" will be
more balanced.
Filling the balance funnel is not really a
choice. It will be filled with the activities you have committed
yourself to. Or, if you haven't committed, then it will be
filled with whatever you happen to be doing out of habit. Think
of this funnel as the result of your daily planner. If you put
nothing on the calendar, the funnel will result in unproductive
activity such as watching television.
To produce a balanced output, you need to
schedule time for the things that are important to you. This
includes yourself. Remember, you're going to see positive
results in whatever you put your attention on. If you put your
attention on work, you'll be better at work. If you put your
attention on your spouse, you'll be a better spouse. If you put
your attention on volunteering, you'll be a better member of the
community.
If you put a balance of activities (and
non-activities) into the funnel, then you will get a balance as
your daily result.
When we become unbalanced -- stressed out,
exhausted, and burned out -- it's because some time back we
stopped putting a balance of activities into the funnel. We see
two major examples of this all the time. The first is work. Some
people become so obsessed with work that they don't focus on
anything else.
You can't put 99% of your energy into your work
and then one day turn to your family and say "I'm here for you."
Your family's not going to sit around waiting for you to turn
your attention to them. They have lives to lead and they will
proceed without you.
If you want to turn to your family and have
strong relationships, you need to keep putting "family" into the
funnel. Give them time and give them attention. Be in their
lives and they will be in yours.
The second example of unbalanced behavior is the
total lack of planning. Many people make no effort to plan the
future -- even the next hour. So when they stop and look for
something to do, there's nothing there. In most cases, they
either turn on the television or start browsing the internet to
waste their time.
Being bored and doing meaningless activities is
fine once in a while. But it's not really a way of life. It
results in filling your life with meaningless activity. After
all, if that's what you focus on, that's what you'll get good
at.
You've heard it before: You will only reap what
you sow. If you plant the seeds of balance, then you'll have
balance. If you plant the seeds of work, then you'll have work.
The very good news is that you have total control
over the process. Every day you get to decide what goes into the
funnel. You can schedule a date with someone important, arrange
for a vacation, set aside time to help at the church. And so
forth.
Getting Started
It's difficult to force balance into your life.
You have to start adding balance at the top of the funnel and be
patient as it works its way through. After all, you've filled
the funnel with activities that need to filter through. Just as
there's a time lag in the sales funnel, there's a time lag in
the balance funnel.
So you can begin today to plan ahead. Plan a
variety of activities. Each different type of activity also adds
variety -- or balance. As your new variety of activities works
its way through your balance funnel, the eventual result will be
a balanced life. You get out of it what you put into it.
As you work on the prospects,
provide quotes for service, etc., some percentage of these will
become hot prospects. You will produce a number of proposals. From
these, a certain percentage will eventually buy your product or
service.
