Codie Sanchez describes life as four leaky buckets: family, work, health, and friends. Success usually means letting some drain. She walks through a four-step audit: check your calendar for where time actually went, define what matters most, block it in, and ask monthly if loved ones got the best version of you.
Chapters
I heard about this theory called the 4 buckets. It totally changed my perspective. So imagine your life is 4 leaky buckets: family, work, health, friends. You pour water into each bucket to keep it full. To become successful, you have to let one drain out. To become extremely successful, you may have to let 2. You can argue with the theory. Your calendar usually cannot, because every builder has one bucket getting the bulk of their time, one getting whatever is left, and one they keep promising to fill, like, after the next few months. There's a 4-step audit I use to make sure success doesn't become an accidental trade. Step 1 is review the year. Open your calendar and look where the hours actually went. 2, define your non-negotiables. Pick the things that need a protected place on the calendar before work expands to fill every space. Step 3, block the calendar. If your priorities only exist in your head, work will beat them every single time. And lastly, 4 is reflect. I think you got to ask yourself once a month, when was the last time the people you love got the version of you you want them to remember? I have this thing called a full personal audit. It's on page 285 of the new book. You should do it if you don't want to be owned by your business.
