Many of the techniques that I share on this blog are based on increasing productivity in our day-to-day lives. They are techniques based on the short term that allow us to quickly visualize what our evolution is in a specific period of time..
I have recently discovered a technique that has a different approach based on the long term. It consists of creating a life map.
A life map is something similar to a curriculum but adding any important event in your life in addition to the workplace. Unlike a curriculum, the life map is not going to be given to a third person but is for your personal use.
The extent of a life map is a personal decision. They usually range from 5 to 10 years back in time. Each year can be divided into trimesters or semesters, depending on how intense each person's life is.
What I show below is a life map of my last 5 years, with some real data and others invented so that examples abound.
Semester 1
- I'm going to live alone
- I buy a car
Semester 2
- I know my girlfriend
- I run my first half marathon
Semester 1
- Job change
- I travel to Croatia and Italy for 2 weeks
Semester 2
- I start studying Psychology at the UNED
- I believe Psicologiauned.com
Semester 1
- I run my first marathon
- I have a promotion at work
Semester 2
- I travel to Marrakech
- I do a Human Resources course
Semester 1
- I break my leg
- I know someone who will later become a great friend
Semester 2
- I buy a bike and start practicing triathlon
- I do a Community Management course
Semester 1
- I join the Swimming Club
- I'm going to live with my girlfriend
Semester 2
- I believe psychocode.com
- I travel to turkey
In this map I have mixed different areas: work, sport, personal life and travel. You decide how to make your own life map. You can include several areas such as the life map of the example or, on the contrary, you can focus on a single area.
A life map allows you to visualize your evolution in one area (or several) of your life. When your life reaches a certain point of stability It is difficult to remember what you have done each year and you really do not know if you are taking advantage of your time.
I started working in the company where I am in 2005. Before that, it was very easy for me to remember what I had done each year. The previous 4 years I had studied each course of the career. And before the race I went through the 4 years of the institute. However, since 2005 my life became more stable and each year it became a copy of the next.
The life map allows me to set pikes along the way with which I can visualize differences within stability.
The life map can also help you decide what is the next step to take in an area of your life. Only when you visualize the forest in a complete way can you find the different exits.
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