The Five R's

Rate 'em

Next set of pages, write down the list of THINGS as a list. Rate them with one of the following letters:

A- Must have in my life; brings me the most rewards
B- Must have in my life; but costs too much
C- Don't need in my life.

At this phase just rate them. You don't need to have so many A's and so many C's. Just rate them.

After that though, it's time to number them, by order of importance to you. You cannot have ties. It's A1, A2, A3… B1, B2… C1, C2, C3, etc. Each letter starts off with "1"

Remove 'em

Here's the quickest way to trim your life and get more time. Say goodbye to the C's. If you needed them in your life, they wouldn't have been rated a "C." So you can just stop all the C's at once, cold turkey… or if that seems too drastic for you, start at the lowest C (i.e. C10) and work your way up 'til you reach C1.

Reduce 'em

Next look at the B list. You said it cost too much. Time to look at the BENEFITS of those B items and brainstorm ideas. Put these ideas on pages labeled "BRAINSTORMING"

Ask yourself "how can I get the same benefit for less cost?" Consider the local park as an alternative to the movies as a way to spend time with your family. The cost is definitely less, and the time will be more rewarding. Remember that you're brainstorming, no idea is silly. You're trying to find way to get the same benefits for less time and money and whatever else it costs you.

Things to note:

• You can rate each activity as well, not just the categories
• You can always reevaluate the A list at any time to see if they really are A's

Recommit 'em

You're getting rid of C's and B's because of how important A's are to you. Now is the time to recommit yourself to those A's. The best way to prevent yourself from taking on more C's is to spend most of your time doing A's.

Replace 'em

If you've cut out the C list and reduced the B list, you're going to discover a big shift in your life. Not only will you will have more time for the A items, but you'll also have time to do the things on your wish list. The only rule here is that you can only choose one of the A wish list items at a time. Bring it into your life, and go through this whole process of the five R's again before doing even more.

The key is in doing less STUFF, and more of the things that enrich your life.

Rate, Remove, Reduce, Recommit and Replace, and you will be able to Regain your life.