The Balanced-Life Tracker: A Simple System for Daily Fulfillment

At Distil Union, we’re always looking for ways to improve daily life by simplifying. Lately I’ve been experimenting with my own system that’s really helped me find balance, and I'm finally ready to share it with you—but first, a little about how I arrived at it. 

The problem I often experience is getting overwhelmed with all the tasks of living. I struggle with cycles of workaholism followed by procrastination—focusing so much on work that I’d neglect important aspects like exercise, social time, or even hobbies. And working from home means that boundaries get blurry, and fast. 

I absolutely fill my time—from running our business and slowly remodeling a house, to the mundane and endless cycle of cooking, loading and unloading the dishwasher, and all the thousands of other tasks that are part of life. That left me feeling burned out and unfulfilled. Maybe you’ve been there too? 

When Lindsay sent me this Fyodor Dostoyevsky quote, it inspired me to look at my monster list of things to do with a different perspective; I realized that I needed to lower my expectations while reframing the "struggle" I was feeling. I can’t do all of this without going insane. I need to pick just a few, and move forward mindfully at a sustainable pace.

I tried things like an Eisenhower Matrix, which was great for task management (bonus: it can help you learn how to delegate). However, it didn't give me the complete picture of what I wanted my life to be like.

So, I started breaking up my calendar into bite-sized chunks that allow me to feel accomplished and track progress, without expecting that I have to get it all done. It’s ok if I leave work before 5pm. Realizing my goal wasn't simply productivity but also variety, I changed the quadrants into all of the buckets I consider necessary to have a balanced life: 

Balanced-Life Tracker

The idea is that by touching on each category daily, I avoid overworking myself and neglecting the things that contribute to overall happiness. Not every day is perfect, but this system has been a great reminder of my wish for myself to live a more balanced life!

If this idea resonates with you, I’ve created a Google Spreadsheet template that's flexible enough that you can tailor it to your own needs—simply duplicate the file and update as needed to track your own progress. It’s gamified (for fun!), you can track how many days you hit each quadrant, customize your focus areas each month, and even rack up points throughout the year. I even created a video walk-through of the spreadsheet to show you how to use it.

Since Lindsay's more analog (and, not coincidentally, recommends the Analog system from Ugmonk), her Balanced-Life Quadrants look like this:

"For about 5 years now I've been using Rhodia "Reverse" Notebooks—specifically the dot-grid so I can create my own custom weekly planner and checklist. Since I took this picture, my quadrants have evolved to be post-it notes in four different colors for a better at-a-glance organization. And I like that I can move them to the next week if I need to keep some tasks going!"

Now you can really see what I mean by "structured yet flexible" quadrants. Whatever categories need rebalancing in your life, and however you want to visualize it—the point is to be mindful of what you want, identify what you're missing and what's truly necessary, and find tools that help you complete the picture. Check out the Know Yourself adult card game, a deck of prompts that provide a fun way to get at understanding ourselves better so we can identify buckets and tasks. Here’s to the satisfying struggle of finding balance!