The five areas may not receive equal attention on a given day or during a given season. Across a life, though, they should receive intentional attention.
Steven Britt · Working manuscript excerpt
An evenly divided calendar is a tidy picture. It is also a poor description of many real lives. A newborn, a demanding job, a health concern, or someone who needs care can change what a week asks of you.
The High Five Life starts with a more useful question: where does your attention belong in this season? Faith, Family, Fitness, Finances, and Fun help you look across your life. They do not each require a fifth of your available hours.
That distinction gives you room to make a deliberate trade. It also asks you to name the trade honestly. Something can receive less attention for a while. The concern is when “for a while” stops having an end, or when a habit of avoidance starts wearing the clothes of a necessity.
Pick one area that has been getting less of you lately. What has been receiving that time instead? Some of the answer may be a responsibility you would choose again. Some may be an ordinary default you have barely noticed.
You do not need to make an ambitious recovery plan. Decide what is appropriate for this season: one small act of care, a conversation, a change to a default, or a date to reconsider the trade. An honest decision is more useful than five impressive intentions.
The worksheets are built around that kind of decision. Choose one area, give a few questions your attention, and leave with something small enough to do.
Draft 2.0, Introduction / Not Balance—Attention
Book excerpts are from the working draft and may change.
