Structure Is Freedom. Discuss.

This post started life as an episode of my podcast, Unfrazzle. If you prefer, you can listen here (7 mins)

How do you feel about structure?

Some people are naturally inclined to rebel against structure, preferring to go with the flow and see how the mood takes them. For others, structure is what grounds them, keeping them calm and focused.

I definitely fall into the latter camp, but the former is equally valid.

The key, as you’ve heard me say a million times already - is to find a way of doing things that feels good to you, and that leaves you feeling confident that the important things will get done. (Note the use of ‘important’ rather than ‘urgent’. There’s a big difference!)

I often ask my mentoring clients how they feel when they hear the word ‘structure’. For some it brings a feeling of sweet relief, allowing them to see a way out of the chaos that causes them stress.

Others physically recoil at the very word!

And then there are those who THINK they want structure, only to find that  it doesn’t work for them. (listen to episode 117 of my podcast, Unfrazzle, for an example of what that looked like for one of my 1:1 clients).

There’s no right or wrong with any of this; just what works for you and what doesn’t.

So if what I’m sharing today isn’t your jam, that’s ok! I’m not saying you need to have structure – or that structure needs to look a certain way – in order to be productive and make progress.

But in case there’s something here that helps you find what works for you, let’s look at some of the ways in which, for me, structure is freedom.

What structure can look like in practice

Boundaries

Structure can look like having boundaries and honoring them. When you do that, it’s easier to protect time and headspace for the things that matter to you (rather than always being reactive to whatever’s going on around you)

Those boundaries will also make it easier for you to switch off and relax, knowing everything important is held and taken care of.

A system to keep you organised

Structure can also look like having some sort of system that allows you to see everything that’s on your plate. When you have that working for you and can see how busy – or not – you are, you have the freedom to say ‘yes’ to fun stuff and opportunities without guilt or worry because you know you have capacity. And if you DON’T have capacity – if you already have too much going on – having the structure that helps you know that gives you the freedom to say no. (If you need that in your life, Tame Your To-Do List can help.)

Getting your day off to an intentional start

You could also think about structure in relation to how you begin your day. And you might choose to substitute the word ‘rhythm’ here, instead of structure. But when you’ve got that in place, it reduces the number of decisions you need to make, preserving your previous mental energy for the things that really matter.

For example, I always do yoga first thing in the morning, whilst Tom is still in bed and before we have breakfast together. That’s part of the structure of my day that allows everything else to happen with much more ease, and means I don’t have to waste precious time thinking about when I’m going to fit in some exercise during the day.

Systems to prevent emotion from tripping you up

Structure can also be helpful if emotion sometimes gets in the way of you taking action. For example, I’ve been terrible at asking clients for testimonials. I know there’s something going on with my mindset that needs work, and I’ll most definitely address that, but what if creating a system and structure around how I ask for testimonials allowed me to take action without that emotion getting in the way? Is there anything I could do to automate the process, without losing the human touch?

Checklists that save you time

The last example I’ll share is about creating checklists for things like client onboarding and offboarding. Those aren’t thing we do every day, and it can be hard to remember the steps. Mapping out the process as you go so you have it written down for next time will save you SO much time and irritation in the long-run!

So you see, when I talk about structure I’m not talking about time blocking your days to within an inch of their life. It doesn’t have to be about doing the same things at the same time every week, or being so rigid about how you do things that you feel stifled.

It’s about having just-the-right amount of structure to support you in focusing on what’s important – think of it like the banks of a river that stop the water from spilling everywhere, so it can flow out to sea.

Structure frees me from my own unhelpful whims and blocks, helping me stay on track with the big picture without distraction. It frees me to say yes to coffee with a friend because I’ve set time aside for human connection, and to say no (or not right now) to an opportunity because I can see that I’m at capacity.

If I need to go off-piste every once in a while, I’m ok with that. Too much rigidity can be stifling even to me, so it’s important to be flexible, taking care that our structure doesn’t drown out our connection with what we need.

Over to you!

Does structure feel like freedom to you? Or does it make you shrivel up inside?!

As I said right at the start – I’m not here to tell you that a certain amount of structure is crucial if you want to succeed.

But if you’re feeling like things are a bit too loosey-goosey right now and a small injection of structure might help, is there anything I’ve shared today that might help?

What other ideas do you have to introduce just-enough structure to help you succeed?

As always, I hope this helps and I look forward to seeing you again soon.