What if you run your life like a CEO runs their company?
Most of us hold a mental backlog of things to change: eat healthier, work out more, build financial literacy, advance our careers, nurture relationships, invest in the stock market. We all are constantly trying to better ourselves or we feel pressure to.
These goals are often interconnected: In order to invest in the stock market, I need to learn finances. If I want to play around with finances and investing, I need to earn some money and advance my career. Your brain runs up and down this never-ending list with no clear organization or realistic next step.
If you try to do everything at once, you end up doing nothing well.
Segmentation helps you serve yourself with clarity rather than constant burnout. This is something I am also working on (add this to my never-ending list).
Comprehend your capacity.
It is easy to become inspired. The challenge comes with execution. Simply put - we are all busy, and bandwidth is blurry. It’s hard to know your true capacity without breaking your life into clear segments.
A business with one giant to-do list would deliver half-finished projects and unhappy customers.
Each business relies on their own version of segmenting - now how often do we actually apply structure to our personal lives?
Businesses do not all function under one structure. They each have foundations that act as the personality behind their business - their industry, clients, people, and goals. As predicted, structuring our lives works the same. We cannot solely watch one video or read one article, apply every aspect of it, and expect it to produce our highest functioning self.
Reflect, Test, Succeed. Find the structure that works best with your personality, stage of life, and realistic goals.
Below are 5 business structures that can apply to segmenting one's life.
1. Functional Structure
Specializes in roles or functions
Personality Type: Detail-oriented, organized, thrives in clear categories
Application: Break your life into departments: Health, Career, Finances, Relationships, Personal Growth
2. Matrix Structure
Combines functional and project-based organization
Personality Type: Multi-tasker, thrives on variety
Application: Layer in projects that cut across multiple of your main categories: A Europe trip touches finances, planning, and health.
3. Flat Structure
Removes layers of planning and thinking
Personality Type: Self-starter, thrives on autonomy and speed
Application: Simplify choices. Less overthinking: Pick a workout program today rather than spending weeks researching
4. Project-Based Structure
Focuses on temporary projects
Personality Type: Motivated by deadlines, thrives on challenges and tangible results
Application: Organize life around specific short-term goals: 6-Week Fitness Challenge or Job Application Sprint
5. Lean or Agile Structure
Cycles with Iterative, adaptive, fast feedback
Personality Type: Flexible, curious, thrives on testing and improving
Application: Test small lifestyle changes (new diet, new study schedule): 1–2 weeks, review results, then adapt
When you run your life like a business, you serve the customer (yourself) without running yourself into the ground.
After laid out, it is simpler to envision and answer:
Which “segment” of my life needs the most attention right now?
Reach out with how you might apply this to your life or any feedback this piece sparked.
