When life derails you, try a Grid

Part 3 of 3: Highlighting 'The Get Productive Grid'

Sometimes my best thinking happens with a cup of tea, a notebook, and a view that reminds me how big the world really is. That's where I am today as I write this. Looking out at the Alps, I am finally ready to show you the grid I've been talking about.

But before I do, let me tell you about the week that brought me here.

A day in bed (finally)

After I returned from a dear friend's memorial in London, I got sick. I had a fever for 24 hours straight and I could barely think.

That my dog Fritzli was still at his hotel meant that I could stay in bed all day without feeling guilty. I didn't take anything except for ginger lemon tea with local alpine honey during the day. I just let my body do its thing.

Finally, at bedtime, I took two Tylenol. The next morning? I woke up fever-free and ready to face the day. I love the body’s ability to heal itself.

Trapped by a bike race

The next curveball came when I was leaving the grocery store. My car was suddenly blocked by barricades for the 2025 Tour de Suisse Women Stage 1 Race.

I was furious. I had groceries in the car, cooking in the sun, and I was supposed to pick up Fritzli between 5:00 and 5:30. I couldn’t stand the thought of being away from him one more day.

The grocery store’s signs had said the exit would be closed from 4:30 to 5:45. I was leaving at 4:00. That should’ve been fine. But when I asked the race crew what was going on, they just shrugged and said, “They are early.”

In the end, everything worked out. My food stayed fresh. The dog hotel extended the pickup window. I even made it just in time to see the cyclists fly past the 150-meter mark.

(And yes, I got caught on video at the 4:22 mark — link here.)

A big win

And then, just when I thought the week might never turn around, I got an email:

I graduated from the Harvard Medical School Executive Education Lifestyle & Wellness Coaching program!

After everything, I had a big, joyful exhale.

Working on my own Grid

The Harvard course reminded me of something I’d been working on quietly in the background: my own Grid, the productivity framework developed by Dr. Magdalena Bak-Maier.

I realized I needed to include the 6 Pillars of Lifestyle Medicine from the course in my own Grid. They are:

• Exercise

• Nutrition

• Sleep

• Stress Resilience

• Positive Social Connections

• Avoidance of Risky Substances

These pillars aren’t just wellness buzzwords — they’re non-negotiables for long-term health. Which brings me to the larger structure I’ve been updating in this blog.

The three pillars of this blog

1. Finding Your True Self - This is about breaking free from what others expect and figuring out who you really are. Not just self-worth, but your whole identity when you're not trying to please everyone else.

2. Living Well - This goes way beyond mental health. I'm talking about lifestyle medicine - how you eat, move, sleep, connect with people, manage stress. The whole picture of wellness when you have resources to do it right.

3. Money & Meaning - This is where the financial piece lives. It's about using your wealth in ways that feel right to you, balancing what your family wants with what you want to create in the world.

A Conversation That Stuck With Me

In London, I had a conversation that really got under my skin.

A few women shared how they’d been cut out of wills — not because of any estrangement, but because they were women. Primogeniture, the system that favors male heirs to keep estates “intact,” was still being used.

Here’s what stuns me: If the goal is certainty of lineage, the maternal line is the only one you can be sure of.

And yet, in many families, estates go to the male heir — regardless of birth order — because it’s assumed he’ll “run” things. Well, women can run things just as well as men, it turns out.

If you’re intrigued by this topic, I highly recommend Philippa Gregory’s Wideacre trilogy. It's historical fiction, but it sheds light on how unfair it really is.

Why I'm telling you this

These stories might seem random, but they're not. They're about being flexible when life doesn't go as planned. About finding the good in bad situations. About listening to what your body needs. And taking the time to focus on what matters in life.

These ideas connect to what I'm about to show you today - Magdalena Bak-Meier's Grid.

How to Use the Grid

So here’s how it goes. Take out a piece of paper and draw a cross.

Label the quadrants like this:

• Upper left: Life

• Upper right: Self-Care

• Lower left: Work

• Lower right: Career

Here’s the concept:

• The left column is about the external world.

• The right column is your internal world.

Now, start listing your bases — your active areas of commitment — into the appropriate quadrant. Examples:

Life: family, spouse, kids, friends, personal finances, home, car, travel logistics
Self-Care: rest, exercise, stretching, therapy, step work, karate
Work: job tasks, client sessions, volunteer roles, content creation
Career: professional development, certifications, website updates, conferences

Then, on a second sheet of paper, draw the same Grid again — this time for your Yearly Grid.

Above and below each base, jot down your current goals for that area. For example:

• Under “Career” ➝ base = "website" ➝ goal = "update bio and media kit"

• Under “Self-Care” ➝ base = "martial arts" ➝ goal = "prep for next belt test"

This is how I set up my own Yearly Grid. I will then use this to set up my monthly and then weekly grid, breaking down the goals into smaller bits.

My recent attempt at drawing my yearly Grid.

Want to Dive Deeper?

I encourage you to buy Magdalena Bak-Meier’s book directly from her site at Make Time Count.

It’s less expensive than Amazon, and you might even get a handwritten note from her. (She’s that kind of person.)

She also offers Grid workshops, coaching, and digital resources if you’re curious about taking this deeper. There’s a Kindle version too.

If you’ve been feeling stretched thin or overwhelmed by too many to-dos, I hope this gives you something tangible to work with.

Sometimes, the simple act of drawing a cross on a blank page can be the beginning of everything.