Maintenance— the process of maintaining or preserving someone or something, or the state of being maintained.

There is a large portion of life strictly dedicated to the continuity of living well. Individuals go throughout their day, pushing towards goals they have in mind. Whether that is to graduate college, to visit Hawaii, or to raise a family.

However, between the steps taken towards these goals, there is the endless stream of menial tasks that are completed solely as maintenance on the life one lives. The “changing of the oil” in your engine. Sleep, exercise, eating, washing your clothes, socializing. All of these things have to be done on a regular basis otherwise your life will suffer from an imbalance.

The definition of maintenance highlights that you are preserving someone or something. With life maintenance, you are preserving yourself, your stability, and the continued quality of life you enjoy.

Aristotle taught that there were four pillars to the good life, Health, Wealth, Love, and Happiness. The trick with this is that happiness is kind of like a cat. You can’t chase it to catch it, you have to let it come to you by getting the other three pillars correct.

In order to keep things running smoothly, you have to work on these things constantly. If one of them is out of balance, it likely means the things in your life are not prioritized properly. If you sit at a desk all day. It might be good for your bank account, but it is definitely bad for your long term health.

The key to all of this is ultimately prioritization. It is asking yourself, “how well can I organize my day so that I hit the daily goals I set for myself whilst moving steadily towards the monthly, yearly, and lifetime goals I have in mind?”

If you can ask a question like that, you can find a way to prioritize and overlap the important things in your life. Then you’ll keep your own porch swept. That makes the whole world slightly better.