How to Plan Your Week: 3 Steps to Productivity

You have a choice in life. You can be proactive, or you can be reactive. You can either live on-purpose, according to a plan you’ve set. Or you can live by accident, responding to the demands of others.

I mentioned in my previous blog “16 Tips to Simplify Your Life (and Increase Your Productivity)” about proactively planning your week ahead. It is something I do every sunday evening, and although it takes literally only 10 minutes, it has created huge space for me in my work, in my play, and in my relationships.

Here’s how I do it:

1) Establish Roles and Goals

Stephen Covey suggests that we all have many different roles in our lives. However sometimes we can loose perspective and get so involved in one role that we neglect others, sometimes even our loved ones or our own health.

So think about and write down all the roles you fulfill. After that identify “goals” that support and help you to fulfill those roles – to become the person you hope to be.  For example, here are some of my “roles & goals”:

Role	Goals
Husband	spend quality time with Jess, date night, cook dinner,movies, buy flowers, gifts, walk on the beach…
Leader	read books, mentor meetings, listen to podcasts, prepare sermons, study, pray…
Christ  Follower	pray, read the Bible, fast, serve, solitude, study, worship…
Friend	phone call, sms, lunch meeting, braai, surf, weekend away…

2) Put the Big Rocks in First

If you think of your week as seven jars – each jar must be filled with “big rocks” (the major and important things you want to get done that week) as well as “sand” (unimportant but necessary things). If you go into each jar without planning ahead, it will inevitably be filled up with little pebbles, sand and whatever other debris comes your way. Soon there will be no room for the big rocks.

So, with your “roles and goals” in hand grab your diary or calendar and start to put the “big rocks” in first. Things like reflection time, date nights, exercise, important work tasks, etc. That way, as the week goes on and the pebbles and sand of daily life fill up around around them, you will be able to look back and say that you’ve been productive and meaningful. It makes a world of difference.

3) Map out Your Ideal Week

As this process unfolds, you will begin to develop an “ideal week”. Some sort of basic  template that you can use that gives shape and purpose to your week. You can see an example of my ideal week below.

After these three steps, the rest is easy. Simply spend 10 minutes on a Sunday night or Monday morning with your “roles” looking at the week ahead, inserting “goals” that will move you towards those roles, and making minor adjustments to the basic template.

Obviously everyone’s ideal week will look different, and of course, you can’t plan for everything. Things happen that you can’t anticipate. But it is a whole lot easier to accomplish what matters most when you are proactive and begin with the end in mind.

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Sunday is a work day for me devoted to church. I also use Sunday’s to sync my technology (download and update apps etc) and to plan the week ahead. 

Monday is a creative day. After my regular morning exercise and 30min of prayer and reflection, I spend the next 3 hours doing my best creative brainstorming and sermon prep. It is absolutely critical in this time to discipline yourself  and turn off your email and all other technology. Monday is also “date night” for my wife and I – an absolute non-negotiable!

Tuesday is meeting day. I keep that afternoon free for various admin and am usually back for work in the evening, so try squeeze some exercise in between.

Wednesday is a fairly flexible day. Starting with a creative time and then shifting into preparation for the evening work session or course.

Thursday starts off with meetings and some general admin, but I always try to keep the afternoon open to study. The critical thing here is that when I leave work on Thursday (my Friday) I make an intentional decision to “cross my finish line” and switch off my work email on my phone and iPad.

Friday is a day for personal chores and activities, and my wife an I make a habit out of intentionally reflecting on how we are doing in our marriage – usually at a breakfast after I’ve had a surf. 

Saturday is a day of rest and recovery.

What does your ideal week look like?

7 Lessons about Life from Surfing

This is a guest post by FairyGodmother Inc that I really enjoyed…

1. Don’t worry if you don’t catch this wave, there will always be another one just behind it

How many times do we worry and stress that we have “missed an opportunity”? We live in an abundant universe and if you didn’t grab one opportunity, there will always be another one just behind it. Richard Branson says: “Opportunities are like buses, another one comes every 20 minutes”

2. When you are waiting for a wave, just sit on your board and be patient – don’t thrash about in the water wasting your energy

How much of your time are you “thrashing about” do things that make you feel busy? Rather than just resting, relaxing and waiting for the opportunity or inspired thought and only then taking action.

3. When you are on the wave, ride it with all your might and enjoy every second of it

When you have grabbed an opportunity, ride it!  Put in all your energy, effort and focus. Be present to what you are doing. And enjoy the ride.

4. Be friendly with the other surfers – we’re all in this together

Life is a team sport, even though it may feel like you are paddling alone. Enjoy connecting with others.

5. The more you practice, the better you get and the more you enjoy it

In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell writes about the theory of “10 000 hours of practice = mastery”. In life the more you practice, the better you get. You can’t expect to be a pro without putting in the practice. The trick here is that when you follow your passions and love what you do, the hours of practice feel fun, exhilarating and exciting – just like surfing.

6. The sea is bigger than you, respect the bigger force

You can’t dictate to the sea the size of the waves and when you want them. Similarly God is in control of the waves of life.  You are not in control, the sooner you realize this, the easier your surfing becomes. Your job is simply to ride the waves.

7.  When you are too tired – get out of the water!

So often we keep doing things because we feel we “should” or we “have to”. This may be as simple as stopping your work and having a 10 minute walk outside, or as necessary as taking a few weeks holiday. Resting and taking a break always gives one a good perspective and allows you to come back with renewed fresh energy to enjoy surfing life again!

16 Tips to Simplify Your Life (and Increase Your Productivity)

Someone once said “it takes a genius to live a simple life” and I totally agree with that.

In this world of “dramatic distraction” and information overload it is too easy to become overwhelmed, lose focus and be swept away from the things that matter most.

Here are 16 tips that I have learnt from other leaders, blogs and books, and have been trying to apply in my life to de-clutter, un-complicate and become more intentional about how I spend my time…

1. Turn off all technology for 60 minutes a day and focus on doing your most important work.

2. Don’t check your email first thing in the morning. (This one in particular has been life-changing for me!)

3. Start your day with exercise. (or even better, learn how to surf – no better way to start the day!)

4. Be obedient to the sabbath! (That means learning how to really rest and refuel – taking one full day a week as a complete recovery day.)

5. Learn to say no.

6. Plan your week ahead. (I spend 10 minutes every Sunday evening looking at my diary for the upcoming week and planning spaces for work, rest, exercise, relational meetings etc. It helps me to stay focused on that which is important and gives me permission to say no to that which isn’t.)

7. Don’t answer your phone every time it rings.

8. Get up early.

9. Go to bed early.

10. Eat a big healthy breakfast.

11. Clean out your closets. Get rid of things you never wear or don’t use anymore.

12. Stop watching TV. Or at least cutback to no more than 1hr per day. (Jess and I haven’t had a TV for the nearly 6 years we’ve been married. When you don’t have it, you simply don’t miss it.)

13. Make sure you plan a decent holiday break once a year. (I find it should be at least 10 days for it to become truly regenerative.)

14. Learn to protect your time. The data says workers are interrupted every 11 minutes. Distractions destroy productivity and complicate your life.

15. Do your banking online.

16. Use Evernote. Seriously, it’s an amazing piece of software.

In the end, it’s about priority. About deciding what really matters and, as Stephen Covey says, “putting first things first”! And so, as you simplify your life, may it increase your productivity and grant you a greater sense of purpose, and may it bring you great freedom and peace.

Saturdays Suck!

Every year on Good Friday Christians gather to remember the day Christ was crucified. It is a day of great sorrow and pain. A day the world was cast into darkness and all hope was lost. A day of great mourning.

But Friday is not the end.

On Easter Sunday we gather again, but this time to celebrate. To rejoice in the hope that Christ is risen. It is a day of great joy and praise and wonder for the marvelous gift of grace!

But then there is Saturday. The day without a name.

The day after a prayer gets prayed, but before it gets answered. The day after a soul gets crushed, but before it gets lifted up again. The day in-between. In between despair and joy. In between hate and love. In between death and life.

And here’s the thing – we live in a Saturday world.

So often in life we find ourselves in that space in between. In between utter confusion and blinding clarity. In between bad news and good news. In between loneliness and companionship. In between who we are and who we hope to be.

And the biggest problem with Saturday is that when you’re in it, you have no idea that Sunday is even coming. When Jesus died, the disciples were scared and confused. In their minds Jesus had failed. All hope was lost. It was over. When you find yourself in a Saturday, it’s easy to think it will last forever.

So why does God make us wait? Why can’t we just go from Friday to Sunday?

Well, I think it’s got something to do with the fact that it is on Saturday that we draw closest to God. It is on Saturday that we fall to our knees and cry out to Him. And it is on Saturday that we most realise our need for Him.

And the reality is that Sunday will eventually come. When and how we don’t know. But it will come, and the tears will be wiped away, and the suffering we’ve experienced will suddenly make sense.

So, what day are you in right now? Friday, Saturday or Sunday?

Inspiration for this blog came from a sermon series by John Ortberg entitled “Friday, Saturday, Sunday”

Savoury Thoughts

To “savour” something is to relish it. To “appreciate or enjoy something deeply and completely, especially by dwelling on it.”

For example, we can savour a meal or a good glass of wine. Drinking in the flavours, delighting in each sip, taking pleasure in each delicious mouthful.

I’m a useless “savourer”. For those of you who have shared a meal with me, you will know that I generally inhale my food. There is no enjoying of the process. I basically have one goal in mind – get the food as quick as possible from the plate into my belly!

It’s a really bad habit, I know.

And I think sometimes I approach life with the same mentality. See the problem – fix the problem. Have a job to do – do it. See something beautiful – take a photo, catch it and store it.

The other day I was surfing in the late afternoon. It was one of those perfect days -glassy, smooth conditions, just a few guys out, warm water. Then as the sun set over the hills behind me, the sky over the sea began to light up with the most spectacular fluorescent pinks and oranges. Probably one of the most breathtaking sunsets I think I have ever seen. My initial thought was to get out the water, grab my phone and take a photo, but I distinctly felt God say to me, “Just enjoy it Tom. You don’t need a photo of it, you don’t even have to remember it, but just savour it for what it is.”

And it really struck me. There are certain moments in life – sacred moments – that are simply gifts for us to enjoy. We may not capture them on film, and they may not even last in our fading memories, but when they come, we must learn to savour them…

What “savoury” moments did you miss today?