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A superbly practical post today.

I always consider time to be the most precious factor in the productivity equation, so I am looking for ways to optimise, reclaim, and make the most of every moment.

Always remember, time spent is life spent.

I’m not a multitasker, but I do often have multiple tasks to tackle.

Every task pulls on a different part of your brain. Each requires a different skill, a particular mindset, and a different palette of tools or software. Jumping like a gnat from one kind of task to another and back again makes “flow” impossible.

The remedy to this is to confront similar tasks at the same time.

Time-blocking (setting aside a specified block of time to complete similar tasks) allows you to get into the groove, be far more productive, and shift huge chunks of To-Dos to the Done pile in short shrift.

Here are the simple keys to successful task batching:

1. Identify Similar Tasks: Categorize your tasks based on their similarities. It could be emails and communication, design tasks, writing assignments, thinking and planning, or administrative duties.

2. Set Specific Time Blocks: Allocate dedicated time slots for each batch of tasks. Ensure these blocks are long enough to allow you to immerse yourself in the work without feeling rushed. Don’t overestimate and try and cram 15 time blocks into a day. Keep it simple and streamlined by applying the “one or but a few things” principle.

Some folks swear by the 🍅 Pomodoro Technique. For those who have never heard of this fruity time management method, it can be summarised as focused work in 25-minute intervals with five-minute breaks in between.

3. Minimize Distractions: Create an environment conductive to focused work by eliminating distractions during your task batches. Turn off notifications, find a quiet space, and get yourself comfortable.

4. Do the work!

Panning out

You can also batch your week.

Determine what needs to move forward and focus.

Each day can be concentrated on specific areas of your life or business.

An off-the-cuff example:
Monday could be writing or recording day.
Tuesday is marketing and email preparation.
Wednesday is admin and advertising.
Thursday for calls and coaching.
Friday is free.

Instead of a smorgasbord week spilling in every direction, you can have a streamlined rhythm that serves your stated purpose.

What’s your story?

We all have and live by them.

Some have been unconsciously etched in our psyche, others intentionally inscribed as we seek to craft our future.

It’s easy to get stuck in the stories you tell yourself.

But how about we play a little game? You can rewrite what happens next.

It’s a “choose your own adventure” tale.

If the stories you play in your mind say “can’t” why not sit down today and write a new chapter titled “I can!”. If the stories that repeat in your brain rehearse your failures, start a new page titled “The Day of My Breakthrough”.

No joke.

What would that look like for you?

Sit down with your fingers on the keys, pen or pencil in hand, and scrawl at the top of the page, “Chapter 2 (or 3 or 4 or whatever) – I Can” or “The Day Everything Changed” or “FILL IN THE BLANK – you alone know transformation you carry in your spirit]”.

Then write your new chapter.

You are the hero of your own story. The protagonist who overcomes the odds. The unlikely heroine who defies every naysayer. Be as visceral as you can. Let the page ooze with emotion. Paint vivid pictures on the page of how this new chapter in your life looks, feels, smells and sounds.

Make it real. Not some fantasy about growing wings and flying to Lala land. Encompass the difficulties and obstacles and see yourself overcoming each one of them.

There are no rules here other than that the story is one that can actually happen. Miracles are optional (and I believe miracles) but you’ll fare better if the story is one written in partnership with God through the resistance rather than one about Him parachuting in with an impossible answer.

Seriously, don’t get stuck in your story.

Write your way out.

What if things could be different? What if the limitations that have held you back are big fat lies parading themselves as reality? What if new possibilities are right now sitting on your doorstep? What if by doing something different your trajectory can change catapulting you into a radically different tomorrow?

Opening yourself to the possibility that things can be different is the first step.

What will your next chapter be called?

Multitasking is a lie.

One that I believed for way too long.

The truth is that where focus goes, energy flows. If your focus jumps from one thing to another all day, that energy bleeds out and your progress is hampered.

“The One Thing” by Gary Keller deeply impacted how I approach my days. It’s a great read and remedies the mountainous to-do lists we accumulate.

“Instead of a to-do list, you need a success list—a list that is purposefully created around extraordinary results. To-do lists tend to be long; success lists are short. One pulls you in all directions; the other aims you in a specific direction. One is a disorganized directory and the other is an organized directive.” ― Gary Keller, The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results

[Insert your name here], you are careful and troubled about many things

As good as Gary’s book is (I recommend you read it), it was a conversation with Jesus that impacted my productivity the most.

It was an ordinary morning sitting with my coffee and Bible when the Holy Ghost challenged me.

“David, David, you are anxious and troubled about many things; There is need of only one or but a few things.” (Luke 10:41–42 AMP)

I didn’t argue. I was the chief plate spinner.

I’ve learned to always engage in conversation when the Lord speaks. Prayer is a dialogue. Squeeze the juice out of every interaction.

What’s Your One Thing?

“So what’s my one or but a few things?” I asked.

“Writing” was His reply.

For you, it may be different. But there will be a narrow and very clear focus. An overarching mandate to follow.

That conversation has led to a thriving publishing business, a daily newsletter and numerous books I’ve written in the years that followed.

But here’s the key.

Think big, act small. Life destiny is determined by small daily steps.

Each day has its specific outcome. The Lord has prepared works for you to walk in, and it’s your privilege to ask Him what those works are…

Today.

Tomorrow will have its own set of instructions.

Ask at the outset of the year, what’s my one thing for this year?

At the beginning of the week, what’s my primary focus this week, Holy Ghost?

And each day. Every day can have a clear directive to follow. What’s my one or but a few things for today, Lord?

Try it

Step aside from busyness, and have a conversation with God.

Ask Him, concerning the things that you want to accomplish, what’s your one thing today?

Let Him direct, and you’ll begin to build clarity amidst your clutter.

You’ll surprise yourself with how much you’ll achieve when you ditch the to-do list and embrace the power of a smaller laser-focused success list.

“You need to be doing fewer things for more effect instead of doing more things with side effects… Go small. Going small is ignoring all the things you could do and doing what you should do. It’s recognizing that not all things matter equally and finding the things that matter most. It’s a tighter way to connect what you do with what you want. It’s realizing that extraordinary results are directly determined by how narrow you can make your focus.” ― Gary Keller, The One Thing

I would also add that it also connects you to who you are. That is where what you do flows from. Taking time with God impacts your identity, and your activity then flows from that place of security and fruitful connection.

Or, as Jesus said to Martha,

“Mary has chosen the good portion [that which is to her advantage],” (Luke 10:42 AMP)

You get to choose. You get to prioritise what will be most impactful and advantageous and invest in activities that feed into your sense of creative calling.

Live from a deep place, drawing your destiny up from the depths and transforming it into tiny actions that, over time, will lead to remarkable results.

BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH

….

BLAH BLAH.

……

BLAH.

Don’t be a noise. Be a voice.

Cut through the cacophony and bring something real.

Don’t follow the herd trying to be heard. You’ll just blend in with the baying.

Bring your whole self to the table.

Be consistent.

Follow your creativity.

Find ways that work for you.

And when you do, show up and share your best.

Hold nothing back.

Selah.

Although Paul the apostle stated, “I have become all things to all men”, he was not implying that he jumped from one thing to another to fit in and please everybody. He remained true to his convictions and his calling, knowing himself and what the Lord had entrusted him with. He then expressed that calling in ways that would connect with the particular people he was reaching out to.

You can do the same.

No one is equipped to be all things. God is specific in His design, and He created an interdependent Body with each part playing its special role. You have your lane to passionately pursue. Don’t be fearful to step into it and put your foot down on the accelerator.

When you realise this, it is freeing because you no longer lament what you are not, and you learn to celebrate who you are and the particular works you are called to.

Unconventional Callings

I may not be an international crusade evangelist. I may not be an apostle or a prophet. I may not be a pastor in the typical sense of the word.

But like you all, I have a calling.

And with calling comes equipping to fulfil.

However, I did have to embrace that calling and step into it. The outworking of God’s inward calling doesn’t happen by accident. Feet must accompany faith and you have to step out.

God's message to me was: "Words are my way."

The longer I ran around trying to figure things out, comparing myself to the conventional idea of how ministry should look and operate, the more frustrated I became. When I settled in my heart to lay my fear and ego aside and just obey the promptings of God it opened up a deeper acceptance of myself that has profoundly impacted how I choose to show up.

Authenticity

Speaking to a group of Christian business people yesterday I pointed out that as long as you are “trying” to be authentic, you’re probably not. Authenticity is not something we try, its something we are. The more self-accepting you become, the more authentic your communication will come accross.

You’re no longer trying to please people or sound a certain way. You are simply living out what you carry inside the best way you know how.

There is not one size fits all. Relationship with and growing in God doesn't work that way.

Your calling is not conventional.

As a Christian creative the Lord has a mission in mind that may well be so far outside the “ordinary” box it makes others scratch their heads. That’s ok.

As my friend, Ann, reminded me, “we are a peculiar people”.

To which I answered, “Yes, and some of us more peculiar than others!”

Embrace your weird and share your work with the world.

I can assure you, there are many others out there looking to follow your courage as you step out.