Ok so last week we created life principles and imagined our future state but now how in the world are we going to execute them? How are we going to see that imagined future??
Time to Execute by Process!
Creating life principles are really long-term overall goals that without short term wins will drive us crazy! That’s where yearly and quarterly goals fit in and you can learn all about that through my “How to Set Goals that Get Done!” product!
But there is another type of processing that I think is major in creating the margin and space we all need to execute.
You ever feel bogged down? Like everything is coming at you at once and there is this nagging feeling that you are forgetting something? Well that’s because you don’t have a process to digest what’s going on around you. You’re running from obligation to obligation and haven’t spent the time to process and debrief your life! When we run from thing to thing we become less and less aware of God’s promptings of purpose. We forget the principles we designed and move further away from accomplishing the things we want to see in life. Well, how can we stay focused? Be like Jesus! Or take time to process things like He did at least!
Let’s look at Matthew 14:13, 23 CSB
“When Jesus heard about it, He withdrew from there by boat to a remote place to be alone…After dismissing the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. Well into the night, he was there alone.”
As you can see Jesus made a practice of going off by himself. Look at the pattern:
Verse 13 is right after he heard of his cousin John the Baptist’s death. He went alone to process that sudden death. This death was major! It was his family, his blood. Jesus although fully God, understood that His fully human self needed time to process and work through the issue of losing someone so close before moving on to the next thing in life. We can take a lesson from that!
And then check out verse 23! He does the same thing. After doing something as major as feeding 5000 people on almost nothing He realized He needed to slow down and look at everything that was going on before moving forward.
And that can look like the 5 Step process laid out in David Allen’s Getting Things Done Productivity methodology.
1. Capture
David talks about the importance of having a mind like water. A mind that is calm and only reacts to the current stimuli at hand. When we don’t take time to clear our minds we never have the ability to react appropriately to the tasks at hand. So first step is to clear your mind! Take some time and write down every single thing you have on your mind to do- appointments, dreams, things you always wanted to do but never seem to have time to do. Write it down. Get it out of your head and on paper.
2. Clarify
Now that everything is on paper you need to figure out the next steps for them all. Time to figure out what exactly is this thing you just wrote down. Is it something that you must do? Is it a project? Is it something to give someone? Is it a simple call? Is it just something for reference? Start to figure out what each thing is.
3. Organize
Now put these things into buckets and set times to make them happen! What the next action step for these items? Do they need to be scheduled?
4. Reflect
Plan time to review frequently. Incorporate my RARE technique. Some of these things may actually turn into new goals!
5. Engage!
Just do it! Create a system or a winning practice to make sure you are constantly keeping your mind like water, and getting all the things done!
Now that was a drive by on processing to gain focus! Whew! Do you think you will incorporate some of these items in your day to day life? My hope for you is that you will take some time and incorporate some of these principles. I bet with a clear mind you will begin to dream again. Try it out and tell me what happens!
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