This was the year I
was supposed to be more intentional. I started off by reading The Twelve Week Year and was inspired to follow its principles and practices.
Indeed this would have meant reviewing my goals at various points along the way
and hopefully resulted in greater productivity.
What happened?
It’s not that I got
lazy. At least I don’t think so. I think what happened was that I
discovered intentionality was too broad a term to cover my 2016, what I
actually needed was to be more intentional in prayer. And while I didn’t create a new game plan around this
action, I did increase the regularity and frequency of my prayers, as well as
their quality. I also read a few books on prayer, most notably those by Jim Cymbala, long-time pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle, and I've come to realize the
absolute priority and importance of this Christian ‘discipline.’ My
eyes have opened to the neglect of prayer in the church and in individual lives, including mine, and
to the absolute power of prayer when one engages in it. I’ve seen prayers answered,
which inspires me to pray even more.
But back to goals. They're good to
have. If we don’t shoot for a target, we’re not apt to hit one. As far as my
writing goals go, I’m still hoping to finish my novel this year. Now that my
‘children’ are both young adults, one living in residence, the other moving in with a friend next month, I should have a lot more
time to write and to stay on top of other areas of my life like laundry, dishes
and regular housekeeping. Things may stay cleaner and tidier for longer periods of
time – hallelujah! It may be easier to reach personal attainable goals and to track
and tweak them. I plan to read The
Twelve Week Year again, or books similarly themed, and to aim for the most
productive life I can have, prayer- and other-wise.
Is there a book on
productivity you would recommend, one that has really set you on a good path? If so, please name it in the comments below!
