Sunday Seven

Some weeks are busier than others. I decided to find out the secret to a good week. I want to stay that without a doubt, these seven things are helpful.

1. Focus on the things that are controllable. There are a lot of things I can’t control. There are things I can. I learned to control how many hours I sleep. I control the nutrition of what I eat. I control the atmosphere of my home. Oh, I also control how close I get to God when I’m busy. When I focus on what I can control, God takes care of the rest. 
2. Prepare to succeed. The better I prepare for my week, the easier it is to succeed. A simple thing I do is prepare my exercise clothes and shoes the night before. Preparation eliminates the guesswork and accelerates execution. If I don’t prepare to succeed I’m basically preparing to fail.
3. Rest. I’ve been measuring how much rest I get at night for the past few months. I know how many hours I need to sleep in order to have a productive day. The discipline of rest has helped to have a sharp mind during the day. It has allowed me to be ready to tackle whatever unexpected task comes my way. Rest is powerful. You can’t put it in a pill. You just have to do it to benefit from it. 
4. Write down what you want to see. Before going to sleep during busy weeks, I often write down what I need to do the next day. It is a conscious way to prepare myself. I write down 2 big professional tasks. I write down the things I need to do for the kids such as packing their lunch. I find it easier to do multiple tasks if I write them down on a notebook the night before. 
5. Be the Boss of your Busy Week. Busy can be a powerful yet oppressive word. When I'm the boss of my week, I direct it towards my goals. It's not a matter of how much time I have, it is a matter of priorities. What I prioritize gets done. Ask yourself, "what is my priority this week?" Be the boss and make it happen. 
6. Create wonder. Allow me to take a step outside of the productivity realm and let me tell you about something counter-productive: the creation of wonder. This past week, we decorated our home for Fall. It was counter-productive because I had to get in the attic, I had to toss some things and buy others. But I created wonder. My family loves Fall. We love the sights, smells, taste, and we love the holidays. When I create wonder, tough counter-productive, I allow joy to fill my everyday life. I could have stayed the course and moved on to laundry. Taking the time to decorate for Fall created a sense of joy, wonder, and even hope. These feelings help any busy week come alive.
7. Ask for help. I'm not sure why I'm often scared to ask help. For example, for some reason, I started buying my own groceries. I enjoy grocery shopping. I justified it until this past week. I was too busy. I still needed groceries, I just didn't have time to go buy them. I asked Instacart to help me. Asking for help allows me to enforce my priorities. Asking for help helps me remember that I'm not an island. Asking for help also gives someone else the opportunity to bless me. I can't do everything. I need help. I need to learn how to ask for help on a regular basis.