Begin with what you value.

Many people begin their planning process thinking about a specific year, month, quarter, or event. This is actually one of the final stages of planning, not the first. If you want to steward your time well and avoid living your life as a walking to-do list, you must begin with your values. Your values act as boundaries that help you to narrowly define what is most important. Your values are those things that underlie the decisions you make and what hold the most weight in your life–freedom, generosity, joy, community, hospitality, to name a few. Before you define a goal, press pause, take two steps back, and get clear on what you value in this specific season and allow that to be a guide for your more narrow and specific goals. You want there to be a connection between your values and the things that you want to accomplish.

Prune.

Pruning is required for growth of any kind. Pruning simply means clipping off or removing excess so that all of your energy, time, and resources can flow to the most important thing. So many people attempt to pour into multiple buckets leaving everyone thirsty, including themselves. Instead, (after defining your values) assess what gets your time and begin pruning the non-essential in this season of your life. It may feel difficult to say that something that once was a priority is no longer a priority, but what is more difficult is living a life that is chaotic, over scheduled, and overwhelming because you refuse to prune.

Root Yourself in the Fertile Soil of Community.

We were not created to do life alone. Surround yourself with similarly valued individuals who can encourage you, support you, hold you accountable, and be honest with you. If you want to do what matters most in this lifetime you are going to need a reliable and encouraging community.