New Day Planners is a faith-based planner designed to assist us incorporate our faith into our daily lives. Our lives are so diverse with various responsibilities and relationships to attend to. All this can make it difficult to know what our true priorities are each week. That’s why we created four questions all of us can ask ourselves to help prioritize what is truly important. Today’s post will conclude this 4 part series.
If this is your first time reading this blog series, I would encourage you to go back and read the other three posts. As a quick review: In our first blog we discussed the importance of talking to God and releasing any stress we may feel. Then ask Him to order our steps as we consider the most important things He has given us to do or to be. As thoughts begin to arise in our minds, we can begin sifting them through these 4 questions, to help establish our priorities for the week.
4 Questions to help prioritize our weekly to do list:
#1: Do I NEED to do it?
In other words, is this thing that I want to put on my task list something I need to do THIS week? Is it a timely task?
#2: Do I feel led to do it?
Is there a prompting from the Holy Spirit for us to obey? What is He asking us to DO or to BE? This question serves as a reminder to present every opportunity to the Lord and ask Him if He is leading us to it or not.
#3: Will it breathe life into me?
What am I doing to care for myself (and others in my home) that brings true refreshment to our souls? Prioritize those moments. (Seriously, go back and read this blog post!)
The final question hits at our very foundation. It is so important that I almost made it a part of our first blog in this series. This is a great question to ask ourselves, as we evaluate our yearly activities or especially if we are deciding to add something new to our schedules. Ready for it?
#4: Does it align with my values?
Core values are words we use to describe what is most important to us. These words become a foundational point for how we determine what (activities, job opportunities, experiences, etc.,) we will pursue individually or as a family; and how we will engage them. This is just one important step to help us live purposeful and focused lives!
Maybe you're thinking, “This all sounds great, but practically speaking it feels overwhelming.” I hear you and I promise, it will not be as difficult as you think. First, start by talking to Jesus, and ask Him to order your thoughts and give you wisdom. Then begin asking the following questions and brainstorm words that come to mind. Remember to include others in your household in the process too. Then once done, try to narrow it down to the top 5 or 6 words.
1. What do I want my home, schedule, and overall life to feel like?
2. What character qualities are most important to display myself or to teach others in my home?
3. What verse in the Bible do I refer to the most to help guide our choices?
4. What am I passionate about?
5. What does loving God and loving others look like for me and our family?
After my husband and I did this exercise we decided to create a wall hanging that would display our family mission and core values in a prominent, well trafficked location. It serves as an everyday reminder of the heartbeat of our home! I highly recommend it!
These four questions we discussed over the past four blog posts have helped me to prioritize my weekly to-do list and I hope they will help you too! If you would like a simple and easy system to help you prioritize your week, consider purchasing a product from New Day Planners! Not ready to purchase from us just yet, but would like to continue to learn more about us? Please sign up to join our email list!
Until next time…