Reagan Rose's Blog, page 9

Reagan’s Roundup: November 7, 2024

Your weekly roundup of insights and resources to help you get more done for the glory of God.

In Today’s Issue:Advantages of Writing by HandWhat’s the Hurry?Perfectionism is Making Me IndecisiveAn App to Help You FocusListen to the Bible with Dwell

Dear steward,

I pray your week is going well. I’m a bit crunched for time today, so let’s dive right into today’s roundup!

BROUGHT TO YOU BYDwell

Balance Work and Faith with Dwell

Balancing work, family, and everything in between can make it tough to find time for reading your Bible. But what if you could listen to it instead? With the Dwell Audio Bible App, you can. Whether you’re driving, running, or knocking out stuff around the house, Dwell makes it easy to listen to scripture while getting things done.

Join thousands of other active professionals who’ve found a way to bring the Bible back into their daily rhythm.

Try Dwell for free!

Try DwellTHE ROUNDUPThe best links I found this weekThe Advantages of Writing by Hand (5 mins)

Katherine Martinko / The Analog Family

I enjoyed this reflection on the benefits of writing by hand. I’ve found the following counter-intuitive observation to be true in my own experience as a writer.

I don’t do this for every piece I write, but after a decade of writing over 4,000 news articles, I have learned that taking the time to sketch out a piece by hand, and really think it through, usually saves time when it comes to the actual writing.

What’s the Hurry? (3 mins)

Scot Bellavia / Institute for Faith, Work & Economics

Writer Laura Zifer Powell observed that Jesus’ daily ministry was inefficient by today’s practices. Jesus had a lot to do in three years, she notes, but he was not in a hurry to do it. Think of when he took time out of his day to pray with little children. Or when he held one-on-one meetings with Nicodemus and the woman at the well. Or when he slowed a pressing crowd desperate to see him save a dying girl to heal an unclean woman.

Perfectionism Makes Me Indecisive — What Can I Do? (6 mins)

John Piper / Desiring God

When you’re paralyzed by indecision and perfectionism:

Realize that to not decide is to disobey.Expect God to steer you as you move.Get started through investigative moving.Trust God’s promise to guide you.Obey clear commands in God’s word.Dream bigger than fatalism.Ask how you will get the most of God himself.Focused OS

Came across this cool new app for Apple users. It’s a suite of tools to help you manage digital distractions across your devices. Would be keen to hear your thoughts on it if you give it a try.

WHATS NEW ONRedeeming ProductivityA Theology of Leisure (28 mins)

What does the Bible say about recreation and leisure? How do we enjoy our downtime to the glory of God?

A DOSE OF WISDOMQuote of the Week

“Make your choice, adventurous Stranger, Strike the bell and bide the danger, Or wonder, till it drives you mad, What would have followed if you had.”

C.S. Lewis, The Magician’s Nephew

FINAL WORDThanks for reading!

For His glory,

Reagan Rose

Take your productivity to the next level

Listen to the Podcast â†’ The Redeeming Productivity Show is available on all podcast platforms and YouTube.​

Get the Book â†’ Grab a copy of â€‹Redeeming Productivity: Getting More Done for the Glory of God​

Join the Academy → Get access to all of our courses, workshops, private community, planner, and more​​

Use the Planner → The all-in-one productivity system designed for Christians​​

The post Reagan’s Roundup: November 7, 2024 appeared first on Redeeming Productivity.

A Theology of Leisure

When you hear the word “leisure,” what comes to mind?

Do you picture somebody eating grapes and being fanned by servants? Perhaps you imagine yourself lying on the couch watching a movie or scrolling the phone. Or maybe it’s kicking back in a chair on the beach, cold drink in hand.

Leisure is one of those topics that might seem to fall outside the domain of a Christian worldview on productivity. I mean, isn’t leisure just the fun stuff we do? What does that have to do with the Bible? What does that have to do with Christian productivity?

But the truth is that rest, and more specifically, the enjoyment of our times of rest is itself part of our stewardship from God. But to do that well, we need to understand leisure biblically.

The Bible on Leisure

Leisure isn’t one of those topics you often hear about in church. And you might wonder if the Bible even has much to say on the topic. But in his book Leisure and Spirituality, Paul Heintzman observes that the Bible frequently speaks about leisure. It discusses Sabbaths, feast days, rest, hospitality, fellowship, dance, music, and festivals. These are all leisure activities.

And the book of Ecclesiastes speaks glowingly of the enjoyment we should take in both our work and leisure.

“Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God.”

Ecclesiastes 5:18–19

In fact, one of the verses we most frequently cite in speaking of our duty to glorify God in all that we do, specifically mentions glorifying Him in leisure activities:

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 10:31

Indeed, our leisure time is a massive opportunity for worship if we view it as a gift from God.

Leisure as Worship

Rest isn’t just something you do to be more productive later; it is not a necessary evil that frail humans must begrudgingly acquiesce to. Our moments of recreation are a gift from God. Thus, they are to be received and enjoyed with thanksgiving.

When we enjoy the good things God’s given us, we honor Him. The Lord is so rich toward us in His blessings, even in the little things of life, like food, parties, or moments with loved ones. But what makes all the difference is how we receive these good things. Do we rush through them to get back to work? Or do we enjoy them with gratitude?

The gratitude piece is the lynchpin of the whole thing. When you plop down on the couch after a hard day, kicking up your feet and letting out a sigh, don’t forget to say, “Thank you, Lord.” This, too, is a gift from God.

Leisure as Fellowship

Many Christians have unthinkingly adopted a view of leisure that sees rest time as synonymous with me time. But this is a historical anomaly.

Leisure in the ancient world was almost always done with others. Look back at Heintzman’s list above—feasts, festivals, dance, friendship—in the ancient world, leisure time was people time. What changed?

In her foreword to C.R. Wiley’s The Household and the War for the Cosmos, Nancey Pearcey observers how leisure become more and more of a private affair after the Industrial Revolution:

“Eventually not only economic production but also a host of social functions were moved out of the home… recreation became something you buy at the movie theater or engage in alone on your private electronics.”

As entertainment has been outsourced from the home and community to the entertainment industry, leisure has increasingly become a “me and my device” situation. But it really shouldn’t be.

I was recently reading a book about a guy who went device-free for 7 weeks, spending part of that time living in a monastery in which parts of the day they were restricted from speaking. He talked about how he had always considered himself an introvert, but after just two days away from the constant drip of entertainment, he found himself desperately craving conversation.

This is how it used to be.

We used to entertain each other. Leisure was part and parcel of community—shared music, shared meals, shared lives. This is why Josef Pieper could boldly claim that leisure is “the basis of culture.” What kind of culture are we creating when leisure is something done mostly alone?

How to Better Steward Your Leisure

All of this just makes me wonder, what if we took leisure more seriously?

What if we viewed our enjoyment of the blessings of God as a tremendous and glorious duty, an opportunity to worship Him with thanksgiving and strengthen our bond with family, neighbor, and church member?

I’ll conclude with three principles we might apply to manage our leisure time better.

First, don’t always outsource your entertainment. The sweetest moments of leisure are when we create our entertainment with others.

Second, do the hard work of creating better recreation. It’s easier to turn on a movie than to have a friend over for dinner. But high-quality leisure requires a little more work. We think we’re too tired for this, but I’ve found that the irony is that the more effort we put into leisure, the more restful it tends to be.

Third, bring an attitude of thanksgiving to God for all of life. More than anything else, God-honoring leisure is an attitude of the heart. We must continually remind ourselves and one another that every good gift comes from above (James 1:17), so we must always say thank you as we enjoy our Father’s good gifts for His glory.

The post A Theology of Leisure appeared first on Redeeming Productivity.

Reagan’s Roundup: October 31, 2024

Your weekly roundup of insights and resources to help you get more done for the glory of God.

In Today’s Issue:How to Discern Your CallingStewarding Money in MarriageThe Arc of Every Long ProjectDaylight Savings & Spiritual DisciplinesQuote: Andrew Peterson on Work as Worship

Dear steward,

Happy Reformation Day!

This week on the podcast, I explored the topic of vocation and finding one’s calling, which the Protestant Reformer Martin Luther was passionate about.

I usually produce a written version, but I just ran out of time. But you can watch “​How to Discern Your Calling” on YouTube​ or listen to it on your preferred podcast platform. Just search for my show, “Redeeming Productivity.”

And hit subscribe while you’re at it ;)

THE ROUNDUPThe best links I found this weekFor Richer, for Poorer: How to Steward Money in Marriage (8 mins)

Randy Alcorn / Desiring God

This the best article I read this week. If you’re married, please take 8 minutes to go through it. You’ll be glad you did.

If we believe that God can create us, redeem us, and bring us through death to spend eternity with him, we can take him at his word when he says he will provide for our material needs.

The Arc of Every Long Project

John Hendrix, Andrew Peterson

In the Academy, we’ve been discussing the emotional battle that change requires. We get excited about a new opportunity or goal, but then it ends up being more challenging than we first thought. And there’s this moment where we either turn back and try something we think will be easier, or we push through.

This week, Ben Durand pointed us to this illustration by artist John Hendrix, that applies a similar metaphor to the any long project.

While you study that illustration, listen to this interview with Andrew Peterson in which he talks about the illustration and how he thinks about the creative process as a Christian.

Daylight Saving and Spiritual Disciplines (4 mins)

Glenna Marshall

…I think sometimes we view January 1st as an excuse to keep living life per usual, especially when it comes to spiritual disciplines like Bible-reading and prayer. We’ve made a mess of our spiritual habits to this point, we think. Might as well wait a few more months to start over. But for North American readers, I’d like to encourage you not to wait until January to start (or start again) reading your Bible and praying. Start this weekend when Daylight Saving Time ends.

WHATS NEW ONRedeeming ProductivityHow to Discern Your Calling (38 mins)

What am I supposed to be doing with my life? God has a specific calling for your life, but often, we struggle to figure out what that is. In this episode, Reagan shows how individual believers figure into God’s plans for the ages and questions we can ask to determine exactly where we fit in our homes, jobs, and churches.

A DOSE OF WISDOMQuote of the Week

“Since we were made to glorify God, worship happens when someone is doing exactly what he or she was made to do.”

Andrew Peterson

FINAL WORDThanks for reading!

Reagan Rose

Take your productivity to the next level

Listen to the Podcast â†’ The Redeeming Productivity Show is available on all podcast platforms and YouTube.​

Get the Book â†’ Grab a copy of â€‹Redeeming Productivity: Getting More Done for the Glory of God​

Join the Academy → Get access to all of our courses, workshops, private community, planner, and more​​

Use the Planner → The all-in-one productivity system designed for Christians​​

The post Reagan’s Roundup: October 31, 2024 appeared first on Redeeming Productivity.

How to Discern Your Calling

What am I supposed to be doing with my life?

God has a specific calling for your life, but often we struggle to figure out what that is.

In this episode, Reagan shows how individual believers figure into God’s plans for the ages, and questions we can ask to determine exactly where we fit in our homes, jobs, and churches.

Subscribe to the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.Join the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Redeeming Productivity Academy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Use the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Christian Productivity Planner

The post How to Discern Your Calling appeared first on Redeeming Productivity.

Reagan’s Roundup: October 22, 2024

Your weekly roundup of insights and resources to help you get more done for the glory of God.

In Today’s Issue:How Much Money Do I Need to Retire?New Amazon KindlesWhat Pastoral Productivity Can’t DoMy Favorite Budgeting AppQuote on Giving

Dear steward,

The Scriptures often speak about the principle of “firstfruits.” The idea is that God expected His people to offer Him the first and best of their productivity. “The best of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring to the house of the Lord your God” (Ex. 34:26).

Whether you were growing grain (Lev. 2:14) or raising livestock (Deut. 12:6), whether you were rich or poor (Num. 12:20), God’s people were to give Him the firstfruits of their labor. “Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce” (Prov. 3:9).

By giving God the first and best of what you had produced, you were acknowledging that it all belongs to Him anyway.

That’s how we should approach each day, giving the Lord the first and best of our efforts. Because all of our lives belong to Him.

Now, let’s dive into this week’s link roundup!

BROUGHT TO YOU BYRedeeming Productivity Academy

Want to dive deeper into productivity from a Christian worldview? Join our membership program and learn both the mindset and the methods for getting more done for the glory of God.

Learn MoreTHE ROUNDUPThe best links I found this weekHow Much Money Do I Need to Retire? (7 mins)

John Piper / Desiring God

Some helpful principles to keep in mind when thinking about the tension between giving and saving for the future.

The New Amazon Kindles (5 mins)

David Phelan / Forbes

Ebook readers, rejoice. You just got a bunch of new options from Amazon. Now, maybe you’ll finally read those books you bought on sale from Tim Challies’s Kindle Deals for Christians.

Amazon has just announced four new Kindles in an unprecedented shake-up of its ebook readers and in the 24 hours that have followed, new details have emerged. The updated range includes new versions of the entry-level model (in a punchy new color), the fastest Kindle ever in the new Paperwhite, a stylishly redesigned Scribe and the first-ever Kindle with a color screen.

What Pastoral Productivity Can and Cannot Do For You (3 mins)

David Kaywood / Pastors & Productivity

Although productivity can help you fulfill your purpose, productivity should not be your purpose. Our purpose is rooted in the Triune God, not in completing tasks.

Create Custom Apps from Notion Databases

Softr

Here’s a cool app for my fellow Notion users.

Softr is a no-code tool for building custom apps and interfaces like a staff directory, custom dashboard, client portal, or application form. They just released an update that lets you use Notion as a data source.

SOMETHING I LIKEYou Need a Budget

Part of faithful Christian living is taking seriously the stewardship of our finances. And one of the most essential tools for this is a budget.

I’ve used You Need a Budget (YNAB) daily since 2012. Yes, 12 years! I’ve tried the other budgeting apps, but I always returned to the perfect blend of simplicity and intentionality that YNAB has.

So, if you’re looking for a way to monitor your finances more closely, I encourage you to give YNAB a spin.

Try YNAB for Free

WHATS NEW ONRedeeming ProductivityThe Procrastination Spiral (18 mins)

Have you ever felt trapped by a lack of motivation? You may be stuck in the procrastination spiral. Thankfully, there is a way out.

Read, Watch, or Listen

A DOSE OF WISDOMQuote of the Week

We can’t help but give, because of what Christ has given to us.

Daniel Darling

FINAL WORDThanks for reading!

It’s my honor to write this newsletter each week. One of my favorite parts is the correspondence I’ve been privileged to have with readers over the years.

If you have feedback, a question, a link you think would be interesting to share in a future edition, or want to say “hi,” you can always write to me at reagan@redeemingproductivity.com.

Reagan Rose

Take your productivity to the next level

Listen to the Podcast â†’ The Redeeming Productivity Show is available on all podcast platforms and YouTube.​

Get the Book â†’ Grab a copy of â€‹Redeeming Productivity: Getting More Done for the Glory of God​

Join the Academy → Get access to all of our courses, workshops, private community, planner, and more​​

Use the Planner → The all-in-one productivity system designed for Christians​​

The post Reagan’s Roundup: October 22, 2024 appeared first on Redeeming Productivity.

The Procrastination Spiral

No matter what you’re supposed to be doing, there’s always something more enticing you could be doing.

Maybe it’s entertainment—flipping on the TV or scrolling through your phone—or it could be less critical yet more fun tasks, like baking bread when you should be folding laundry. Other times, it’s the temptation to do less cognitively demanding work, such as checking email, instead of writing the report you’re supposed to be working on.

No matter how you distract yourself, we all procrastinate sometimes. But have you ever noticed that you can kind of slip into a season of chronic procrastination?

The Vicious Cycle of Procrastination

I’ve noticed that I am most prone to procrastination when I’m extremely busy and stressed. It always seems to follow the same pattern.

I feel busy, so I seek out distractionI indulge in said distraction until I feel guilty about wasting timeAfter realizing how much time I’ve wasted, I start stressing about that!

At the end of the first run around the procrastination, I find I’m still just as busy, but now I’ve let distraction consume the time I was supposed to be used for the stuff I was busy with! And those renewed feelings of stress and busyness drive me to more procrastination…

And around, and around it goes.

Thankfully, there is a way off this merry-go-round for believers in Jesus Christ. But it begins by understanding exactly what we’re dealing with.

Is Procrastination a Sin?

I define procrastination as the act of delaying or postponing a priority for the sake of something less important.

Procrastination differs from proactively choosing a different priority (e.g., answering an important email that just came in instead of continuing on the project you had blocked out time for because the email actually is more important). Procrastination also has the unique feature of being accompanied by a sense of guilt.

A few months ago, I asked my community if they thought procrastination was a sin.

Some said it can be in some cases, sharing passages about how the Scriptures say that if we procrastinate in obeying God, we are in sin (see Deuteronomy 23:21-23, Ecclesiastes 5:4-6, Psalm 119:32, 60). They also noted passages like James 4:17, “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”

But everyone agreed that, at the very least, procrastination is unwise (Proverbs 13:4; 18:9; Ecclesiastes 9:10). Because even if we aren’t directly disobeying God or failing to love our neighbor every time we procrastinate, we are almost always hurting ourselves.

So, procrastination is not inconsequential. If we are seeking to lead faithful and fruitful lives for our Lord and Savior, we should desire to break the procrastination cycle when we find ourselves in it. But to do that, we need to approach procrastination strategically.

Three Strategies to Break the Procrastination Cycle

Here are three strategies you can use to break out of the procrastination spiral, so you can get back to what’s most important.

1. Define Realistic Priorities

I sometimes get emails from people who are like, “Hi, I’m a full-time student, mother of three under three, full-time lawyer, and a volunteer at my local fire department. Oh, and I teach Sunday School every weekend. I’m writing a book, and we’re in the middle of remodeling our house. I’m having trouble staying focused. Can you help?”

That’s someone who isn’t clear on their priorities. I don’t care how productive you are; everyone has a limit except for God. And you’re not Him. If you bite off more than you can chew, don’t be surprised if you choke on it.

Procrastination can be a defense mechanism. If you’re stuck in a rut of binging media, doing meaningless tasks, or feeling like you are avoiding responsibilities, treat that like a flashing warning light on the dashboard of your soul. It’s screaming, “You’ve got too many things going on!”

You can’t focus on your priorities if you don’t know what they are. Define them clearly—for the month, week, and day. What’s actually the most important thing that I get done? But also be realistic. Not everything can be a priority. Choose just one or two things to focus on at a time. And follow a schedule.

2. Acknowledge Distractions as a Threat

The battle for focus is a fight for faithfulness. We want to be people of our word who follow through on the priorities we’ve committed to. Distractions are the biggest threat to that mission, so we’ve got to treat them seriously.

If we’re going to work with focus, we’ve got to acknowledge that distractions aren’t just minor deviations from the path; they’re quicksand. Solomon warns, “Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you” (Proverbs 4:25).

Stay locked in. Don’t deviate. Because once you fall into the procrastination spiral, it’s hard to pull yourself free.

Most of the time, procrastination comes in the form of a small rectangular temptation that rides in your pocket. “Let me check something real quick,” quickly turns into 30 minutes scrolling your phone.

So, to keep procrastination at bay, keep distractions far from you. Often, that means ditching the phone, closing the door to the chatty co-worker, or deciding you’ll do that more fun job later.

3. Schedule Your Breaks

Being anti-procrastination does not mean being anti-rest. Rest and recreation are good and godly pursuits. We need them. The trouble comes when we let recreation steal the seat we reserved for work.

We need to both rest and work, but these things need to happen at their proper times. That means rejecting overwork and deliberately planning for downtime. Isn’t it much better to enjoy that guilt-free downtime you planned for rather than feel like a thief hiding in the closet munching on morsels stolen time?

Taking it easy during a planned break isn’t procrastination. Because when you kick back when you planned to, you’re actually following your priorities. And that honors God and keeps you on the path of wisdom.

The post The Procrastination Spiral appeared first on Redeeming Productivity.

Reagan’s Roundup: October 17, 2024

Your weekly roundup of insights and resources to help you get more done for the glory of God.

In Today’s Issue:The Glory of Good WorkThe Extinction of ExperienceHow to Be More ProductiveWhen an Elder Calls from SpaceWhy You Overwork

Dear steward,

I pray your week is going well. Let’s dive into this week’s link roundup!

BROUGHT TO YOU BYThe Christian Productivity Planner

Designed for Christians, built in Notion.

The Christian Productivity Planner replaces more than 10 productivity apps and allows you to organize every area of your life in a single place.

Manage your projects, tasks, and goals right alongside your prayer and Bible reading, and focus on only what’s most important with the daily planner. Live a fully integrated life for the glory of God.

Learn MoreTHE ROUNDUPThe best links I found this weekThe Glory of Good Work (2 mins)

Darryl Dash / Dash House

There’s just something beautiful about watching a true craftsman ply their craft. Darryl explains why we enjoy seeing good work done well, and how we should cultivate our appreciation of this and others as well as seek excellence in our own work for the glory of God.

Watching someone do good work brings joy. So does hearing someone talk about how they do something difficult that’s worth doing for the good and enjoyment of others.

Being Human in a Disembodied World (4 mins)

Thomas Kidd

What’s happening to us as we spend more and more of our lives attached to screens instead of directly experiencing the real world? Thomas Kidd takes a look at a fascinating new book on the subject.

Never before have humans been able to spend the bulk of their lives inhabiting digital instead of analog worlds. Doing so seems to be causing ever-greater levels of loneliness and depression.

How to Be More Productive (41 mins)

Walking with the Wise

Had the opportunity to be on the Walking with the Wise podcast, this week. We talked about how Christian productivity works out in areas like leadership, habits, theology, fitness, and business.

Listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

When the Elder Calls—From Outer Space (5 mins)

Emily Belz / Christianity Today

Maybe you’ve been following the story of the astronauts stranded on the International Space Station. One of them is Barry “Butch” Wilmore and he’s a believer.

Dahn said NASA allowed the church to be linked into the space station at one point for Wilmore to do a devotional, and the congregation on Earth sang songs like “Amazing Grace” with the astronauts at the station.

SOMETHING I LIKEFlighty

If you travel a lot, you gotta check out Flighty. It’s just a beautifully designed flight tracking app.

WHATS NEW ONRedeeming Productivity“I Feel Guilty When I’m Not Overworking” (6 mins)

What do you do if your biggest issue isn’t laziness, but that you can’t get yourself to stop working when you should?

Read, Listen, or watch on YouTube.

A DOSE OF WISDOMQuote of the Week

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet

Psalm 8:3–6

FINAL WORDThanks for reading!

I pray you have a great week getting things done for the glory of God!

Reagan Rose

Take your productivity to the next level

Listen to the Podcast â†’ The Redeeming Productivity Show is available on all podcast platforms and YouTube.​

Get the Book â†’ Grab a copy of â€‹Redeeming Productivity: Getting More Done for the Glory of God​

Join the Academy → Get access to all of our courses, workshops, private community, planner, and more​​

Use the Planner → The all-in-one productivity system designed for Christians​​

The post Reagan’s Roundup: October 17, 2024 appeared first on Redeeming Productivity.

“I Feel Guilty When I’m Not Overworking”

I recently wrote about ​the blessings and temptations of remote work​, offering some cautions for Christians to be wary of laziness. While many found it helpful, I also received some gentle pushback from readers who said they actually have the opposite problem. They feel guilty when they’re not overdoing it.

As I’ve talked with other believers, I’ve found this to be a recurring issue. As Christians, we understand that hard work is a good thing. We want to serve others, do our jobs well, and ultimately glorify God through the work He’s given us. But what happens when we start working too much? What happens when we cross the line into becoming workaholics?

We often focus on vocation as one area God has given us to steward. While it’s important to do our work well and treat it with care, problems arise when relationships, recreation, rest, or our spiritual lives are pushed aside because we’re working too much.

Recognizing Overwork

What even is overwork, though? Is it when you work more than 40 hours a week? Or if we are working more than our colleagues? How can we actually define it? What is the standard?

The trick is to stop thinking in terms of hours per week, but rather in terms of balance of responsibilities. The alarm bells should go off when you’re neglecting other areas of stewardship, because you are working too much.

Ask yourself: Am I working so much that I don’t have time to be in the Word? Am I neglecting church attendance? Is my physical health suffering? Do I have no relationships outside of work because I don’t have time for them? If you answer to “yes” to any of those, that should give you pause.

Different seasons of life may allow for different work commitments. Young people without families might be able to work more, while those with young children may need to scale back. The key is to prayerfully seek wisdom from the Lord about whether you’re working enough, too much, or if you need to restructure your work to better steward other areas of your life.

Heart Motivations Behind Overwork

Beyond neglecting responsibilities, overwork can reveal some problematic heart motivations. It may uncover beliefs we hold that aren’t actually true. Our attitude toward work may even even reveal incorrect views about God. Let’s explore some reasons why we might overwork:

1. Working to Please People Rather Than God

One reason we might beyond what is sustainable is that we’re people-pleasers. We’re primarily motivated by what others think of us or what we worry they might think. This is especially common in Christian organizations where people want to serve but may be motivated more by a desire to be seen as a “good Christian.”

Colossians 3:22-23 addresses this, instructing us to work “not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.” Our primary motivation should be pleasing God, not people.

2. Motivated by Fear, Not Faith

Another reason for overwork is fear—fear of being fired, not getting a promotion, or simply not being thought well of. Proverbs 29:25 warns us that “the fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.” When fear drives us to neglect our families, spiritual lives, and other responsibilities, we’ve fallen into this trap. Are you trusting in the Lord’s provision? Or are you running on fear instead of faith?

3. Neglecting God’s Providence

We may overwork when we forget about God’s loving care and control over everything. We might believe that it’s all up to us, forgetting that God is the one who ultimately provides for us and takes care of our needs.

Psalm 127:1-2 reminds us: “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.”

4. Relying on Work for Self-Worth

When we find our core identity in our work, we create a monster that constantly needs feeding. But your work doesn’t define you. You are valuable because of who you are in Christ, chosen before the foundation of the world and redeemed at the great cost of Christ’s blood.

Our work should be an outworking of our identity in Christ, not a quest to find our identity in our work. We should approach our vocations from a place of peace, secure in Christ, not scrambling for self-worth.

5. Using Work to Hide from Problems

Sometimes, overwork is a problem of our own creation. We put in the long hours not because we need the extra income, or the approval of others, we do it because it allows us to hide from other issues in our lives. If you slow down, you might have to have that tough conversation, face up to that sin issue, or deal with what’s really motivating you. Don’t use your work to hide from the heart work that needs attention. As we all know, problems don’t go away simply because you ignore them.

The Truth

Work is a blessed opportunity to serve others and serve the Lord through our unique giftings.

And work is a means by which God blesses you with meaningful labor and an income to provide for your needs, others, and His church.

But work is not the only thing.

The post “I Feel Guilty When I’m Not Overworking” appeared first on Redeeming Productivity.

Reagan’s Roundup: October 10, 2024

Your weekly roundup of insights and resources to help you get more done for the glory of God.

In Today’s Issue:Overcoming Spiritual LazinessHow to Write a Sermon in 8 Hours or LessCollege Students Can’t Read BooksRecommended: Anti-Porn AppQuote: John Owen on Killing Sin

Dear steward,

Hope your Thursday is off to a great start!

I’ve had my head down this month working on a massive update to the Redeeming Productivity Academy coursework. I’m excited to tell you more in the coming weeks as it develops more. But here’s a little teaser in the meantime.

I forgot how much I enjoy these seasons of intense work on a single project. There’s just something so pleasurable, and I think God-honoring, about blocking off the calendar and obsessing over making something just right.

I’m convinced that it’s in periods of focused work that we experience how work was originally supposed to be, before the fall and the curse. The kind of frazzled, half-distracted fog that characterizes so much of modern work is simply unnatural.

Created in the image of our creator God, we long to create something that is good. Something we can stand back and look at and say, I made that. But we’ve got to fight through the sea of distractions to carve out time to do that kind of work.

But it’s worth the battle.

THE ROUNDUPThe best links I found this weekOvercoming Spiritual Laziness (6 mins)

John Piper / Desiring God

I really enjoyed this one from Piper. Our motivations matter to God.

God’s will is not simply that we do the right thing but that we do it with all our heart, all our soul, and all our might.

P.S. I’ve actually been thinking of doing a book on motivation, addressing topics like laziness, ambition, and productivity from the Scriptures (I kind of like the sound of Redeeming Motivation, what do you think?)

How to Write a Faithful Sermon in Eight Hours or Less (5 mins)

David Kaywood / Pastors & Productivity

Here’s one for the pastors from my friend David’s excellent newsletter, Pastor’s & Productivity.

As a preacher, I’m sure you desire to feed your flock faithfully. But one hurdle to weekly preaching is the preparation time a good sermon takes. You don’t want to compromise expositional faithfulness for the sake of spending less time in sermon preparation, but more time in sermon preparation doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll produce a better sermon. Where do you turn?

The Elite College Students Who Can’t Read Books (9 mins)

Rose Horowitch / The Atlantic

This is a disturbing, if not unsurprising, trend. Even at elite universities many students are coming in as freshmen never having read a book cover-to-cover in their entire life!

Phones are partially to blame, but the author spends most of her time looking at trends in middle and high schools which have placed less emphasis on reading entire works.

I share this one because Christians have to push back against the decline of reading. Christianity is a religion that God has revealed to us in a book. Moreover, so many great teachings on that book are locked away in other books. A diet of TikTok and YouTube, will never get you to the depth that reading will. We’ve got to discipline ourselves to be readers. It is a stewardship of the mind.

SOMETHING I LIKECovenant Eyes

Porn is a massive problem, even within the church. And I’m convinced that for many believers, it’s the thing stopping them from leading the productive, God-honoring life the Lord intends for them. If you’re looking for help gaining victory in this area, I recommend Covenant Eyes.

They’ve helped over 1.7 million people experience victory over porn. The key is the combination of blocking software and tools to help you stay accountable to others. Covenant Eyes makes both of these things simple, and gives you a clear path toward mortifying this pattern of sin for good.

Try Covenant Eyes

WHATS NEW ONRedeeming ProductivityRoutines vs. Goals: Keeping the Machine Running (6 mins)

When you decide to focus on a goal in one area of life, a common challenge arises: how do you maintain progress in other areas?

Read, Listen, or watch on YouTube.

A DOSE OF WISDOMQuote of the Week

“Do you mortify; do you make it your daily work; be always at it whilst you live; cease not a day from this work; be killing sin or it will be killing you.”

John Owen

FINAL WORDThanks for reading!

I pray you have a great week, getting things done for the glory of God!

P.S. Have you checked out our Christian Productivity Planner for Notion?

Reagan Rose

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The post Reagan’s Roundup: October 10, 2024 appeared first on Redeeming Productivity.

Routines vs. Goals: Keeping the Machine Running

When you decide to focus on a goal in one area of life, a common challenge arises: how do you maintain progress in other areas?

Today, I would like to discuss a strategy for successfully addressing different weaknesses in your life while keeping everything else running smoothly.

If you’ve read my book Redeeming Productivity, you know I’m not fond of mechanical analogies for human productivity. I typically avoid comparing life to an assembly line or the mind to a hard drive. We’re organic creatures, meant to be fruitful like trees, not productive like factories. However, today I’m breaking my own rule because I believe a mechanical analogy can be helpful in this context.

I want to explore the concept of “keeping the machine running,” as an analogy for balancing our various domains of stewardship. How do you focus on improving one area of life while ensuring you’re not neglecting others that the Lord has given you to steward? How can you do both simultaneously?

As believers, we want to approach life as a stewardship, which requires intentionality. As Jonathan Edwards once said:

“A true and faithful Christian does not make holy living an accidental thing. It is his great concern. As the business of the soldier is to fight, so the business of the Christian is to be like Christ.”

The machine analogy is helpful here because it helps us understand that we need to do two things simultaneously: maintain the areas of life we’re growing in and optimize areas with the intention of becoming more faithful in every aspect of life.

The Maintenance Side

When I talk about keeping the machine running, I’m referring to routines and habits. Just as you perform routine maintenance on your car—changing the oil, replacing windshield wipers, rotating the tires—we need similar routines to keep our lives running smoothly.

This is where practices like weekly reviews, morning and evening routines, house cleaning schedules, and various habits come into play.

For instance, I have daily habits of exercising and reading the Bible daily as part of my ​POWER Morning​ routine. These are the simple, repeated activities that help me maintain a life of faithful stewardship. But sometimes certain domains need a little more sustained attention than a mere habit can give them.

The Optimization Side

While maintenance is crucial, we also want to optimize. This is where goals and projects come in. We might focus on a specific area, metaphorically pulling a component out of the machine to improve it. For example, you might ask, “How can I better steward my intellectual life?” or “How can I improve my walk with the Lord?”

Optimization involves setting goals to improve specific parts of your life. You do this systematically and intentionally, striving to grow in Christlikeness in every area of life. For example, this past quarter, I had the specific goal of improving my physical health. That was a domain of stewardship I’d been lacking in, so I set a God-honoring goal to give focused effort toward growing in faithfulness in that one area.

But this is precisely where the tension between maintenance and optimization can arise. If we aren’t careful, our goals can become the enemy of our habits.

The Balancing Act

This is where tension often arises. In our goal-setting workshops at the ​Redeeming Productivity Academy​, people often ask, “You’re saying to set just one goal in one domain of stewardship? But I have so many goals I want to pursue!” But we caution people against taking on too many goals because it makes them much more likely to lose focus on the other domains of stewardship.

We’ve all known a person who becomes obsessed with things and neglects the rest of their life. Faithfulness doesn’t look like neglecting your family so you can focus on work or ignoring your walk with the Lord so you can have more time for exercise. We want to grow, but we’ve got to take it slow. The key to balance is understanding that you should really only optimize one piece of the machine at a time.

While focusing on one area, your routines and maintenance habits keep the other parts running. You don’t want to lose focus on your overall stewardship while pursuing a single goal. Instead, it would be best to remember that you are simply paying particular attention to one area for a season to ensure it will run more smoothly.

A Framework for Intentional Growth

To apply this “life as a machine” analogy, I use a “Get Clear, Get Organized, Get Consistent” framework.

1. Get Clear

Could you decide on an area in which you want to grow in faithfulness? I do a ​quarterly self-evaluation​, rating myself from 1 to 5 in various areas of stewardship. This helps me identify where I’m falling short.

2. Get Organized

Once you’ve identified an area for growth, create a plan. Work backward from what faithfulness would look like in that area and develop a strategy to achieve it in God’s power using His resources.

3. Get Consistent

This is the habit-forming stage. Develop habits that help you grow during your focused season and maintain that growth afterward. An optimization season should conclude with establishing new maintenance habits that keep the machine running well even after shifting your focus.

Conclusion

All of this requires patience. Growth in the Christian life is very often a slow, methodical experience. But that slowness should not stop us from being intentional in our habits and goals. Faithfulness doesn’t happen by accident.

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