So my blogging has suffered and the new site isn’t where I’d like it operationally yet, but I’m ready to go ahead and make the switch.  So this will be my last post on this site and until I can figure out a redirect you can find the link below.

The new blog address is TRSavage.com

Remember to update your bookmarks and RSS feeds!

Weekly Review

Most of us can’t remember much of what happened one or two weeks later.  When asked how my week went, I have a general feeling but it takes me a while to come up with a few details.  The Weekly Review is my way to reflect on and solidify the lessons good and bad that I want to improve on next week.

I mentioned my Weekly Review in the Productivity post and I might go into more detail in a future post.  This is quickly becoming one of my most useful habits.  My review includes a series of 12 questions focusing reflection on specific life areas, a look at the upcoming week/month, and a run through Things my to-do program of choice. I learn from the good and bad, and actually remember my week!

Weekly & Monthly Planning

This is pretty self-explanatory.  I look ahead in the Weekly Review or dedicated planning sessions so I’m prepared for what’s coming and can more effectively concentrate on what’s important.  The key here is to avoid being dominated by the urgent!

1 Reflection Day Quarterly

Not only do I want to reflect and plan on a weekly level, I want to take a macro view of reflection and planning as well.  I plan to take one day a quarter for reflection, refocusing, and looking ahead.  This is less for focusing on what’s happening next week and more on the major themes or goals for this quarter.  I want to be asking, “What has distracted me from what I want/need to be doing?”  This is where I can distill, record, and put a plan into action for the God themes in my life.  In the past, these kind of themes have significantly set the trajectory for my life.

1 Reflection Weekend a Year

Lastly, one of those reflection days I want to make into a full-fledged weekend for reflection.  This time focusing also on personal vision and evaluation.

Reflection helps me learn, relax, and be more prepared.  Instead of planning on the fly, becoming increasingly busy, and forgetting hard earned lessons of the past cultivating a habit of reflection helps me to be more effective and confident in going forward.

Any other suggestions for cultivating a habit of Reflection?

So, which area to start with?  Well, since I’ve had trouble actually getting around to it why not start with Productivity!

Many people, I’m convinced, need help in this area.  If not, David Allen wouldn’t make a very good living.  I struggle with productivity because I’m a talented procrastinator.  In actuality, productivity in general isn’t always my problem.  Instead, its productivity in the areas I need to effective that I don’t always reach.  I do a lot, read a lot, and spend a lot of time with people.  This year I want to form habits that help me do less but focus on doing what’s important, read less but learn more from what I read and read more about what I want to learn about, and spend quality time with people.

So, first up – my new planning application – Things.

Things is a simple but powerful application that helps you capture, organize, and accomplish all your tasks.  My favorite feature is the ability to plan out an entire project assigning multiple tasks that show up in your Today box when they’re close to coming due.  My huge to-do lists are simplified and less intimidating now.  Things reminds me of things I usually forget and checking off the boxes provides a measure of satisfaction.  I’m working on the habit of integrating Things into my planning and evaluation, then checking it to see what’s next and what’s upcoming.

Second, and something Things is already helping me with, MITs.

My To-Do list, even the simplified one in Things involves quite a few tasks and does not order them by importance automatically.  There are tasks that could be done anytime between today and next year, but there are also tasks I need to get done as soon as possible.  Some days, I could pick and choose tasks, accomplish them all, and still not get to those tasks I most needed to do.  This is typical of a procrastinator.  The solution – make a habit of identifying MITs and making sure they’re first on the list.  Most Important Tasks, are the 2-3 things I most need to get done by the end of the day.  I know this sounds obvious, but it is amazing to me how well this works for me.  If I pick out 2-3 MITs and think through how/when to get them done, I get them done.  And that is a productivity habit worth having.

Thirdly, The Weekly Review.

Planning is essential to productivity.  My personality is also that of a planner, so it is especially important that I make time for planning and evaluation.  Using Things and focusing on MITs are a part of that, but I also wanted another vehicle for planning that included evaluation of how the last week went.  So, now every weekend a reminder pops up in Things with a link to my Weekly Review document.  I’m still working on the format and content of this review, but it basically covers the 9 Life Areas for the week, what’s coming up next week/month/quarter, what I need to be working on, and how I’m feeling about it.  The planning side helps me focus on what’s coming up while the evaluation side helps me adapt my approach for effectiveness.

There are a few other minor productivity changes I’m making including limiting constant communication avenues like facebook, Skype, and email to certain times of day or a limited number of times in a day.

One of my favorite sites for productivity ideas is Zen Habits, also one of the sources I adapted the MITs and Weekly Review ideas from.

What does productivity look like for you?  What habits are you working on that help you in this area?

1. Soul Care
2. Health
3. Learning
4. Working
5. Finances
6. Relationships
7. Reflection
8. Reading
9. Productivity

Bethany Community House

After more than 25 hours of traveling and few precious hours of sleep, I’ve arrived at the Haus Bethanien, Karlsruhe.

At the beginning, we can only imagine how grand an adventure will be but it is our imaginations that inspire us to make it grand.

Here’s to a grand adventure…

Mission organizations energize the church in America. They send us on adventures. And even though we have sent thousands of missionaries, how many Latin American mission organizations have you heard of? The hard truth is that we have failed to reproduce the sending organizations that have fueled our missions work.

This comes from John Coghlan’s blog, What is God’s Business? John works with CRM’s business for mission division Enterprise International and is working on starting a business in Venezuela this year.  The business John is starting will help fund Venezuelan missionaries with our CoNext partner in Venezuela, but his point here applies to what we’re working towards in Germany as well.  With Mateno we’re starting a missions organization that will fuel the church in the German speaking world for better engagement at home and throughout the world.

Last year I set a bold goal.  My goal was to read 50 books in 2008.  I like to read but 50 was more than twice my previous yearly number.  I missed 50.  Amazingly for the first half of the year I was on track, but I fell off the pace over the second half and ended up 15 books short.  But I’ll post more on books later.

The 50 book goal was my main, planned goal for 2008.  I had other goals (learning German, playing more basketball, etc.) but they weren’t as concrete, measurable, or planned.  I both achieved and fell short on all of them, I guess, but probably fell shorter than I should have.  I’m learning that when I have a general goal with a general deadline I generally don’t get it done.

So since the years keep on coming, I’m rethinking my goal setting strategy.  I’ve decided to concentrate on areas of life and habits.  Instead of dreaming about general goals I’m examining the areas of my life and dreaming about the potential in each area.  Instead of a set plan (or no plan) to reach a goal I’m focusing on instilling habits that move me closer to the person I want to be, the person God is calling me to be.

Last year I posted my 50 book goal to gain a measure of accountability.  For the same reason (and because of others inquiring about my goals) I’m going to blog through the 9 life areas I’m focusing on this year.  I’ll cover what I’m wanting to learn in each area, what habits I’m planning, and how I’m starting to implement some of them.  I won’t post all the habits or emphases, but I’ll give a good idea of where I’m headed in that life area and why.

Here are my 9 areas:

1. Finances
2. Health
3. Learning
4. Productivity
5. Reading
6. Reflection
7. Relationships
8. Soul Care
9. Work

Are you setting goals this year?  What are they?

Eternal Father, you have placed us in a world of space and time, and through the events of our lives, you bless us with your love. Grant that in this new year we may know your presence, see your love at work, and live in the light of the event that gives us joy forever–the coming of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Introverts rarely say what they are thinking.
They say only what they have thought.

Introverts think to talk.
Extroverts talk to think.

In order to answer the question, “What are you thinking?” I am forced to rethink it in a different way, for a different reason than I was thinking about it before.  I’ve already thought about it and now I’m thinking about why you’re asking me what I’m thinking.  And I rarely say something I haven’t thought through in advance.

Quote from Roy H. Williams Monday Morning Memo 12/15/08