This week in books - Week 7
Get More Done in Less Time
(by Donna Otto) - This was one of the most motivational books I've read in a while and would highly recommend it. Donna's style is engaging and encouraging; she makes you feel like "Yes, I can do this!" Well, at least that's what happened to me.I've used a planner for as long as I can remember, but in the past two years, I've fallen out of the habit of really utilizing one much more than a daily to-do list (I use Franklin Covey daily planning pages and that's about it). I also have a separate binder with our schedule and a home cleaning schedule in it that works pretty well, too. Because of both of these, I suppose you could say I was fairly organized and had a decent plan and framework in place.
However, I've really been feeling like having more organization in my life could allow me to, well, get more done in less time. That my lack of organization and forethought in a number of areas was wasting precious time and energy. There are so many things that I want to do, would like to do, or hope to do, yet my days are already quite full and I'm often running behind. Donna's ideas and inspiration gave me hope that there's room for lots of improvement. I just have to stop making excuses and start doing it.
My husband and I recently went out on a date and one question I asked him during the course of the evening was, "How can I best be your help meet during this season of our lives?" I thought he'd respond that I could give him more words of affirmation (his love language), or that he'd really like for me to help him research and complete this, that, or a number of other big projects he's currently working on.
Instead, he surprised me by saying, "The way you can help me the most right now is by focusing more on managing our home well."
Woah! That's all? Really?
As we talked more, I realized just how much a well-running, organized home is a blessing and help to him. I guess I knew it was somewhat important, but I never thought of it as the most important way I can help him right now.
Armed with this knowledge, I've re-prioritized a number of things and am setting out, with God's grace and enablement, to be the best home manager I can be. Donna's book couldn't have come at a more timely moment--especially her ideas for utilizing a planner to be more organized. With Jesse's encouragement, I purchased more planning pages from GraceWorks and set aside every Saturday morning to go to a nearby coffeeshop and have a two-hour "retreat" to plan and prepare for the next week.
I've only had one planning session and I've already seen a major improvement in my overall organization and our home has been running so much more smoothly. I feel like I have so much room for improvement, but I'm excited to become more organized so that I can get more done. As I learn and implement things, I'll be keeping you all posted!
What's the Difference? Manhood and Womanhood Defined According to the Bible (by John Piper) - I really liked the first half of this book which was defining manhood. In this day and age of weak and wimpy men, Piper gives a clarion call for men to rise up and be gentlemen, Godly men--leaders of their homes, their families, and their churches. I loved his concise and Biblical viewpoints on what makes a man a true man--it's not egotistical authoritarianism, it's humble, self-sacrificial servant-leadership.The second half, on womanhood, disappointed me. It wasn't so much that I necessarily disagreed with it, I just thought it was lacking. I sensed that Piper was trying hard to not offend anyone anymore than he must. In this "walking on eggshells," I felt he failed to hold up the glorious, noble, and worthy calling of women to be help meets, mothers, daughters, women of valor and virtue, as God created them to be. It is a glorious, magnificent calling and I would have loved to see that brought more to light.
Bible Reading: I finished Numbers this week and am on track to finish Deuteronomy in the next few days!
Labels: Reviews
posted by Crystal Paine at 5:18 PM
11 Comments:
You may have mentioned this before, Crystal, but how do you manage to read so much every week? I'm amazed by the number of books you review each week.
Crystal,
I just wanted to let you know that the updated version has been retitled "Secrets to Getting More Done in Less Time." That is how it is now listed at Amazon. Thanks for all of your reviews! If only our library carried the titles...
Would you mind sharing what exactly you use your 2-hour planning time for? In other words, if you already have a schedule in place, a routine for cleaning and children that are still young (so that you don't have intensive homeschooling to plan), what is it that you are planning? (This is meant as a sincere question.) Thank you!
Have fun in Deuteronomy! I was just there a couple weeks ago and I really enjoyed it. I love Moses' sermons.
Erin: I don't have any great secrets, but I'm thinking I'll answer your question in a separate post because my answer would probably be too long for a comment. :)
Anonymous: I had to smile at your question--I'm guessing you've not met me in real life. ;) I'm one of those people who always has 100 different ideas going in all different directions, so sitting down to map things out should be incredibly helpful so that I can set priorities and goals.
At this point, I plan to use the time to plan my personal, family, and ministry goals for the week, homeschooling goals, Scripture memory goals, business goals, blogging goals... and then some prioritizing and daily assigning of all those. I'm also planning to do menu-planning, review any other projects on my plate, perhaps do a little reading, a little writing, and just some quiet time to think and refresh my spirit in the Lord.
It's mostly just a time to map out a gameplan for the week since planning ahead saves me so much time in execution. My problem has just been that I struggle to find much time to sit down and plan--there's always something else "more important" calling my name.
I read in your post the other day that you were planning to take time each week by yourself and then you mentioned it again, in today's post. I was just curious about this, because I *thought* you had mentioned in the past your distaste for the concept of "me" time.
Doesn't this count as "me" time? Trust me... I am not criticizing. I think that when a mom/wife takes a brief period of time for herself that in some way benefits her family, even if it is just to recharge her batteries for 1/2 hour in a bath, it is a POSITIVE thing.
I just thought that I would mention it, because I think that many of the women that read your blogs take what you say to heart.
Also, I have a question. I think it is wonderful that you ask Jesse what you can do to meet his needs and that you discuss it. !! I am curious if it works in reverse, as in, does he ask you what you can do to meet YOUR needs in this season of your life?
thanks!
Quiet Repose:
Great question and one I was hoping someone would bring up! :)
I think it all comes down to our motivation--if I were doing this solely for me because I felt like I needed to get away to be away from my family, to have a break, to get my family out of my hair for awhile, for my own selfish reasons, that would be wrong. That's the *me time* I do not condone and feel is wrong and worldly.
However, my motivation for doing this is for my family so that I can have some quiet time to refresh my heart before the Lord, to plan out the week, to be more organized to bless my husband and family. It also is giving my husband some time to have one-on-one with the girls.
Does that make sense? One reason my husband and I really talked this over is because we wanted to make sure the motivation was for our family's sake--not for selfish motivation on my part.
Am I saying every woman should do this? No. And I don't expect this is something I'll always be able to do. It's just something that at this season of our lives, we feel will be helpful for our own family.
We'll see how it goes. :)
And oh yes, my husband asks me all the time how he can better serve me and meet my needs... he is so loving and caring for me and I am so blessed.
Thanks again for a great question and I hope that maybe clarified it a bit.
Way to Go on the bible reading! I'm reading chronological & I'm in Judges right now.
I am glad someone asked about this planning time as it had me a little concerned that others would take it wrong. It did cause me to pause when you mentioned it.
Thank you for the clarification!
Any hints as to what other books are on your shelf to be read next? I have found myself putting almost all of the books you've reviewed so far on my PaperbackSwap wishlist...you certainly have a knack for picking excellent reads!
Crystal,
I was poking around at Paperback Swap today, wondering if it would be worth it to sign up, and noticed you are #5 out of 50 on the referal list. Way to go! I will definately add to that if and when I sign up. I'm sure the points are very helpful with all of the reading you enjoy!
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