{"id":40,"date":"2016-12-01T21:57:08","date_gmt":"2016-12-02T03:57:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/?p=40"},"modified":"2017-09-15T12:55:08","modified_gmt":"2017-09-15T17:55:08","slug":"doing-productivity-well","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/doing-productivity-well\/","title":{"rendered":"Doing Productivity Well"},"content":{"rendered":"

Do you ever notice that some days you just don\u2019t seem to get much done? You are in the office for 8 or 10 hours but your \u201cto do\u201d list doesn\u2019t really shrink. Facebook, surfing the web, constantly checking email or co-worker conversations, easily distracts you and before you know it an hour or two passes and you have accomplished nothing. Ever had one of those days?<\/span><\/p>\n

According to a recent study, the average person works 45 hours a week and 17 of those hours are unproductive! <\/span>[1] <\/span>That is more than a third of their time being unproductive! Now, no one is able to be completely productive for every single minute of the day but most of us would admit that being more productive during our work hours would be beneficial. So where do we start? How do we grow in our productivity to better flourish in our ministry?<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are <\/span>three<\/span><\/i> thoughts that will help us frame a basic biblical understanding of work and <\/span>five<\/span><\/i> suggestions for increasing productivity in our work. <\/span><\/p>\n

Biblical Framework for Work<\/b><\/p>\n

1) Man was made to work<\/span><\/p>\n

From the moment we encounter God in the Bible he is working – creating and forming the earth. Humans are made in God\u2019s image and called to be fruitful, multiply, subdue the earth, cultivate the land and rule over it. That\u2019s you. God made you to work. It\u2019s part of his commands for you.<\/span><\/p>\n

2) Work ethic honors God<\/span><\/p>\n

How we work should be a reflection of our faith. Working honestly, faithfully, with integrity and not cheating or wasting unnecessary time is honoring to God. As Christians our work ethic is important and should reflect our trust and love of God.<\/span><\/p>\n

3) Working from acceptance not for acceptance<\/span><\/p>\n

We must work <\/span>from<\/span><\/i> our acceptance in Christ, not <\/span>for<\/span><\/i> our acceptance in Christ. In other words, instead of seeking the applause of others in our work, or sinfully idolizing our work, or falsely thinking our work is what brings upon us God\u2019s approval; we can rest in God’s acceptance and approval. We work for His glory. We work excellently to honor Him (Col. 3:22, 1 Cor. 15:50-58). Do excellent work, not to earn God’s favor but as a faith effort, as an offering, as an act of worship.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since work is an act of worship and a gift from God then how do I become more productive in my day-to-day struggles to stay motivated and efficient??<\/span><\/p>\n

Increasing productivity<\/b><\/p>\n

1) Conquer distraction. <\/span><\/p>\n

Most people become quickly sidetracked. Technology (email, twitter, Facebook etc.) makes us scattered, overwhelmed and distracted. By eliminating distraction your work will become more productive, more fulfilling and more meaningful. <\/span><\/p>\n

Take a moment to consider how you are distracted throughout your day. What steps do you need to take to remove those distractions? Do you need to turn off social media alerts? Put on headphones to concentrate? Check your email only at designated times?<\/span><\/p>\n

2) Create small, bite-sized goals<\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes completing a large project is daunting. \u201cI don\u2019t even know where to begin!\u201d So, rather than focusing on a large, scary goal, take one thing at a time, and break the big goal into ideas you can digest one at a time. It will help you stay on task and be more productive. <\/span><\/p>\n

3) Make checklists and celebrate wins!<\/span><\/p>\n

Everyone likes to accomplish and finish tasks. When you make a list of small achievable goals, check them off one at a time. Also, celebrate the small achievements and don\u2019t underestimate how gratifying it can feel to recognize tiny advancements. It will motivate you to keep working and press on.<\/span><\/p>\n

4) Set a quit time<\/span><\/p>\n

Nobody wants to work long hours and into the night. It\u2019s unhealthy! Begin your day by setting a healthy quit time. We all need rest. If that means giving yourself (or your co-workers) healthy, specified end times then do it. It\u2019s likely to help you and them perform harder and smarter in the hours that you do work.<\/span><\/p>\n

5) Begin with prayer<\/span><\/p>\n

Start your day with prayer and ask God to help you stay focused and productive. When you find yourself drifting in motivation pray and remember that you are working for the Lord and not man. <\/span><\/p>\n

Growth Point<\/b><\/p>\n

Man was made to work and increased productivity is possible by putting into action some simple practices. <\/span><\/p>\n

Scripture Point<\/b><\/p>\n

Reflect on Colossians 3:23 and its meaning for your work<\/span><\/p>\n

Action Point<\/b><\/p>\n

Make a list of the things that distract you in your typical workday. Determine simple ways that you can begin to eliminate those distractions to better focus on your work.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/span> http:\/\/www.lifehack.org\/articles\/productivity\/how-productive-doing-more-and-working-less.html<\/span><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.boundless.org\/adulthood\/2007\/how-should-we-then-work<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.themuse.com\/advice\/7-ways-to-motivate-yourself-to-work-hard-when-youre-really-not-in-the-mood<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Do you ever notice that some days you just don\u2019t seem to get much done? You are in the office for 8 or 10 hours but your \u201cto do\u201d list doesn\u2019t really shrink. Facebook, surfing the web, constantly checking email or co-worker conversations, easily distracts […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":41,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-productivity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42,"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40\/revisions\/42"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}