In a hurry?? Print your Self-Care Guide NOW and read this post later…
What does it mean to live each week on purpose?
Wouldn’t we all love to be able to have time to read a book or spend time each day in Scripture or be one of those people who works out… regularly? I feel like so many times we try and we get in the groove only to fall off track again.
As a mom who has started and stopped all of these things countless times, I have found that there is one thing that makes ALL the difference: planning. When we are intentional with our time and actually carve out those specific minutes for self-care tasks like reading, meditating, and exercising then those things actually do happen. However, if we just hope for the spare moments in our day to pop up, well… it never happens. We must be intentional with our time in order to carve out time for the important self-care items like personal quiet time, a recharge activity (aka your hobby) and exercise.
Three things to do on purpose every week
So what should I do on purpose every week?? Where do I start? Where do I stop?
It can be overwhelming to simply say “From here on out, I am going to live every moment on purpose”. How does one even plan for that?
In order to be successful in this endeavor, we must narrow our focus. When our focus is too vague, our intentions are ineffective. So, for now, we are going to start with three things to do on purpose each week: Personal Quiet Time, a Recharge Activity, and Exercise.
Let me break down each of these daily items for you:
PERSONAL QUIET TIME (PQT):
I list this one first because this one is arguably THE most important self-care task we can do for ourselves. Personal Quiet Time is simply the time you spend reading God’s word and in prayer. If you truly desire to deepen your relationship with Jesus Christ then time spent reading God’s word is a non-negotiable. Plus, God’s Word is hands down the best place to find wisdom and direction for our lives when we feel tugged in every direction.
Prayer is also important, as this becomes our daily communication with God. How cool that we can have open communication with the One that created us!
Time in God’s word (aka the Bible) will positively impact every other area of your life. I promise.
Are you struggling with your marriage? Are you struggling with your kids? Are you with your relationship with food? Are you struggling in the workplace? The answer to all of these problems is the same: Jesus. And the #1 way to get to know Him better is through what is already written down.
Don’t get me wrong, self-help books in these areas are awesome and can be a great help. But the will NOT solve our problems if we have not first accepted Jesus as our Savior. Period.
Start in God’s word.
With that being said, it is so super important to be intentional with this time otherwise it truly will not happen. I know from experience. When my children were younger, I would tell myself that I will pray when I think of it and read my Bible during nap time. If you are in that season right now, you know very well that it rarely happens because being a mom is just so busy. Nap time always seems to be consumed with tidying up the house, prepping dinner, all the other things that go along with mom life.
Unless we are intentional with our time, other things will crowd our schedule that seem important at the time, but really are not. So scheduling Personal Quiet Time in ON PURPOSE is so super important.
Not sure where to start reading your Bible? Check out this great resource.
Don’t know how to pray? First of all, there is no wrong way. Here is just one example… but certainly not the only way.
RECHARGE ACTIVITY (RA):
This is simply time spent doing something you love!
When your phone starts dying, what do you do with it? Of course, we all know that we put it on the charger. We panic at the thought of our phone being dead.
How about ourselves? When we start fizzling out and are our brains are running on empty, do we take time to recharge ourselves.
A Recharge Activity is something that you enjoy doing. It is something that energizes you. Maybe you love to knit while listening to music or perhaps you are an avid reader. Maybe you like to bake or go for a run with your headphones on.
What is the one thing that energizes you?
Sometimes mom’s find it hard to think of this, so I challenge to think back to some of your hobbies before you had children. How did you spend your free time? What got you excited?
Okay, now that you thought of your Recharge Activity, I give you permission to schedule it in everyday! It can be for as little as 15 minutes! Just do it your brain, body, husband and children will all thank you!
EXERCISE:
This one is listed last for a reason. It is important, but of the three it is the least important. 1 Timothy 4:8 reminds us that “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and life to come.”)
If you have not experienced salvation and don’t have mental strength… turn around, get the first two under control and then come back. Otherwise, you will likely quit on your fitness journey if you do not master the first two.
Exercise does not need to happen every day but should be something you do atleast 4 times a week.
Again, out of experience I have started with good intentions and stopped SO.MANY.TIMES. to the point that I legitimately believed that I would never stick to anything ever. I was just one of those people who couldn’t be disciplined enough to work out.
Well, friends, I am a prime example of trying until it sticks. Because eventually it will if you do not give up. I now work out regularly 5 to 6 days per week and I don’t have to convince myself every day. It’s become a part of my routine and it can become a part of yours too! There are a few keys to making it stick, but the biggest one is PLANNING! So carve out time and plan it in.
My Weekly On Purpose PlanTool
Yay! I created a free fun tool for you, to make this process easy and fun!
Here is how to use it! (see my sample filled out above)
In each of these categories, I included two things: TIME and SPECIFICS.
Personal Quiet Time (PQT): Mark the exact time period you will be having your quiet time. Take into account what your schedule is going to include that day. Also, jot down the actual Book and Chapter(s) you plan to read that day. Again if you don’t know where to start, check this resource out.
Recharge Activity (RA): Same thing. Mark the exact time period you will sit down and do that “thing” each day.
Exercise: Again, mark the exact time period you will be dedicated to exercise. Take into account the time it takes to get dressed and lace your shoes (or sleep in your workout clothes and go barefoot like I do ← great timesaver!) Know the length of your workout. You can not squeeze a 50 min workout, plus prep time into a 30 min time block.
Extras: I added a few extra items that I thought were important to this planning sheet!
Prayer Requests: Jot down all of the big prayer requests for the week in this square.
Meditation Verse: I think it is a great idea to choose a Bible verse that really speaks to you and read it (and/or memorize it) each day!
Appointments/Notes: You may want to fill this section in before any other. That way you know what is going on each day and how/when to schedule these self-care items “on-purpose”
There you have it, friends! Thanks for reading! I hope you are super blessed by My Weekly On Purpose Plan. Questions? Email me!
Are you living On-Purpose?? Print out this My Weekly On Purpose Plan, fill it out, snap a photo and tag me on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter (#myonpurposeplan) I would love to see you using this tool and sharing it with others!
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