3 Spirituality of Work Quotes

Everyone collects something.  I like quotes- they take up very little space and seem to give and give again.  Here are three that grabbed my eye recently:

Vocation
The
kind of work God usually calls you to is the kind of work that you need
most to do and that the world most needs to have done...The place God
calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep
hunger meet.  Frederick Buechner

Leadership
Leadership" is a concept we often resist. It seems immodest, even
self-aggrandizing, to think of ourselves as leaders. But if it is true
that we are made for community, then leadership is everyone’s vocation,
and it can be an evasion to insist that it is not. When we live in the
close-knit ecosystem called community, everyone follows and everyone
leads.  Parker Palmer

"My" Work
To
pray about any day's work does not mean to ask for success in it.  It
means to see "my" work as part of a whole, to see myself as not
mattering much, but my faith, the energy, will and striving, which I
put into the work, as mattering a great deal.  My faith is the point in
me at which God comes into my work; though faith the work is given
dignity and value.  Mary F. Smith

GTD Cafe: How to Trim Your Reading List ... to Two

Each Wednesday features a post on Getting Things Done by David Allen.

I have to admit that I got caught up in the Google Reader bandwagon. Everyone else was talking about it and it's easy to use so why not give it a shot? I then went ahead and used GR for several months. Then I didn't use it for several months and the quality of my life stayed about the same. Go figure.

One of my favorite aspects of GTD is its simplicity and "go with what works" feel.  When it comes to something as simple as the use of one's blog reader, I have to admit that my choice to drop Google Reader has in some part, been influenced by GTD.  I gave up on the peer pressure and decided to simplify.

The result: two websites and two only for all of my productivity needs.  Do I read other sites? Sure but I am perfectly content with the following:

• LifeRemix:  with bloggers like Gretchen Ruben and Dumb Little Man, LifeRemix is a collector of 10 or so bloggers with a rich resume and quality posts.



• ProductivityZen: a bit more focused than LifeRemix, ProductivityZen is not only a magnet for productivity posts on the web but it ranks them according to popularity. Clever and helpful- my kind of site.

Resources for the Road

Haiku Productivity: the Art of Limiting Yourself to the Essential (Zen Habits)

Getting Good with Google Reader (LifeHacker)

Why Taking a Sabbatical Makes Sense

For the past month I had been feeling somewhat frazzled and decided to take a week off from blogging.  I emailed some blogging friends and asked for their prayers.   

This mini "sabbatical" turned out to be just what the doctor ordered as I now feel fresh and ready to roll.  During the week off, I was stockpiling new ideas, evaluating my reasons for blogging and I felt (happily) detached from my stats or anything related to Typepad (sorry guys).

Taking a sabbatical accomplishes three things:

• it sets aside time for you.  As Tony Robbins puts it, "If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten."  A sabbatical gives you permission to take a break and recharge the batteries. 
  



• it helps you detach. Whenever your blogging, working, whatever- is stressing you out, detach by focusing on something else.  You may not be able to take a sabbatical totally from work but you can work differently or change your habits for a period of time.  For example, if work is really getting the best of you, give yourself a week to adjust your hours and reconfigure how you do what you need to do at work.



• it challenges your motivations.  I've blogged before about the purpose of blogging and surprisingly, my motivations are the same: because I can and because it stretches me in good ways.  A challenge is made to be embraced, not avoided. 

If there is something in your life that needs a "pause" for a week or more, take a sabbatical from it and enjoy the results.

4 Simple Things You Can Do This Weekend to Relax

The art of relaxing on a weekend has become scarce as we allow activities, errands and chores to crowd out the down-time that we truly crave.  Without being intentional about our time, we can find ourselves running from one thing to the next, left exhausted and without pause. 

What can you do to relax and simplify life this weekend?  Here are four simple ideas:

1. Cancel something that you were going to do.  I'm not suggesting that you bail out on an important commitment but often there are "fluff" items built in to our schedule which can be pruned in order to free up time.  Is there an errand that can be done on line?  Do you really need to drive across town for one more thing?



2. Enjoy the Fall.  I love this time of year (as do the folks at LivSimpl) and there are country fairs, sidewalk sales and everything in between to participate in.  Check out your local paper for a calendar of what's going on.



3. Throw something away. Sounds easy and it really is!  Toss something, anything and enjoy the feeling of pairing back and simplifying your belongings.  Check out the Zen Habits guide to going with less.



4. Connect with God.  If you haven't been to church in a while, make this weekend something special and reconnect with God.  Spend some time in prayer, read inspirational literature and journal to evaluate where you are in your relationship with God.  I find that just talking to God as I would a friend is not only "useful" but makes sense and keeps me balanced.  Be sure to check out the Busted Halo resources and others that may be helpful.

Slowdown Friday: Detaching From the World for Just One Day

I was raised in a family that instilled solid values and an appreciation for spending time together.  My dad and I used to go to the beach if my mom had to work on the weekend.  Long drives, trips to get ice cream and plenty of sports (to play and watch) filled our Saturdays.

As I've gotten older and life has become more complicated, with kids and a family, making the decision to detach from the world (for one day a week) has been difficult.  When we moved back to NJ three months ago, Cary and I decided to get serious and take Sundays as a "no work" day.  A piece of our decision was to avoid shopping on what we call "family days". 

It has taken a lot of self control and some planning but we're getting the hang of it, slowly but surely.  We play games, read books and spend quality time together.  By the time Monday rolls around, I'm totally relaxed and ready to roll.

Scott Young has a thoughtful piece about consumerism and the roll it plays in this process of detachment.  How has your family succeeded when it comes to hitting the pause button on shopping?   In which ways has a day off added quality to your life?