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Routine Maintenance – Corrections and Cautions

Decision Making· Goals & Priorities· Habits & Routines

26 Aug

(Here’s a refresh on routine while I take a month’s break.  Thanks!)

Maintaining routine, former procrastinators, can be a challenge – with big payoffs.  Owning a car is a challenge with payoffs.  It requires adding fuel, going in for regular maintenance, and tending to repairs.  It takes time, effort, money.  Still, most of us prefer to maintain our cars and enjoy the benefits that come from having ready transportation.

When we bought our cars, we considered our needs, budgets, preferences.  We figured out what we could afford that would serve us best.  We set up routine with careful thought.  Getting established takes time and effort, but it results in procedures that serve us well and simplify life.

If we don’t fuel our cars, we don’t go anywhere. Sticking with it is like fueling our routine.  We have the joy of “getting somewhere.”  We accomplish our aims.  The ride is more pleasant because it’s steady, not in jerky fits and starts and stall outs as when we had no routine.

Sometimes a car sits unused and is hard to crank.  Left unused, routines are hard to get going again.  It’s easier to keep a routine running than it is to restart it.  If it’s been necessary to set it aside for a while, get out the jumper cables and recharge your routine.

Checkups for the car reveal problems that need attention.  If windshield wipers need replacing, we do that. We don’t get rid of the car.  We should keep an eye out for things in our routine that don’t serve well and tweak them.

Cars sometimes need major repairs or replacement.  We consider the factors and get help to correct the situation. Routines need correcting.  We persevere through to an improvement that works better for us.  If necessary, we trade in our non-working car for a better model. But we don’t scrap the car without giving it opportunity to prove itself.  With routine, it takes a while -maybe weeks -to work out the kinks or get everybody onboard.  That’s better than no car, no routine, no profitable changes in lifestyle.  Give routine time to prove itself useful.

Routine requires commitment and correction.  It also requires caution.

Like a car, our regular procedure is a tool we are privileged to use.  We value routine but don’t allow it to become an idol to protect at all costs.

There are places we don’t drive our cars.  We need discernment; flexibility is good.  We don’t want to flex ourselves completely out of routine by letting it go repeatedly.  But we let it go on occasion because God is prompting us to listen to someone, keep extra children, or stay late to cover for a colleague.  We want others to respect our preferences, but we don’t require people to always bow to our routine because they are not as important as our tool.

God is the source of peace and conqueror of chaos. He helps us use routine as a wonderful gift, a helpful tool.

Did you practice run a routine?  What corrections are you making?

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BETH STERNE
Welcome! It's great to have you here. I'm a follower of Christ and a learner of new ways. By His grace, I am gaining victory over procrastination. This is where I share struggles I face and lessons I'm learning. Join me and other sisters as we put off procrastination and put on peace.

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"Beth’s procrastination talk led me to understand procrastination as a heart issue in need of God’s restoration not just a change of my ways. Beth’s personal experiences helped me discover practical ways to attack my own procrastination. As a result I have become a more loving wife, mother and friend who is able to use the gifts God has given me more fully. I highly endorse this talk and would love to hear it again and again."

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Julia F.

"Beth’s procrastination talk led me to understand procrastination as a heart issue in need of God’s restoration not just a change of my ways. Beth’s personal experiences helped me discover practical ways to attack my own procrastination. As a result I have become a more loving wife, mother and friend who is able to use the gifts God has given me more fully. I highly endorse this talk and would love to hear it again and again."
https://putoffprocrastination.com/testimonials/julia-f/
“Beth’s presentation on procrastination was truly eye-opening. I knew I had a problem with procrastination, but never thought twice about how it impacted my relationships and showed God that I wasn’t onboard with His plan. I began to see each instance took away from being fruitful; I was living for myself! After this revelation, I have been working on procrastinating less. I can see places opening up in my life for more peaceful moments, more time with and for friends and family, and more time for God’s plan to unfold. It’s amazing to know there’s more to life for me than a life full of “should haves” as a result of procrastination.”

Carole S.

Beth Sterne - Put Off Procrastination
2018-08-16T14:42:59-04:00

Carole S.

“Beth’s presentation on procrastination was truly eye-opening. I knew I had a problem with procrastination, but never thought twice about how it impacted my relationships and showed God that I wasn’t onboard with His plan. I began to see each instance took away from being fruitful; I was living for myself! After this revelation, I have been working on procrastinating less. I can see places opening up in my life for more peaceful moments, more time with and for friends and family, and more time for God’s plan to unfold. It’s amazing to know there’s more to life for me than a life full of “should haves” as a result of procrastination.”
https://putoffprocrastination.com/testimonials/carole-s/
“After Beth came and shared about procrastination, many realized that it is possible through the Lord's power to stop putting off what God has called us to do. One mother finally started a blog and another posted a ladies; tea for her church months in advance so that ...she would not put off having it. Although I thought I was not someone who procrastinates, I realized I had some relationships that I needed to work on. Procrastination, I learned, is not just about getting things turned in on time, it's about listening to God and doing what He says to do when He tells you to and obeying God's Word.”

Rebecca F.

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2018-08-16T14:43:28-04:00

Rebecca F.

“After Beth came and shared about procrastination, many realized that it is possible through the Lord's power to stop putting off what God has called us to do. One mother finally started a blog and another posted a ladies; tea for her church months in advance so that ...she would not put off having it. Although I thought I was not someone who procrastinates, I realized I had some relationships that I needed to work on. Procrastination, I learned, is not just about getting things turned in on time, it's about listening to God and doing what He says to do when He tells you to and obeying God's Word.”
https://putoffprocrastination.com/testimonials/rebecca-f/
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Beth Sterne - Put Off Procrastination
Go to the ant, you sluggard;
consider its ways and be wise! It has
no commander, no overseer or ruler,
yet it stores its provisions in summer
and gathers its food at harvest.
Proverbs 6:6-8
... you have put off the old man with
his deeds, and have put on the new
man who is renewed in knowledge
according to the image of Him who
created him.
Colossians 3:9-10

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