I have a confession to make. I’m not putting into practice everything I write about. That’s not to say I don’t believe in it, it’s just easier said than done sometimes. For instance, I think people who wake up before 5am get more accomplished. However, after trying it for about a year, I decided to go back to sleeping in. This is going to be one of those posts. I’m not currently doing this, but the plan is to put this in place very soon. In fact, this post is as much for me as it is for you.

Left to my own devices, I wouldn’t get much accomplished. I’m easily distracted. I can be lazy at times. And I like the dream a whole lot more than doing what it takes to accomplish the dream.

Even while writing this, I’m thinking about how I wish I could be watching Netflix right now.

Discipline is difficult for me, and the more people I talk to, it seems that I’m not alone in that statement.

Yet, if you want to accomplish anything significant in your life, you have to be disciplined.

And since it doesn’t come naturally to me, I need to develop a checklist to live by. Otherwise, there are going to be things I’m going to miss or forget or ignore.

I’m going to encourage you to do the same. Here’s what the breakdown might look like for me.

Daily

Personal

• Read the Bible/Devotional.
• Pray
• Spend 30 minutes playing with my kids.
• Spend 30 minutes in conversation with my wife.
• Spend 30 minutes reading a book.
• Exercise (Ha, I said this was hypothetical, right?)

Professional

• Post to social media.
• Respond to email.
• Send an encouraging text.
• Various other job related duties

My day-to-day work duties change quite a bit, so it’s going to be necessary for me to create a different list for each day.

Weekly

Personal

• Help around the house.
• Mow the yard.
• Go to the grocery store.

Professional

• Send three thank you cards to volunteers.
• Meet with my senior pastor.
• Host a small group.

Monthly

Personal

• Take my spouse on a date.
• Have a family day.
• Pay the bills.

Professional

• Meet with the elders.
• Have lunch with a staff member or key volunteer.
• Evaluate my weekly and daily checklist.

Yearly

Personal

• Take a family vacation.
• Take a mini vacation with my wife.
• Set goals for the new year.
• Create my budget.

Professional

• Set goals for the new year.
• Celebrate last year’s wins.
• Look for ways to improve.

It’s going to take some time to put all of this together. I’m sure I’ll need to make some adjustments along the way, but in the end I think it will be worth it.

Do you use any kind of checklist? How do you stay accountable to yourself? I’d love to know the secret so leave a comment below. Also don’t forget to subscribe to the blog to get tips on church growth, leadership, and more delivered to your inbox each week.