My secret to getting so much done

It’s 6:26am. Silver sunlight peeks over the gumtrees, waking up a the feathery choir—nature’s alarm clock. As their self-appointed rhythm section, there's a skip in my step as leaves crunch beneath my feet. Crunch-thud-a-crunch, crunch-thud-a-crunch.

I can barely feel my half-frozen fingers, which clumsily strike the phone keyboard. A stream of consciousness flows, words ready to be moulded into today's blog-post. I let out a foggy breath into the crisp Autumn air and smile. Ah, contentment. I’ve been disciplined today—already done my morning devotion, sorted baskets of clothes, written in my journal and am now well on the way to clocking up 10,000 steps. Oh what a day it will be!

It all sounds so perfectly poetic. Obnoxious, even. You might roll your eyes at my tall poppy self, standing on my tippy-toes as mum writes my height on the kitchen wall. But you'd be foolish to envy me. Yes, I manage to get a lot of stuff done (even before 6:30am), but not without sacrifice. I wrongly glorify busyness, my priorities aren't conventional, I have very few close friends, I'm exhausted most of the time, I feel constant guilt for having to say no so often. But I sacrifice these things—late night socialising, popularity, free time to watch Netflix—because I really love what I do. I can't not create, write, paint, film, dream. It's what God has called me to do.

The truth is that everyone wants to achieve more. And everyone has a dream or a God-given calling. It's human nature to plan, make goals, vision-cast. But that's the easy bit. Taking a dream and turning it into something tangible is so so hard. Maybe your dream-turned-pipe-dream has been on the back-burner for ten years, maybe a creative idea has been nudging you since you were 16, or there are goals that you feel you "really should have achieved by now". Whether you want to run a marathon, sell cookies, or quit your job to become a travel-blogger, every dream is valid, beautiful. The hardest part is knowing where to start, and actually doing the work.

In last two months, I've begun turning my long-time dream into a reality. I've started writing this blog, creating lots more art, posting more regularly to YouTube. I've even opened an online shop. Unexpectedly, I’ve received lots of DMs from friends (and even strangers what what?!) about how I manage to fit it all in whilst working a full time job, or how I channel creative inspiration into a tangible product. This has prompted a lot of reflection and (while much self-awareness probably still eludes me) today, as I walk along with frozen fingers, I want to share with you my five top principles for getting stuff done:

Principle #1: If it's not worth the sacrifice, it's not worth doing.

First and foremost, if you're not willing to sacrifice any aspect of your life, you exit this blog post, turn off your device and put the dream to bed. Don't waste your time and energy pondering, ruminating, wishing or grieving that unrealised dream. Build a bridge and get over it.

If, however, that dream has been tapping you on the shoulder for so long that you are willing to make a sacrifice—on sleep, socialising, shopping, Netflix, gourmet dinners, three-day weekends, it's important to know your priorities before doing so. As with all good planning, I recommend making a list. A detailed one. Of everything you are required to, or want to do each day. Cooking dinner, packing lunches, household chores, going to work, putting the kids to bed, catching up with friends, washing clothes, checking emails, going to the gym. Everything.

Now, select one (or both) of the following two options:

• Number one: maximise the productivity of certain tasks (see principles #3 and #4). Can you quit the gym and do home workouts to save on travel time? Can you hire a virtual assistant to check your emails and do business admin? Can you buy a slow-cooker to cut-down on dinner prep? If so, do it! Circle those in blue.

• Number two: to cut down on something completely. Can you stop catching up with those friends you don't really like? Say no to that third job you have at church? Get your kids to make their own lunches? Cross these out in red and say bye Felicia.

Also, a sneaky mental hack: option number two doesn't necessarily require making a permanent sacrifice. This can be easier to process. Cancelling on those friends just for the month of May might just give you those extra hours to get that side-hustle off the ground. And by that time, your side-hustle will become a priority and you'll feel justified saying no to other things. Make sense?

Principle #2: Your order of priorities should physically structure your day

Following on from Principle #1, you should have pretty clear idea of your priorities. (Again, it's good to make a list). If you're like most people, your spouse, kids and extended family are probably high up there, as well as your health, and your faith and vocation. But how often do we skip going to the gym to meet a deadline, get home late and miss family time, skip morning devotions to catch up on sleep? If you're like me, this probably happens more often than not.

Think of priorities like materials you'd use to build a house. If you try to build the roof before you have walls or supporting-beams, and before the cornerstone and sturdy foundations are set, the structure won't hold. There is a specific order that ensures things get done most efficiently, logically and securely. The same is true for priorities.

It's a simple, but powerful principle: Fulfill your most important priorities first thing in the day. For me, that's spending time with God and looking after my health. So before the world wakes up (yes, that requires waking up before 6am—see Principle #1), I do my morning devotion and pray. And then I go for a walk or run.

If I don't practice this daily, there's a 99% chance that I won't spend time with God, won't move my body at all and will spend the day unproductive and grumpy. Work creep is real. By implementing this simple principle, I'm actively stopping work and deadlines from consuming my health and happiness.

Principle #3: Each day starts the night before.

Name any top-notch CEO who doesn't have a crazy morning routine or structured schedule (I’ll wait). When it comes to success—in any shape or form—it takes a lot of premeditation and planning, most of which starts days, if not weeks, beforehand.

Being productive each day means treating life like a "business plan". You're probably thinking,"Wow, she's so heartless, life is made to be enjoyed, actually." No, no, I totally agree! In fact, King Solomon—the wisest man who ever lived—said that there is nothing better than to enjoy your life:

• "There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God."—Ecclesiastes 2:24

Life was made to be enjoyed! But if you're constantly scrambling to meet deadlines, knee-deep in washing, procrastinating on work and feeling guilty, it's not as enjoyable. By getting the unenjoyable stuff out of the way as productively as possible, we leave space to enjoy the little things: the crisp morning walks, picking wildflowers from the garden, writing songs with the man you love.

Practically speaking, I make time to do this by breaking my goals down into short-term mid-term and long-term columns. I recommend writing down what you want to have achieved one year from now, then breaking that down into smaller goals that you can achieve each month, then each week, then each day.

But that's just the theoretical part. This is how you make it practical: Each night before you go to bed, spend 20 minutes filling out a to-do list for the next day, and reflecting on your goals (see Principle #5). This will help keep your tasks in context, keep you focussed on what you need to achieve, and remind you of the abundant life you are enjoying and striving for.

Principle #4: Prioritise time before task

I recently had an interesting conversation with my fiancé and realised we differ dramatically in one aspect of time-management. Suddenly, it dawned on me that most people's time-management tendencies will naturally fall into one of these two categories:

• "Task before time": When you're doing a task, you aren't super conscious of or concerned about how much time it will take. The quality of the task is most important to you than the efficiency. These people are usually type-B personalities or creatives, and may also struggle with perfectionistic tendencies. (Oh, and girlfriends getting ready for a night out definitely fall into this category too, of course).

• "Time before task": These people are typically type-A personalities (like myself), highly-strung and are never late for a party (okay, sometimes). If they've only got 5 minutes to get ready, they'll fit "getting ready" into that time allocation. Sure, there might be a collar untucked or mismatching socks here and there, but they got the job done well enough.

Ever noticed how, with one hour left to spare before your essay is due, your concentration and productivity increases dramatically? Treat every task like that. (Okay maybe not every one because that may cause adrenal fatigue). What I mean is that when it comes to productivity, I recommend training yourself to prioritise "time before task" as much as possible. Learn to practise the Pomodoro method; set an alarm; turn off your phone and lock it in a box; don't worry about perfect grammar and just write—get that content out!

Of course, there are some tasks that require more attention to detail and will always fall into the "task before time" category—but if you're wanting to reduce everyday tasks and make time for that long-time dream of yours, "time before task" is the secret.

Principle #5: Find your "why" and constantly remind yourself what it is

Taking time to visualise your dream, remind yourself of how you're going to get there and remembering your purpose is life's best-kept secret to staying motivated. In the humdrum of the everyday, it's easy to lose focus—and to lose time to focus.

I once heard a preacher talk about making "date time" with God, where she set aside one whole day per month to spend alone with God—away from her family, her job, her commitments. While I know that's not possible for everyone, taking time to remember your why is crucial to moving forward.

For me, my why comes from God and what I believe He has called me to do and create. So when I write out my prayers during my morning devotion times, I ask Him to lead my steps. This helps me see my life in the context of its bigger purpose. As a Sabbath-keeping Christian, "remembering the Sabbath" means taking a day off to spend with God. In the same way, remembering my purpose means taking time to pause, be still and remind myself of what it is.

Whether you're a Christian or not, this practice rings true. By implementing the first four principles, you'll carve out extra time in your days, weeks, months. By setting a little of that new free time aside, you'll re-energise yourself and perpetuate the productivity cycle. But you have to take time to rest.

Blessings,