© 2016 Jeanette Levellie

Delight yourself in the Lord 
Put God first and He will collaborate with you to help you meet your goals.

• Give Him the first portion of your day, seeking his direction.
• Trust Him to propel your career forward.

Do away with fear
Fear of failure paralyzes us; fear of success keeps us in a rut. The results are the same!

• Progress in baby steps, regardless of feelings.
• Have friends cover you in prayer.

De-clutter and de-junk
Managing clutter is a huge time eater. The simpler your environment, the more time you’ll have to spend writing.

• When you buy something new, get rid of an equal number of items.
• Give yourself permission to throw or give away.

Discipline your flesh
“No” is not a four-letter word. Say it with grace and dignity.

• Say “no” to activities and people that drain you or bring out the worst in you.
• Curtail TV, online, and phone time.

Divide writing and marketing time
If no one knows you, your writing lacks an audience. If you don’t write, your audience will go elsewhere.

• Start with a 50/50 split.
• If near a deadline, increase writing time.

Delegate
If you allow others to help, you affirm their part in the team, and the finish line comes sooner.

• Enlist family members for researching, cooking, running errands, and cleaning.
• Consider hiring help or trading a writing or editing job for housework or cooking.

Decide what’s important
If you knew you had only two years to live, what would you spend your time doing?

• Ask God to direct your steps and to help you focus on your strengths.
• What do you most enjoy doing?

Dance and sing—take time to play
Recreation means “to impart fresh life to; to create anew.”

• Laughter is a form of exercise!
• It’s okay to do nothing for an hour or a day

Double up
Learn what tasks you can juggle with others for optimum use of your time.

• Combine two jobs you can accomplish at the same time.
• Keep a notebook with you to snatch time waiting in line to write or brainstorm.

Diagram your plan
Develop a written mission statement and reasonable, measurable goals.

• Determine what God and you want from your writing: a few published articles, books galore, changed lives, or all of the above.
• Put dates on your goals—make them attainable and measurable.

As creative as I’m sure you are, you can find many other ways to implement these Ten D’s to get the most out of your time and your life!
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“Nutty with a dash of meat” best describes Jeanette Levellie’s speaking, writing, and life. She has published hundreds of humor/inspirational columns, articles, greeting cards, and poems, as well as four books. A spunky redhead, Jeanette is the mother of two, grandmother of three, and waitress to four cats.  Her hobbies include reading, gardening, watching movies older than herself, and finding ways to avoid housework. Her favorite sport is eating in restaurants. She lives with her pastor husband, Kevin, in Paris, IL. Find her mirthful musings on Hope Splashes: Finding Gold in Life’s Puddles.