Your Morning Routine Blueprint108There have even been days or weeks when, because of an
immediate deadline the next day, I’ve had to say no to doing
things with my family. It doesn’t mean that they aren’t a
priority, but “right now,” for a very brief moment in time,
something else was a temporary priority.
The shifting nature of urgent priorities within the grid of
important priorities is a core concept to grasp. Otherwise, we
might always say yes to the two- year- old who wants to play
tea party and never cook dinner. There is a very delicate, very
fine balance. When we are clear with God and ourselves about
what our priorities are, decision- making becomes easier, and
our plans for our time begin to align with what is most impor-
tant to us.
Phase 2: Determine Your Processes
A great example of a process based on a priority is found in
something we do every day. We cook. We decide what we want
to eat (our priority), then we make a clear plan that will take
us from our desire to action: a recipe (our process). Recipes
take us step- by- step from choosing our ingredients to assem-
bling them. We start with the vision or priority (our dish) and
break it down into processes and practical actions.
Just walking into the kitchen and starting to cook with no
end product in mind rarely produces anything anyone wants
to eat. But by starting with the end in mind, we are able to use
our time effectively and efficiently.
To create a recipe, we first need to decide what we’re cook-
ing. The same with planning. We need to determine the end
product— what we want to do. Where we want to end up.
These are our goals. You might not know the ins and outs of