I’m honestly one of the most consistent people you’ll ever meet. That is not a #humblebrag or anything because I’m completely consistent, until I’m NOT.

When I commit to something, I go ALL IN, but if a wrench is thrown in the flow, I’m ready to throw in the towel altogether. If I can’t do something “perfectly” which often replaces the word “consistently” in my Jess Vocabulary, I just don’t want to do it at all.

This all-or-nothing line of thinking was one of the primary pieces of my mindset that Diana, my amazing Christian life coach, started questioning right away.

She would listen to me talk, and often would follow up my rant with–but is that true?

Luckily, we were on the phone, but I’m guessing there was some sort of audible noise indicating my eye roll at the time. OF COURSE it was true!

BUT, WAIT. Was it?

I’ve found myself in another one of those all-or-nothing circles of thinking as I’ve recently struggled to have my morning quiet time.

My quiet times are FAMOUS in my circle of friends and family. I wake up–however early I need to have quality time–grab my coffee, sit on the couch with a blanket, pull out my journal, and open my YouVersion app. These quiet times last anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour, and they are glorious. I’ve been doing it since I was a junior in college. Every. Single. Day.

I lasted through starting a new marriage, countless job changes, starting a teaching career, maintaining a teaching career + grad school + marriage + writing projects, starting a business…

My quiet times were PRIORITY, NON-NEGOTIABLE, until… we got a puppy.

I know, I’m actually embarrassed to say that out loud, but this puppy has thrown a wrench in my completely self-centered schedule and tight-wad time-blocking.

It’s also made me realized that sometimes seemingly God-centered is still my effort to control rather than to simply abide.

Changing seasons are one of the chief-complaints for any of us as to why we can’t be consistent in something.

But, isn’t that challenging the idea of consistency, altogether?

If you can’t maintain a habit when things are out of the ordinary, was it ever even a habit at all?

Or was it just a fair-weather activity that helped you be the person you wanted to be when it was convenient?

I’m tired of running my life and business at full speed, forgetting to stop and check in with The One who loves me, The One who tells me I’m enough, The One who can shoulder my pain and join in celebration of my victories all day long.

I’m tired of shoving aside my deep desire to run a God-centered business by simply checking in with Him every once in awhile, or when I’m done potty training a pup.

(Ouch. I need a minute to recover from that #truthbomb, myself.)

Now, despite my NO EXCUSES tendencies when I’m giving pep-talks, I still want to acknowledge a couple of things.

1. Life is HARD. I get that. Life is BUSY. I get that, too. But acknowledging that life is always going to be busy and OFTEN TIMES will be hard is the first step toward change, consistency, contentment.

2. I’ve very intentionally chosen the word “simple” in the title of this post and throughout my explanations. None of this is “easy.” Making the right decision, no matter how many times we feel that after-effect of relief, is never “easy.” BUT, the steps can be small. They can be manageable. They don’t have to be all-or-nothing. You can pick up your feet and walk toward the person you want to be every single day.

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Today I’m sharing 3 RIDICULOUSLY SIMPLE ways to keep your workdays God-centered.

• Pray over your Top 3 tasks.

  Emily Ley, Whitney English, Lucy of Lucy Celebrates, Corie Clark, really anyone who makes a planner—and now anyone who uses a planner from them—swears by writing down their Top 3 tasks for the day. Since I’ve started doing this, in conjunction with my weekly planning in Trello (that I learned in the Trello Like a Boss Course), I’ve been so much more focused and productive. It is so gratifying to finish those Top 3, especially if you get done early, and can do some bonus to-do’s!

So, if we are doing meaningful work, and we write down our MOST meaningful work in our planners everyday, isn’t that a great place to start in prayer? Pray over those Top 3 before you start your workday, and you’ve already asked God to be present as you finish every single VITAL task.

Ideas for what to pray over them:

• Efficiency

• Creativity

• Wisdom

• Joy

• Discernment (hello, tough email responses)

  What else would you pray over your Top 3?

Note: This idea is to be more specific than just praying over your to-do list. Pray for each task by name. Pray for the people associated with those tasks. And it will probably only take like 5 minutes!

• Set a Prayer Alarm.

  I got this idea from Katie Grace Hollstein on Insta Stories awhile ago. Even when I have my quiet time in the morning, I pray and journal, and then typically forget about it through the day. I’ve combatted that by keeping my Intentional Planner open on my desk, but I wanted a reminder to pray and commit my day to the Lord throughout the workday. Um, duh. Set an alarm! I decided to set an alarm for every three hours.

  9:00 am: When I typically begin my workday. This would be a good time to knock out #1!

  12:00 pm: My lunch break.

  2:30 pm: Right before my last power hour. I usually try to end my workday around 3:30 or 4:00 so I can head to CrossFit, and about 2:30 is when I start to fade.

  This practice is not perfect, and I don’t always stop and pray when my alarm goes off. But having the alarm set means I might even just say, “Hey God, thanks for this workday. Give me strength.”

• Text a verse to a friend.

  You may be in a season where it doesn’t feel feasible to spend an extended amount of time deeply studying the Bible. You might find yourself saying: I can’t have quiet times or read the Bible or be close to God right now. I don’t have time.

  And, to that, I would quote Diana and tell you to ask yourself, “Is that true?”

  Can you open your Bible app, find the verse of the day, text it to a friend and tell them what you think about it? Can you share what you learned from a verse someone posted the other day? Choose a small, manageable task that keeps a tiny piece of scripture front of mind. DO THAT. START THERE.

Action Step:

Choose just one of these, and implement it today!

PLEASE share your next step with me in the comments or tag me over on Instagram (@jessjordana) so I can cheer you on and share with the masses!

Also, feel free to DM me. I’m a fan of other people who stalk Insta stories, so don’t be shy!

Jess, XO

I’m Jess,

iced-coffee-obsessed, saved-by-grace, allergic-to-small talk, and one of the biggest dreamers you’ll ever meet.

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