Less is More

By: Stephanie Shott

I was drowning under the tidal wave of social media, my speaking ministry, my ministry to moms and mentors, blog posts and book promotions, and there seemed to be no end in sight.

All I kept thinking was, “I can’t keep doing this!”

Working until wee hours of the morning and getting up at the crack of dawn has a way of catching up with you. It’s hard to be a night owl and an early bird in the same skin, but deadlines loomed largely over the horizon and I really didn’t have a choice.

Or did I?

As I sat back and took a good hard look at my to-do list, I realized that much of what I had written down was self-imposed, nonessential busy writing. The superfluous kind of stuff that wasted time is made of.

I was trying to do all and be all and in the midst of it all, my plate was overflowing, my priorities were out of whack and my life was getting more messy by the minute.

So, I decided it was time to take a good hard look at what I was doing, why I was doing it and begin to filter every activity through the lens of my priorities and my purpose instead of just saying yes because I thought it was a good idea or felt the pressure to perform.

When I was in advertising, we had a saying, Less is more. That has proven to be true for writing as much as it is for advertising. I discovered that by choosing to use priorities and my purpose as a filter, I was writing less but accomplishing more.

For me, it works like this:

Priorities: God, hubby, family, home, church, ministry, others

Purpose: To know Christ and make Him known and to lead women to live full, fearless and faithful lives.

Every open door is not mine to walk through. Knowing that has empowered me to say no when necessary. When speaking and writing pursuits and opportunities line up under these purposes, I’m able to prayerfully decide if it is what I should be doing. If it’s not, I’m just wasting my time, doing what someone else should be doing or weighing myself down with a self-imposed ‘to-do’ list.

       

Perhaps you are sinking under the tidal waves of writing demands too. Maybe you feel like me and you are finding it hard to catch your breath between branding, social media, speaking engagements and a plethora of petty and nonproductive writing project.

If you need to make a living by writing, then be more diligent about searching for writing projects that pay and quit saying yes to every project that doesn't.

When it comes to a writer’s life, less can definitely mean more.

Are you feeling overwhelmed by your ‘to-do’ list? What do you need to say no to now that will help you be more intentional with your time?

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Stephanie Shott is an author, a popular international speaker and the founder of The M.O.M. Initiative, a missional mentoring ministry dedicated to taking Titus 2 to the streets. For over 20 years, Stephanie has led women to live full, fearless and faithful lives. Her Bible study on Ecclesiastes, Understanding What Matters Most, has become a favorite of women everywhere. She has also written articles and stories for P31 Woman Magazine, Pearls In the Dessert, MOPS International, Focus on the Family, (In) Courage and the upcoming book, P-Dubs, by Rhonda Rhea. To find out more about Stephanie or to check her availability to speak at your next event, visit her website atwww.stephanieshott.com. To learn more The M.O.M. Initiative or how you can begin a M.O.M. Mentor Group in your area,visitwww.themominitiative.com. Connect with her www.facebook.com/StephanieShottAuthor and,www.facebook.com/TheMOMIntiative and on Twitter atwww.twitter.com/StephanieShott