Reagan's Roundup

Quarterly Goals, Read-Later Apps, Don’t Waste Your Summer, & More

July 6, 2023by Reagan Rose5 min read

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Dear steward,

I hope you are enjoying a blessed summer!

We’ve got a lot in today’s roundup. But first, I’ll kick things off by sharing a resource I created to help you to plan your life in quarters.

In Today’s Issue:

Quarterly Goal Planning Tool
The Best Read-Later App
Don’t Waste Your Summer
Benefits of a Business Coach
Quote: Why Discipline Matters

A Tool for Quarterly Goal Planning

When I started doing Redeeming Productivity full-time two years ago, I began practicing quarterly planning. It’s what I had done in my previous roles, and it just made sense for a business. But what’s so great about quarterly planning is every three months feels like a fresh start.

I so enjoyed quarterly planning that instead of setting annual goals for my life as I was wont to do, I began setting 12-week goals for every area of my life.

This is a practice Brian P. Moran advocates for in his The 12 Week Year. He argues that one of the reasons quarterly planning works so well is that it creates just the right amount of urgency.

“We mistakenly believe that there is a lot of time left in the year, and we act accordingly. We lack a sense of urgency, not realizing that every week is important, every day is important, every moment is important. Ultimately, effective execution happens daily and weekly!”

Last week in the Academy, we held our quarterly planning workshop for Q3. And I’ve been enjoying the clarity of having a freshly planned quarter. Adding the accountability element of doing this with other believers has been amazing. It’s exciting to celebrate everyone’s progress at the end of a quarter and capitalize on that momentum to set goals together for a new quarter.

The post that kicked off the Q3 goal challenge in RPA

My big goal this quarter is to do a pretty major revamp of some of the course material we use in Redeeming Productivity Academy. But I also have some smaller goals for exercise and becoming more consistent in my prayer life.

If you’re interested in setting a quarterly goal of your own, I put together a little self-assessment quiz and goal-setting worksheet for Academy members. But I thought I’d share it with the whole newsletter in case some of you might find it helpful!

You can take the quiz and grab the worksheet here.

The best links I found this week

Is Matter or Readwise Reader the Read-Later App for You? (9 mins)

Matt Birchler / The Sweet Setup

This is a good comparison of the two best read-later apps currently available.

I’ve used both myself, and while Matt settles on Matter as the best, I’ve landed with Readwise Reader (in fact, I use it to collect and curate the articles for this newsletter).

If you don’t have a read-later app in your productivity tech stack, you can’t go wrong with either of these!

Don’t Waste Your Summer (5 mins)

Marci Ferrell / The Thankful Homemaker

Marci has some great advice on how believers can maximize their summers. And she even includes a summertime planning guide you can use for some ideas.

Her suggestions and resources cover things like:

Organizing your prayer life
Doing a summer Bible reading plan
Reading as a family
Taking a phone break

I spent $50,000 on a business coach so you don’t have to (22 mins)

Ali Abdaal / YouTube

In this video, Ali details some of his takeaways from using a high-end business coach.

But it’s not just business advice. He showcases a few helpful tools for being more intentional with your goals, habits, and time management. There’s also a link in the video description to download some of the tools he talks about.

I actually copied his Google doc and made an updated “Ideal Week” for myself. I’m feeling really good about the clarity it’s given me for how I want to spend my days, especially in light my quarterly goals.

Also, on the topic of coaching. I use a business and productivity coach myself to help me stay focused and accountable. If you’re a highly driven believer and are interested in utilizing a coach that shares your Christian worldview, you might consider working with a Redeeming Productivity coach.

Quote of the Week

Why is discipline important? Discipline teaches us to operate by principle rather than desire. Saying no to our impulses (even the ones that are not inherently sinful) puts us in control of our appetites rather than vice versa. It deposes our lust and permits truth, virtue, and integrity to rule our minds instead.
John MacArthur