Don’t Let 2012 Just Happen: One Way to Be More Efficient
If you follow this blog regularly, then you know I have a goal to help leaders, especially church leaders, be more effective in their work. That’s why I asked for a guest blog post from my friend Jesse Phillips, former Web Content Manager for Catalyst. Jesse is now full time dream follower and creator of the Seize the Year calendar.
Here is a guest post from Jesse Phillips:
Seize the Year is a stylish and innovative calendar designed to help you suck the marrow out of 2012.
I came-up with the idea for a new calendar when I was at Catalyst. I needed a large calendar to help me plan the year, and nothing I found was large enough. My first version was 3ft x 7ft long! After creating several (smaller) versions, my office mates started asking for calendars. And I even sold a few to my boss.
So I launched a Kickstarter campaign in August to raise enough money to print the first color version of the calendar. I got funded in early October, and just launched a webstore (www.NeuYear.net) earlier this month. I’ve been humbled by the responsiveness to my simple design.
Here’s how my new calendar will help you dominate 2012:
It’s BIG – It shows you the whole year at once. You no longer have to page through a traditional calendar (or on your small computer screen), to see the whole year. You can layout your goals for the year, set future deadlines, and clearly see the passing of time. Also, at 39” x 27” it has bigger squares so you can write more.
NO GAPS – Unlike other calendars, this one has no space between months. The philosophy here is that the week is the currency we think in, so this calendar focuses on presenting 52 weeks, rather than 12 months. This feature helps you plan across months easily, and see clearly the distance/days between any two dates in the year. It will also motivate you to see weeks passing, deadlines approaching and goals accomplished.
It’s BEAUTIFUL – It combines functional features with brilliant aesthetics. In Making Ideas Happen, author Scott Belsky says “the design of your productivity tools will affect how eager you are to use them. Attraction often breeds commitment.” You’ll be eager to use this attractive calendar.
As the saying goes “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Most of us get overwhelmed by life and just let things happen. But if we are to truly make a Kingdom impact on this world, properly stewarding the talents God has given us, we need a proactive approach. Like a wise farmer who plans and does lots of hard work with no immediate return, we will reap an eternal harvest if we are thoughtful and intentional about our time, talents and resources.
So don’t just let 2012 happen! Plan your work and work your plan (and be flexible for when God changes your direction).
And if you need a large calendar to map-out the year, check-out NeuYear.net.
(Thanks Jesse, I hope your calendar sells big! More than that, I hope it helps some of my readers be more successful in the coming year.)
