Every Monday this year

07Jan
by Jon Swanson

There is still time to make this statement: “I’ve done this every Monday in 2013.”

All you have to do is one of these:

  1. Tell your child/children you are grateful they are alive.
  2. Ask God for wisdom for the decisions you have to make this week.
  3. Drink a large glass of water.
  4. Read Psalm 19.
  5. Write an encouraging email to a friend.
  6. On a scrap of paper, write one thing you want to implement from a sermon you heard on Sunday. Tape it to your monitor.
  7. Look at the sunrise. Or sunset.
  8. Read one chapter from the book that is on the top of your reading pile.
  9. Look in the mirror and say, “I glad that God made you.”
  10. Eat 100 calories less than you otherwise would.
  11. Hand $5 to someone that you don’t own money to.
  12. Unsubscribe from an enewsletter that isn’t helping you as much anymore.
  13. Make a list of six things that have to be done by Friday.
  14. On a scrap of paper, write the name of one person you want to ask God to help. Tape it to your mirror.
  15. Extra difficulty: On a scrap of paper, write the name of one person who annoys you (or is trying to undermine you) and tape it to your mirror. Then ask God to bless them.
  16. Put a 90 minute appointment for thinking and writing on NEXT Monday’s calendar. (It’s too late for the 90 minutes today. But you can schedule it.)
  17. Clean one pile off your desk.
  18. Defer to someone else’s wishes for one specific thing.
  19. Unprocrastinate on one project.
  20. Stop. For 15 minutes.

You can fill in your own action. Just pick something. This offer expires at midnight, your time, on January 7, 2013. But if you start on January 14, you can still say “I’ve done this almost every Monday in 2013.”

The result? 52 actions. In a row.

—

One of my next project is a reader for Lent. You can help me. A brief Lent survey. If you are planning to read the Bible more or more slowly this year, at 7×7 Marc Pitman and I will be sending you daily readings. And Learning a new routine can help you read the sermon on the mount.

18 thoughts on “Every Monday this year”

  3. Rich Dixon

    52 things in a row would be, like, a routine…right? Your ebook is challenging me, but I keep re-reading the same chapters. Really good stuff, but it’s gonna take a while.

    BTW…if I do #6, do I have to leave all the scraps from previous weeks in place? I want to follow the rules, but I fear by June I’ll need a second monitor.

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  4. hansschiefelbein

    At the 11th hour, I’ll add two Monday routines – one big and one simple. The big one for me is to (on Sunday or Monday morning) have a weekly game plan put together. This is different than my calendar, but I’ll have my calendar up when I draft my game plan. This is to help me be intentional about how I spent “free moments” during the week and also to make sure I get done the important things. My simple routine will be to pray for (a) myself, (b) my family, and (c) one other person in my life who needs prayer.

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  7. hisfirefly

    I’m in! Doubling up. Asking God for wisdom for the week beginning, and reading Psalm 19. What great new habits. Thanks!

    Like

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