Productivity P # 4: Persistence

The dictionary defines persistence as the “firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition.” You’re not going to feel enthusiastic about planning or using that planner every day. Real productivity is more than just being productive when you feel like it.

Before anything else, I’m really grateful to hear how my 4 P’s of Productivity Series have helped some of you upgrade your productivity in the workplace! Thanks for reaching out and sending private messages! It’s always a joy to know how this site helps people. ❤️

If you’ve just tuned in, that’s okay. Here’s the full list of all the 4 P’s posts (this one is the seventh and last for this series):

Now, let’s talk about the fourth and final P: Persistence.

The dictionary defines persistence as the “firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition.” I started this series with a featured image of my shoes enjoying a snow-covered pathway, and now ending this with the same shoes, this time on a rocky pathway with snow melting away. You’re not going to feel enthusiastic about planning or using that planner every day. There will be days you just won’t feel like it and just want to go with the day’s flow until you clock out of work. But in spite of this, we have to be firm in applying purpose, prayer, and planning daily (the last one on workdays) for optimum productivity in the workplace.

Persistence in Purpose. You can have good grasp of your purpose, but like having a compass without using it, you can end up taking the longer route to your destination. You have to keep going back to it in the daily grind of things, and when making decisions—from what to say yes or no to, to which path to take when faced with life-altering decisions.

Persistence in Prayer. There will be days when you won’t feel like praying, when you feel like your prayers just hit the ceiling and bounce back at you. Pray anyway. The power of prayer is not hinged on whether you feel it’s powerful or not. The bible doesn’t say, “pray when you feel like praying”—it says, “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

Don’t pray when you feel like it.
Have an appointment with the Lord and keep it.
A man is powerful on his knees.
Corrie Ten Boom

Persistence in Planning. You can write your to-do’s on that planner or that digital tool, but if you don’t go back to it throughout the day, it’s of no use. Writing down you plans won’t bring you to your plans. The bible doesn’t say, “plans lead to abundance,” but it says, “The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance…” (Proverbs 21:5). There has to be a plan after the goal. There has to be action after the plan, and we have to be persistent, to be diligent, in following through and taking action.

Persistence in Persisting. I think you get the point. There is no shortcut to productivity and to success without hard work. Farmers sow, and they reap what they sow. There is waiting in between sowing and reaping, but farmers don’t just sow and forget. They keep tending their crops every single day.

Any time now! 38 weeks+ and counting. Yesterday’s ultrasound showed everything’s A-okay! He’s no longer high-lying, but he still has some going down to go! Please continue to pray for painless, normal delivery (will try VBAC). Your prayers mean so much! See you soon, our dear Chadric Noah!