Here is a report of where I spent my time and how well I progressed towards reaching my goals last month.
My 2020 Goals
Professional Goals:
97% / Double the number of members of The Religion Teacher (December 2017 to present) (+2%)
279,097/1,000,000 words for kids (A part of my #1millionwordsforkids goal) (+24,548 words)
516/600 Resources (Videos/Worksheets) for Members of The Religion Teacher (New goal!)
Personal Goals:
17/75 books read (+7 books)
25/73 Books: Read the entire Bible from beginning to end. (+3 books read)
36/100 30-minute workouts (+15 workouts)
How I Spent My Time in March 2020
I track every minute of time I spend working on projects using an app called Toggl (here is why). Here is a list of the top ten projects I spent the most time on last month:
- 29:07 – Bible Breaks Bible Stories for Kids
- 20:03 – The Religion Teacher Email & Customer Service
- 8:22 – Daily Review
- 5:51 – Weekly Review
- 5:17 – Morning Preview
- 5:15 – Accounting & Taxes
- 4:56 – The Religion Teacher Newsletter
- 4:09 – Brainstorming Stories
- 4:00 – The Religion Teacher Videos
- 3:59 – The Religion Teacher’s Saints Worksheet Collection
Total Time: 122:02
March 2020 Highlights & Lessons Learned
Coronavirus Quarantine
At the end of March the world went on lockdown to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Many friends have asked me how much as really changed for me since I work from home. The truth is not much, except that I get to spent a lot more time with my kids. We spent a lot of time together before, but now we have nothing else to do other than enjoy each other’s company. I couldn’t feel more blessed about being the father of a big family right now.
I spent a lot of time working to help religious educators during the coronavirus pandemic. I put together this page to help them share resources with parents either through email or eLearning:
Religious Education eLearning Help for Parents during the Coronavirus Pandemic
I had to research how to write about the coronavirus:
We’re also praying for help during eLearning:
Bible Breaks Bible Stories
I spent most of my creative time re-writing Bible stories for kids. I love reading the Bible. I want my kids, the kids that I teach, and children everywhere to know and love the stories in the Bible as I do. So, I set out to collect and write Bible stories in language they could understand. It is my hope that parents and educators will take “Bible Breaks” with kids to spend time reading the Word of God with them.
I launched my first book in a series of Bible story collection: Take Up Your Cross: Lenten Bible Stories for Kids.
More than 1,000 people download the book and added their names to a new Wednesday email newsletter I am calling “God’s Word Wednesday.”
Taxes, Accounting, and Estate Planning
Just a quick note here. March is tax time for me. I spent a lot of time going through financial documents and getting things prepared for our accountant to process our tax forms. It takes a lot of time, but it is helpful to know where we are at financially both as a business and family.
My wife and I also spent some time on our will and estate planning. Since my mom passed away in December of last year, we both realized how much we need to prepare for each other and our children if anything should happen to us.
Prayers for all who are suffering from this pandemic. May God get us through this swiftly and safely.
