When you are trying to actively engage in more than one major life mission, it is important to have markers in your life that remind you of the importance and priority of each mission.  By markers, I mean regular mental or physical things that reset your focus and allow you to approach each life priority with burning passion.  You want to be as passionate about your vocation as you are about your avocational mission as you are about the others parts of my life.

In Judaism, the faithful hang mezuzahs on their doorposts.  A mezuzah is s a little box that contains the words of their most sacred Scripture.  They look at it every time they leave their home and it is a physical reminder of their identity as Jews and the core teaching of their faith.

In the daily patterns of juggling more than one major life commitment, it is easy to settle into an unmotivated rhythm or duty.  While duty is honorable and to be commended, it is much more fun to get regularly reconnected to the reason for your labor and to live from passion.  We need our own mezuzahs to keep our head in the game.

If you don’t have your reasons written down, do that first.

This is a precursor to being reminded of your mission – identifying your mission.  Make it simple.  Grab a journal and write out as simply as you can the reasons why you do each thing that you do.  Here are a few examples:

• Area of Focus #1: Work.  I work so that I can engage with a diversity of people, so that I can feed my family, and so that my need for income is not a burden on my church.
• Area of Focus #2: Church.  I minister to others because the Gospel of Jesus Christ changes the world and brings eternal hope to all who believe in it.
• Area of Focus #3: Family.  I intentionally invest in my family because I cherish them, I need them to share my mission, and I have no greater desire than to see them flourish under my sacrificial leadership.

In my case, I have 10 areas of focus and I have about a page of narrative in my journal (or my Evernote note, actually) that records why this area of focus is important to me.  My areas are Personal Health, Personal Growth, Personal Heart, Marriage, Children, Friends, Career, Ministry, Household, and Finances.

Now, onto a few ways you can remind yourself to reconnect.  Here are a few practical mezuzahs for your mission:

Mezuzah #1. Review your journal weekly.

Many greater men than me recommend a weekly review time for several parts of their productivity system.  As part of my weekly review, I re-read my mission priorities from my journal.  This gives me an opportunity to tweak the vision a little each week, to set some action items on my upcoming week’s calendar to further the mission, and to celebrate the past week’s progress.

Mezuzah #2. Make time to deeply engage in one thing.

The problem with splitting the majority of our attention at least 3 ways (Career, Mission, Family) is that we are shifting focus so often that we can’t fully celebrate any single part.  I recommending making some time, even a day a month or a weekend a year, where you can solely focus on one part of your life.  For me, this means taking PTO from my day job periodically so that I can spend a whole day with my family or a whole day with my church work.  It sometimes means doing no church work or no family work for a day or two so that I can deeply engage in a project at work.  So, give yourself a pass – it is ok to focus on one thing, even as you manage many things.

Mezuzah #3.  Make time to deeply rest from all things.

Yes, I’m talking about making time to do whatever charges you up.  For me, it is working in my woodshop, sailing, taking naps, etc..  They are not just ‘nice things to do’, they are essential.  Without rest, there is no endurance.

I’m writing this blog entry from a Pastor’s conference (www.t4g.org).  It is the first conference I have been to in many years, but I am getting charged up in so many ways for my Mission, because I am being reminded of its importance, and refreshed from the grind of doing 3 jobs at once.  This is a convergence of all three of the above practices.  I’m being reminded of my mission by the speakers, I’m focusing on one part of life by taking PTO from my day job to be here, and I’m deeply resting from my to-do lists which are back home. 

It is bliss.

Now it is your turn.  What mezuzah’s do you have in your life that keep you motivated for your mission?