5 Steps To Praying More in 2018

December 31, 2017 Mike StPierre

So you want to pray more in 2018?

Just like those that want to exercise more or save more money in the New Year, there are a lot of us who also want to be more prayerful. The catch, and there’s always a catch, is that it’s easier said than done.

A desire needs a bit more to become a reality.

Still, a seed of desire is a good starting point to a more prayerful “you” in 2018. St. Therese calls prayer a “surge of the heart”- that sure sounds like desire-language to me! If you have a desire to pray more, that’s fantastic so let’s explore it further.

Once you have the inclination to be more prayerful, what do you do about it? I suggest a couple of things to get you going:

Pick an app. As you can see from my Productivity Awards list, I recommend either Magnificat or Give Us This Day. If you’d prefer a free option, go with Laudate.
Decide on a time of day. For most of us, mornings are the best time of day to pray. There’s just less resistance in the morning and it also feels great to start your day with some personal time with God.
Decide on your location. This isn’t a fancy step but still an important one. Will you pray at the kitchen table or in a chapel at church? Will you find a comfortable chair in your living room that looks out on your backyard? Where in your life can you find a quiet spot to be with God every day at a particular time? For me, it’s typically in a chair in my living room, listening to the birds begin their day just outside.
Decide on your ritual or practice. You know when you go to church and the service (or Mass for us Catholics!) begins the same way every single week? Those repeated signs trigger your mind and heart into a different point of focus, i.e. “this is prayer time”. You can do this at home by lighting a candle, making the sign of the cross or saying the same thing each time you start. I like to begin with “O God come to my assistance, Lord make haste to help me” which I’ve borrowed from the Liturgy of the Hours. Find what works for you and then use it each and every time you pray.
Revisit your journal. A journal is a great place to “ponder” things. Writing makes you more reflective, more grateful and can improve your intimacy with God. Just let it flow- don’t try to impress anyone or be perfect. The point is to talk to God through your writing (or typing via an app) and “turn over” your heart a few times.

These are five simple tips for a more prayerful you in the New Year. I can’t wait to hear of your success stories!

The Productivity Awards 2017

December 23, 2017 Mike StPierre

I decided to do the TPA awards for a second year after the positive response from last year’s awards. A few disclaimers are helpful: I’ve tested each and every app in the list. Second, if I’m an affiliate for an app, I indicate that in the award.

One new feature in this year’s awards is the inclusion of a “Best Prayer App”. Since prayer can make you a more productive person, why not highlight two apps for you to try in 2018? Ok on to this year’s awards!

Best All Around Todo App: Tick Tick

TickTick is this year’s best all around todo application, mainly due to its versatility and customization. It offers Smartlists, Themes, Natural Language and so much more. It even has a Pomodoro timer for tasks if you want to track your work. Want to use Touch ID to protect your projects? You can do that too. TickTick will even give you a weekly achievement score and visual “map” of your most productive day. You won’t be disappointed with TickTick.

Runner up: Todoist

Todoist is a phenomenal app. Sure, it’s due for a UI refresh but if you are looking for productivity app that can be customized to suit your needs, Todoist can handle anything. The natural language input is the best in the business and its various color themes take your personalization to another level.

Best GTD-Specific App: Things3

Things3 from Cultured Code has its limitations and that’s by design. It still isn’t my favorite app for file attachments and you can’t use Things3 to collaborate with peers. But, the 3rd version of Things did not disappoint in 2017 for its stunning visual design and a “less is more” approach to productivity. It’s the one app that is actually fun to use when you are trying to get things done. If you don’t require deep natural language input or collaboration, Things3 will make you enjoy using a todo app like never before.

Runner up: OmniFocus

Not including OF in this year’s list would be like omitting a Mercedes from a list of luxury cars. While its UI is ready for a refresh, OF is so powerful as a GTD-related app that it can equip you with various customized perspectives. These allow you to work how you want to work, teasing out the projects or tasks that you need when you want them.

Best Project Management App: Nozbe

While Nozbe is also due for a UI refresh, it still gets our top slot for project management. Besides the fact that Nozbe is 100% cross-platform and the company can’t be beat in terms of its customer service, the collaboration features are what make Nozbe stand out from other apps. Whether you need to share files or delegate tasks, Nozbe is our favorite project management app. (Disclosure: I am a Nozbe Ambassador and an affiliate for Nozbe.)

Runner up: Asana

Asana continues to get a head of steam as a favorite project management app for both individuals and organizations. While the barrier of entry is somewhat high, Asana allows teams to share documents, chat and organize their projects into “tiles” which makes work more fun.

Best Productivity Podcast: The Productivity Show by Asian Efficiency

The Productivity Show got a reboot in 2017 and the results paid off. Featuring various guests, including some from their “Productivity Dojo”, TPS comes out each week in order to help you be more productive and apply tactical strategies to daily life. The shows gives you a “deep dive” into topics related to productivity.

Runner up: The Accidental Creative by Todd Henry

Todd’s podcast is an extension of his best-selling books on creativity and work. The Accidental Creative Podcast is bolstered by its brevity and Todd’s practical advice for working smarter with your colleagues.

Best Productivity YouTube Channel: Keep Productive with Francesco D’Alessio

You’ll get tired just trying to keep up with Francesco as he reviews multiple apps per week. How he finds time to manage a day job is mind-boggling but his output of high-quality videos is what puts him in this year’s top slot. Besides his affable tenor and creative app comparison videos (i.e. Todoist vs. TickTick), Francesco is like an online coach, walking you through different apps without showing a bias.

Runner up: The Working With Channel with Carl Pullein

Carl’s channel started as a way of sharing his love for Todoist. Since then, it’s exploded into a full-on productivity channel with multiple videos per week. Carl’s branding has expanded into multiple “Working With...” verticals (with apps, with work, etc.) and he’s a delight to watch. Coming across as a fellow practitioner rather than a lecturer, Carl really wants to help people get more out of their everyday lives.

Best Prayer App: Give Us This Day

New to the Productivity Awards this year is the top app for daily prayer. We give this year’s top spot to Give Us This Day. Give Us not only provides you with the daily Bible & Mass readings but its interface is playful and easy to use. You’ll find yourself wanting to use it more just as a result of the UI as tabs expand and “fold” down as you click on them.

Runner up: Magnificat

Magnificat is a wonderful app for following along with the daily Bible and Mass readings and offers a daily meditation and feature on the saints. If you enjoy the Liturgy of the Hours, you won’t be disappointed in Magnificat.

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Want more help with technology and prayer? Click here to get Mike’s free PDF “5 Ways That Noise Wreaks Havok on Your Prayer Life”.

A New Definition of Silence

December 17, 2017 Mike StPierre

Silence is hard to find. It’s either the noise in our head, the noise through our technology or the noise via our hectic schedules.

Some would say that silence is actually impossible since the absence of noise might be impossible except for a few remote spots on planet Earth.

If that’s the case, then how might we define silence in a prayerful way? I describe it the following way, “the intentional and uninterrupted state that you choose in order to be mindful of the presence of God.”

Let’s break it down further:

-intentional: in other words, you choose it. You take a few moments to be quiet and still. This can be anywhere and anytime but it’s always deliberate. Sometimes a quiet space chooses you. You are going for a hike and the vista nearly arrests you. It takes your breath away.

-uninterrupted: in other words, there is focus. This can be for only a moment but it’s a silence that captures your heart and your mind. In this way, the silence isn’t forever but for a distinct period of time... and then it ends. Its ending is either the result of your choice or the noise from outside that breaks the silence.

-mindful of the presence of God: in other words, the silence brings you into deeper awareness of God’s presence. You become grateful for something- grateful to God. You gain a new insight- an insight from God. You process your heart and your thoughts- all so that you can be drawn further into relationship with God.

If silence is found in this way, through an intentional pause from the noise of the world, it can be discovered in ordinary moments. As you go through your week, where will you choose to find silence and how will God use it to bring you closer to Him?

You Want Quiet But All You Hear is Noise

November 22, 2017 Mike StPierre

The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas in the United States is very, very hectic. I appreciate Joshua Becker’s recent post on doing holiday traditions that you want to do rather than feel that you need to do.

Still, even with an “on my own terms” mindset to the holidays, you can feel overwhelmed. I know that I do.

The spillover of course is that when you go to pray, your mind is still racing...

Is the gift for Aunt Helen the right gift?
When is that holiday party?
Did we get the tickets for Breakfast with Santa? (An event I despise by the way but that’s another story.)

The list goes on and on. A seasoned person of prayer knows how to gently hit “pause” in his head when these thoughts barge in. A person with a young prayer life will be pulled in a thousand different directions when these thoughts come in. Whether you are new at prayer or are steeped in holiness, silence and quiet are very important.

St. John of the Cross said this, "What we need most in order to make progress is to be silent before this great God with our appetite and with our tongue, for the language he best hears is silent love."

I suggest, when the racing thoughts approach, that you do one of two things:

Say to yourself, “I’m going to let that one go...” and truly let it go.
Write it down. If it’s really important, write it down or capture it in your task manager. This way, you can then go back to prayer and have the confidence of knowing that you can revisit the item later.

Prayer is an art and takes practice. With these two strategies, you’ll be able to handle the distractions that come your way.

The One Todo List That Will Actually Help You Pray

November 19, 2017 Mike StPierre

I had a nagging feeling. It would come back several times a week and pester me, reminding me of various things that I had forgotten to do. Each time, I would jot something down on a notepad and then schedule some time to do it.

Then, I decided that I was tired of the nagging.

I remembered a trick that I had heard of years before. The waiting for list. I made one for work and another for home.

In the waiting for list I've added things like:

Remind Cary to fill out the application form
Hear back from the high school re: the recommendation
My parents to get me their arrival flight information

Besides getting rid of the nagging thoughts in my head, I've found the waiting for list to be helpful in prayer. By putting various things on the list, my head is more clear and I'm worrying less.

“We do not want to be beginners. But let us be convinced of the fact that we will never be anything else but beginners, all our life!”

— Thomas Merton

When your head is clear, you're less distracted when you go to pray. This is the perfect intersection of prayer and productivity.

What's on your waiting for list?

What to do When Your Prayer Life Falls Apart

November 18, 2017 Mike StPierre

If you’re reading this, you have some affinity to prayer. Either out of curiosity or a desire to be a better practitioner, each of us has some sense of “praying well”.

Unfortunately, praying well isn’t as easy as we might like it to be. This may be due to inconsistency or a lack of confidence or an inability to focus. Whatever the case, we want progress and if you’re an American, you want fast progress that you can measure.

But, as 14th century mystic Meister Eckhart indicated, much of the spiritual life is about subtraction, not addition and certainly not measurement. Our efforts can fall flat when we don’t “see” progress. ‘

As Eckhart says, “God expects but one thing of you, and that is that you should come out of yourself in so far as you are a created being made and let God be God in you.” At first glance, this can sound like the stuff of fluffy spirituality, sort of like a “let God be God” approach to life.

But look deeper at the quote.

Prayer, as a means to an end, is just that- a lever through which a relationship can grow. Our relationship with God uses prayer as a means of communication and intimacy. When our prayer life falls apart, we can fear that our relationship with God is faltering as well.

I can relate to this through a recent personal story.

As I am the early riser in our family, morning dog care has become my responsibility. While I don’t mind the chore, it has wreaked havoc on my morning routine. Instead of coffee, a Bible and a journal for 30 minutes, I’m taking out the dog, feeding him and then making sure he doesn’t have an accident. It’s an odd process- feed, wait, watch, wait some more. This doesn’t make for a calming morning routine.

Lessons learned

First, a settling reassurance from God that this “season” won’t last forever. Having had Ace (our puppy) for a month, I can see that the strong foundation of prayer which existed before Ace has propelled me through this time of regrounding a morning routine. Quite amazingly, I haven’t gotten discouraged and have found other times during the day in which to pray. Not ideal but better than nothing.

Second, and this is thanks to some wise counsel from my spiritual director, I’ve been able to reframe my morning routine into a prayerful experience. This is the funny part of the story. I am what you might call “kitchen challenged” but thankfully, I married a woman who is a wonderful cook.

Over the years, my attempts at cooking dinner (or any other meal for that matter) have been greeted by polite tolerance from my children. Still, I dabble occasionally and keep trying to improve.

In the month since we’ve had Ace, I discovered a chunk of time in the morning (30 minutes) which used to be reserved for morning prayer. As the adorable and demanding puppy has now claimed that time slot, I wondered if I could use the rest of the 30 minutes for something else.

Why not make a hot breakfast for everyone?

The first thought of this was hilarious. Remember, I can’t really cook that well. But, when people are tired, they will eat almost anything. So, without fear, I ventured into the kitchen and decided to re-use what had been my morning routine into cooking.

The results have been decent and on some days, rather wonderful.

Blueberry muffins.
Bacon.
Pancakes.
Cranberry muffins.
Sugar cookies.

After a week, the kids are now asking what the next morning breakfast will entail. It’s become a game of sorts.

Another discovery from this is the awareness that I might be able to use this time of cooking as a time of praying. To be fair, when you are busy in the kitchen you are typically stirring, measuring and paying attention to your ingredients. But, with some intentionality, you can (as I have) turn this simple act of cooking into a pure act of praying.

Here's how it works

Here’s how it works: first I put out the ingredients, then I put on my Dad Apron, then I make the sign of the cross and ask God to turn my cooking into praying, then I go to work. The final product, even if imperfect, is something wonderful.

I won’t go so far as to say that “God and I cooked this for you” but you get the point.

What I’ve learned is that yes, there are times in your life when your prayer life really falls apart. This will happen to each of us at some point. If it hasn’t yet hit you, I dare say “get ready”. When a mom has a baby, things get crazy. When you get into a car crash and have to recover, things get crazy. When you are traveling or on vacation, things can get crazy.

If you can let God turn the crazy into something new and different, you'll be ok.

By taking the long view and then reframing how I thought of prayer, things have now settled and I’m finding new rhythms for prayer. New spaces are opening up in my day that I didn’t see before. God is being God in me and I’m learning, once again, to graciously get out of His way.

And of course four children plus a puppy are getting to enjoy fresh muffins each morning.

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