Episode 26: A Guide to Seasonal Planning (and Why It’s the Most Important Planning You Do!)
Do you want to be more intentional to maximize the season you’re in, but not sure where to start? Then, this post is for you! Today I’m sharing how to do seasonal planning so you can achieve goals and actually do the things most important to you no matter what season of life you’re in!
Today I have a special treat.
- You can either listen to the podcast telling all about seasonal planning, or
- You can read the blog post below sharing exactly how to do seasonal planning as the most important planning you do all year.
I don’t always offer the same content in both of these ways, but I felt this was too important of a topic to not hit both mediums of communication.
If you want to listen to today’s content via podcast, then click the play button below to listen:
Quick Links from the Episode:
- 2022 Made to Give Life Planner is On Sale Now!
- Seasonal Planning Checklist (scroll to the bottom of this post)
- Seasonal Meal Planning
- Fall Meal Planning Inspiration (and free printable)
- Monthly Intentional Living Checklists
Read the Post
One of the hardest parts of being a Christian is remaining faithful.
Day-in and day-out, needs pummel us from every side, and too often, we’ve barely closed the Bible from our morning reading time before trouble chases us down.
The daily grind of life, even the best parts of it, can wear on you, and you can grow weary of the rinse and repeat of the every day.
As women, we were made to give life.
We were not made for chaos, exhaustion, or worry.
We were not made to carry the weight of the world on our shoulders.
We were not made to do all the things, all the time, in every season.
Seasons are a part of life.
And God designed it to be just so back at the very beginning of creation.
After God commanded the earth to spring forth vegetation, on the fourth day,
“God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so.
-Genesis 1:14-15
Let them be for signs and seasons.
Spring is for cleaning and airing out our souls, breathing new life into our days, refreshing and planting new seeds, toiling and tilling in anticipation of the harvest to come.
Summer is for vacationing and fun, for living life to the hilt to be sure, but it’s also for working the soil of our hearts, while allowing space for lazy afternoons as the sun heats all the earth with its sweltering gaze.
Fall is for cozying up with the ones you love, bringing in the harvest of the seasons gone by, and preparing our hearts for the dead of winter when our souls rest and cease its endless toiling.
Then there is winter – the hardest months of the year as we stop striving, and tuck deep into the extra hours of study and contemplation while inviting the early nights of more sleep and less play. This is a hard season for our productivity-driven society.
Isn’t it wonderfully, magnificent that God gave us seasons? Not just seasons of the earth, but seasons of our lives.
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.”
-Ecclesiastes 3:1
Seasons come and seasons go.
Seasons are not forever.
The New American Standard Bible translates Ecclesiastes 3:1 as, “There is an appointed time for everything.”
I love the word appointed because it indicates something, or someone, assigning or predetermining the seasons of life we find ourselves in.
And that someone is God!
In each season there is an ordained purpose for that season and it is our job to seek Him for that purpose.
Just as in creation, we don’t expect flowers in winter, we shouldn’t expect each season of our lives to produce that which is meant for another season.
If you’re in a season of young babies and toddlers, you can’t expect the harvest of mothering adult children.
If you’re in the season of just beginning your walk with the Lord, only just discovering the living word of God, you can’t expect the harvest of knowing God’s word like a woman who has saturated her life in the word for 20, 30, 50 years.
What season are you in right now?
Do you know?
Knowing your season, and then leaning in with your full weight into that season with purposeful and intentional plans, is how you can breathe life into your family, your church, and your community.
It’s how you live as God created you live – as a life-giver.
It is how you remain faithful in every season of your life.
And this is where seasonal planning comes in.
What is Seasonal Planning?
Seasonal planning is the time you set aside every few months to evaluate where you’ve been and make a plan for where you want to go.
But unlike yearly goal setting, you’re focusing on just a few months at a time.
You’re zooming in on the season ahead and determining with intention how to maximize this season to its fullest potential.
In the past, I called this quarterly planning. I would do it every January, April, July, and October.
But honestly, that felt very business-y to me, and it didn’t always prove very helpful to my way of life. Plus I would forget to do it!
For me, seasonal planning fits more logically, and I don’t have to remember to do it on my own. Creation itself reminds me!
So every time the weather begins to change I know it’s time to sit down and check-in with how things are going and make intentional decisions for the days ahead.
How do I do seasonal planning?
Seasonal planning is more than just filling in birthdays and holidays, making bucket lists, and ensuring you haven’t overcommitted yourself in any one area.
Seasonal Planning also includes:
- Checking in with your spiritual life,
- Reviewing your goals, and
- Evaluating the work you’ve been doing and consider if it’s good work, right work, God-honoring work.
It’s the time you set aside to simply reflect and be with the Lord.
I know that as we go about life, we can miss the forest for the trees. In the daily grind of life, it’s really hard to see the blessings, make decisions, or see where we’ve veered off course.
This is why these check-in times are so important. When the season changes, you’re purposing to say, “I’m stopping right now to check-in with the Lord.”
Free Seasonal Planning Checklist
I have found that following a simple seasonal planning checklist will help you determine your season and make a plan to maximize your season to the fullest potential.
If you want a free copy of this seasonal planning checklist, just pop your email address into the box below. I’ll send your free checklist right over (along with other intentional living resources to help you get the most from your season).
Seasonal Planning Checklist
To do seasonal planning, follow these steps.
First, answer these questions about the previous season:
- What worked?
- What didn’t?
- What will I continue?
- What will I change?
Then, think about the season ahead by asking these questions:
- This season I think it would be fun to _________.
- This season I would like to _______.
- What tasks have I been putting off that I need to finish?
- What areas of my home do I need to declutter, refresh, rethink?
- What goals do I need to focus on in the next few months?
Next, make some resolutions by writing out:
- What I’m saying, “Yes!” to this season.
- What I’m saying, “No!” to this season.
Answering this series of questions each season will help reveal what is most important for this season.
It will help you determine what you can throw yourself into for this season, as well as determine what you’re going to put away for the time being.
Remember, we’re not meant to do all the things, all the time, in every season.
When the seasons change, it’s a good time to slow down and think about your life – where you’re at, where you want tobe. Where you’re at, and where God wants you to be.
It’s a time you set aside to just listen, to ponder, and to think.
The hardest season for anyone to be in is the season they’re in right now.
But setting time aside every few months to do some seasonal planning will ensure that you slow down enough to check-in and recalibrate any areas you’ve veered off course.
And isn’t that what we all want?
To be fully present in our lives? To know that what we’re doing right now matters?
Once you’ve taken time to evaluate what you want to focus on in this season, I recommend putting some master seasonal lists together.
I like to think of these lists as the “think once, enjoy all season long” sort of plans.
I don’t know about you, but it’s hard for me to come up with a meal plan every single day, think of something fun to do on a whim, or just keep my household running without a general idea of where we’re going.
Here are the Master Seasonal Lists I Recommend Having On Hand:
- Seasonal Meal Plan and/or Easy Seasonal Meal Ideas
- Seasonal Rhythms & Routines
- Weekly Chore Rotation
- Monthly checklists (adding anything unique to these few months that you don’t want to forget)
If you have a hard time feeling like what you’re doing matters, I’ve found that focusing on just the few months ahead helps me to make choices and choose presence in the things that matter for this season. It helps me to remain faithful to my calling.
If you want to download the free seasonal planning checklist, then pop your email address into the box below, and I’ll send it right over.
Made to Give Life Planner
If you want to make it even easier on yourself, then checkout the Made to Give Life Planner. Everything you need to think through and plan is built right into the planner’s pages.
You never have to remember to set your intentions for the season because you’ll be prompted at just the right time as you turn the pages of your planner.