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I asked the plumber, “So do you think it will fix itself or do you need to do something?” Stupid question. He responded, “Well, I’ve never seen anything fix itself.” “Right,” I responded quietly. Similarly, the life you want will not happen by accident. It requires your intelligence, effort, and control. I’ve found the principle begin with the end in mind to be very helpful.

I first came across the rule begin with the end in mind while in college when I read Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. I read his book twice during the summer break and then created a detailed outline. It is one of my favorites and I implement something from his book everyday.

I’ve tested this habit over the past years in school, work, personal development, and other spheres of life. The main idea is that we create all things twice. We create it first in our heads and then in reality.

Without this envisioning of the life we want and planning to get there, life will happen by accident. And a life lived by accident will rarely produce what you want—sometimes it will—but often not. Remember the plumber, “I’ve never seen anything fix itself.”

So here are a few things to consider for incorporating this habit into your routine to make sure your headed where you want to go.

Begin with the End in Mind for Each Area of Life

No one cares about you more than you so it is important that you determine how you want to live in each area of your life. Covey lists the areas as mental, physical, spiritual, and social/emotional. These can be broken down into more basic areas like: marriage, friendships, knowledge, finances, professional, hobbies, etc. Michael Hyatt proposes six life buckets in this order: God, self, family, work, church, and everything else.

If you don’t take responsibility for each area of life, then they will happen by accident. This leaves your fulfillment and happiness to chance. It fosters an imbalanced life which affects those areas you care most about. Neglecting your health can affect your mental clarity at work and your energy levels at home.

So it’s important to begin with the end in mind for each area of life.

Here are some action items:

• Jot down into categories your areas of life.
• Think about where you want to be in each area, where you are now, and the next steps or habits needed to move you closer to the end you desire.

Consider and Remember Your Why When You Begin with the End in Mind

Once you’ve clarified the outcome in a specific area of life or for a specific project, consider why you want that outcome. Does it sound compelling to you? The “why” of your goal or outcome will determine the energy you have and the effort you make in reaching that end.

Simon Sinek has helpfully clarified that it is your why which will inspire you to move forward. While his idea is more oriented toward organizational leadership, the principle is transferable toward self-leadership.

The more compelling your why and the more you remember it, the more compelling your results may be.

Tailor Your Planning Time According to the Goal

It may take you an hour or two to envision where you want to be financially in 18 months. However, it may take only 10 minutes to brainstorm your desired outcome for your hour-long meeting at work tomorrow.

If you really want to take this habit serious and put it into practice, then make sure you’ve allotted enough the time you need to achieve a clear picture of the outcome.

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I practice this habit for about 10 minutes at work and 5 minutes at home each day. I start my time at work reviewing my priorities, how I want to do them, and what the end product should be. At the end of each day, I record what I’ve done and create a simple project and priority list for the next day which is what I will review as soon as I come in. I’m not perfectly consistent with this. But when I am, I do better work and it motivates me to make even more progress.

At home, I have a simple priority note pad. I limit the unchecked projects/tasks to about 5–7. I review it once in the morning before I go to work and on the weekends. When I’m lazy, my projects are vague and I haven’t clarified exactly what I want do, how I want to do it, and the outcome I want.

For bigger goals, I use time-blocks on the weekend to brainstorm, clarify the end goal, delineate a strategy, and focus on the next steps. The authors of The One Thing have great resources for reaching your goal once you’ve clarified the end.

The size and time-length of your goal determines your vision process and planning.

Simply Begin

This one is simple. Start this habit today.

Most of the time, we will not practice it perfectly. But to at least begin is better than not doing it at all. The more I’ve integrated it into my routine, the clearer direction I have for knowing which way I need to go.

What’s so helpful with this life habit is that you can determine whether you’re headed the right way or whether the project is on the right path—and then make any corrective action if you see that something is wrong. You have the ability to change. You can change according to the design you want rather than someone or something else’s pressure.

Remember the plumber’s principle: nothing fixes itself—and, by extension, a life lived on accident will not produce the life you really want. Begin with the end in mind and head the right way.

If this was helpful, you may find this article to be helpful as well.

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For the first two decades of my life, Christianity seemed irrelevant and impractical. I went to church off-and-on until I turned sixteen. I didn’t care to go because it thrusted me into a different world from the one I knew. The preachers bored both the old and the young. I never heard a sermon with the message Christianity is relevant for your daily routine and here’s how.

Then I became a Christian around age eighteen…and this didn’t change. Christianity gave me insight into life after death, but I received no perspective for living well before I die. I learned only to be “holy.” I thought we existed to avoid hell and helps others do the same.

Then everything changed.

I realized I missed out on a very important aspect of Christianity which no one seemed familiar with. Below I share a bit of what I’ve learned on why Christianity is relevant for your daily routine.

Christianity is relevant for your daily routine because it teaches what is valuable

We spend our time each day according to what we value. Your schedule reflects your priorities. Even if you don’t like an aspect of your routine, you do it because of the benefits it brings. If you don’t like work, you still go because of what it can give—money, etc.

On a sober note, you use your time whether or not you feel like using it—the clock is constantly ticking and you can’t stop getting older. But merely using your time doesn’t mean you’re using it on the right things—ever felt like you’ve wasted time? There is an intrinsic awareness that our time is valuable and we shouldn’t waste it.

According to Christianity, you are extremely important to God. And this means that your time is incredibly important. Your time is worth too much to be wasted on valuing things that aren’t actually valuable. For example, the American philosopher and pastor, Jonathan Edwards (1703–1758), wrote an entire sermon on the preciousness of time. And that is because the first Christian theologian, Paul, said, “Therefore, consider carefully how you live, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of the time because the days are evil.”

Since you are valuable, your time is valuable. So it is important that you don’t waste your time by valuing what isn’t important. And Christianity can teach you what is important and help you make the most of each day.

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According to Christianity, one very valuable part of life—and your daily routine—is people. A 75 year-long study by Harvard confirms what Christianity has propounded for almost two thousand years. The Harvard study and Christianity teach that a fulfilled life comes through deep and meaningful relationships.

Christianity teaches us what people are like, how God views people, why we exist, and the best way to interact so we can experience a kind of satisfaction only received from connecting with others.

Of course many days are ruined from bad spats. But isolating yourself can equally ruin your day by robbing you of quality time with others.

Christianity is able to improve your daily routine by improving your ability to connect with others. Paul Tripp is helpful for brief explanations as to how.

Christianity is relevant for your daily routine because it gives the best framework for interpreting your experience

I’m not saying Christianity solves all of our deepest confusions about life. But it provides the best framework for interpreting the world in which we live. It explains how the same husband who says, “I love you,” and showers his wife with flowers can also scream, “I hate you,” and leave her with a bruised cheek. Human nature has an incredible capacity for good, but it is also corrupted and in need of restoration.

We can show the most beautiful display of goodness as well as an equally horrific display of badness. No one is all bad nor all good. Everyone has a mixture of both. According to Christianity, the only way to subdue or overcome the bad nature inside of us is through a relationship with Jesus Christ who changes people from the inside out.

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Furthermore, Christianity imports meaning into the mundane aspects of life—God created us to live in the world. God created us to make our home here—to engage with others, to work, to build, to serve, to give, to eat, to create, to communicate, and to play. Such is the stuff of life for which God made us. But there is also the perennial feeling that this world is not as it should be. This is why you sometimes feel bored, separate from others, lie to avoid conflict, hate your job, and have to flee from hurricanes. The feeling exists because it’s true.

The word “gospel” means good news. Integral to the good news of Christianity is that the world will not always be as it is—God will remake it to exist as it should.

 Christianity is relevant for your daily routine because it informs you of your own identity

You don’t have to spend your days trying to figure out who you are. Nor do you have to be someone you aren’t. It’s that simple. Christianity offers you answers to basic questions of life like, “Who am I? Where am I? Why do I exist? Where am I going?” along with others.

Many of us are taught to pursue goals to become something we aren’t sure we even want to become. We grow up embracing cultural assumptions regarding money, power, sex, status, and education because it’s just normal. While none of these aspects of life are inherently bad in-and-of themselves, they do not hold the true purpose for which we were made and, therefore, cannot give us the ultimate fulfillment we seek.

As an example, Brian Head Welch, the former singer of Korn, had all his dreams even surpassed, but didn’t find the kind of contentment he longed to experience.

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Christianity has the ability to prevent you from wasting time searching for what you want in places you can’t find it. And that involves the habits, routines, and rituals you practice each day.

Christianity is relevant for your daily routine because it reveals the God who created the universe

This is controversial and you may not like it…but here you go: you can’t find your true identity and why you were made by your own knowledge, will-power, and skills. Someone has to tell you. According to Christianity, the power that made the universe is a personable, knowable god who has supremely revealed himself in the life and teachings of a Jew who lived in the first century: Jesus of Nazareth.

Christianity teaches that God is in control of the world. He is involved with it and he cares about you and me who live in it. Jesus taught this and displayed it through his care for others. His followers preserved and expounded upon his message in what we call the New Testament—containing 27 writings.

* * *

Christianity is relevant for your daily routine because you don’t have to search for who you are. You can actually be who you are. You don’t have to search for what makes life work or what makes life worth living. It helps you engage with both the good and the bad, the fun and the boring, the difficult and the easy.

If this was helpful, you may find this article to be helpful as well.