2025 Week 37 Plan


It's 3:18 PM on Saturday as I begin to write my way through this Week 37 Plan. My brother and his wife have returned to Kentucky, my mom has minor surgery coming up on Monday morning that will take us both to the hospital for a while, and it's been raining here today, so I am in a rainy balcony lo-fi kind of mood. It's not Gregorian chant and this has me thinking that maybe I am not cut out to become a Catholic hermit. Is Jesus chill with lo-fi vibes? Alright, I just switched over to Rainy Day Relaxing Christian Lofi music | Chill Christian Lofi. Maybe it's okay for contemporary Christian hermits to have their lo-fi musical moments. It's a question for spiritual direction down the road. 

Here, again, are the seven steps of my weekly planning process as they currently stand:

  • Step 1: Evaluate the Past Seven Days (Review My Weekly Plan, Give the Week a Binary Evaluation, Summarize at Least One Key Takeaway)
  • Step 2: Review Mission (Blog Title) and Vision (Blog Description)
  • Step 3: Review Areas of Responsibility (Blog Pages)
  • Step 4: Review Project List and Add or Retire Active Projects (Blog Labels)
  • Step 5: Confirm Assignment of Quadrant II Work on Each Project to Productivity Theme Days (Blog Pages)
  • Step 6: Confirm Hard Appointments for the Week, Month and Quarter Underway (Microsoft Outlook Calendar)
  • Step 7: Update Next Actions List as Time Allows (Microsoft Outlook To Do)  
 
(Well, "down the road" has arrived. I just got up from my desk for a quick chore and now, having returned, I am too absorbed in the silence to put my headphones back on. When I eventually do, it will probably be with some Gregorian chant. Or maybe it will be the LORD'S PRAYER in ARAMAIC CHANT).

Week 36 was another positive mental health recovery week, on balance. But maybe this self-assessment is too disengaged from the world. Was this a positive mental health recovery week for Israel? For Gaza? For the Republicans and the Democrats back here in America? What about the Greens and Independents? Can I make progress with my mental health if New York, the United States and the United Nations do not simultaneously make progress in peace, human rights, and sustainable development? Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh taught very deeply about the interdependence between inner peace and outer peace.  

It's pretty clear to me that I am still going through periods in each week when I am pessimistic about the fallen nature of humanity and fatalistic about the future of the United Nations. At other times, I am optimistic about human progress in harmony with God's design. Maybe these are natural ups and downs on the path of Christian religious formation. 

I am learning how to get slightly more expert in my use of Microsoft To Do for recurrent task management, enough so that I don't think I will need a separate habit tracker for my recurring next actions.

I am still comfortable with my mission (Discerning a Christian Vegan Eremitic Vocation with a Psychiatric Disability) and my low-key vision (A Detailed Journal. Published 1-3x Daily at Peak Flow. Thanks for Your Visit. God Bless.) However, I must confess to imagining a change some ten years in the future - if I am successful - along the following lines:

The Discerning Hermit 

How God and Science Healed My Psychiatric Disability and Gave Me a Fulfilling Encore Career as a Christian Vegan Hermit, Blogger and Spiritual Director. A Detailed Journal. Published 1-3x Daily at Peak Flow. Thanks for Your Visit. God Bless. 

I am also still comfortable with my seven Areas of Responsibility:

  • Time Management | Center | Saturday
  • Healthcare Patient | Midheaven | Wednesday
  • Family Support | Imum Coeli | Friday
  • Spiritual Direction | East | Sunday and Thursday
  • Political Theology | West | Monday
  • Hermit Economics | North | Tuesday
  • Music of the Spheres | South | Evenings

Here is an updated list of my active projects:

  1. Office Organization
  2. Weekly Planning
  3. Medication Management (Daily)
  4. Personal Hygiene (Daily)
  5. Physical Exercise (Daily)
  6. Plant-Based Nutrition (Daily)
  7. Sleep Hygiene (Daily)
  8. Healthcare Appointments
  9. Medical Records
  10. Mom Caresharing (Daily)
  11. Sibling Support
  12. Dad's Legacy
  13. Family Tree
  14. Letters to Future Generations
  15. Consultation with Mentors
  16. Daily Prayer (Daily)
  17. Religious Reading
  18. Sunday Morning Worship
  19. Inquiry and Catechumenate
  20. Christian Zionism
  21. UN Charter Navigation
  22. Net Zero Hermitage
  23. Basic Income Management
  24. Vegan Wardrobe
  25. Green Transportation
  26. Christian Astronomy
  27. Christian Astrology
  28. Psalter and Psalmody
  29. Thoughts on Music 

Step 5 of my current system is to confirm my soft calendar appointment of Quadrant II project work in each Area of Responsibility to productivity theme days and blocks. Everything is good here, as long as I remember that these are loose calendar appointments, not rigid commitments.
 
Step 6 of my system is to confirm all of my hard appointments (appointments that I actually write in my calendar) for the upcoming week, month, and quarter. Done.

The final step of my weekly planning system is management of my next action list in Microsoft To Do. This week, I am going to try a slightly new approach. Instead of front-loading next actions for every project, I will start each morning fresh with 11 recurring tasks and only then post any additional priorities for the day.

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