Make Space to Thrive

By Evergreen PlannerEducation Self-Improvement

Make Space to Thrive episodes

October 19Episode 32: The Deep Work of Motherhood (Our Keynote from Risen)
✨ Find time for the Deep Work of Motherhood with the One Hundred Days Set Apart Challenge (free): https://www.evergreenplanner.com/pages/setapartchallenge
This summer we were honored to be among the keynote speakers at the Risen Homeschooling Conference in Indianapolis, gathered around the theme "Faithfulness in an Age of Distraction." This is our keynote, and we wanted to share it with you, too.
A note on the audio: because of the nature of this episode, it sounds a little different from our usual episodes. We're sure you'll still enjoy it.
In this keynote, Shelby and McCauley share…
What our mama taught us about protecting a family's time and attention, and how she did it while half blind
The mother's invisible mental load, and why every notification opens another tab in our minds
Why the modern attention economy treats a present, attentive mother as a problem to be solved
How undistracted deep planning on paper closes those tabs and gives the work of motherhood the space it deserves
Shelby's story from this summer, and what her children showed her about paying attention
The one weapon every generation of mothers has had: the Truth
Scripture mentioned
2 Peter 1:3 – God has given us "everything we need for life and godliness."
2 Corinthians 12:9 – "My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness."
Psalm 127:1 – "Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it."
John 8:32 – "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
Psalm 90:12 – "So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom."
Resources & next steps
Make space for the deep work of motherhood with the One Hundred Days Set Apart Challenge. For one hundred mornings, your Bible comes first, your planner second, and your phone last. It's free: https://www.evergreenplanner.com/pages/setapartchallenge
🌿 Find time for the Deep Work of Motherhood with the One Hundred Days Set Apart Challenge: https://www.evergreenplanner.com/pages/setapartchallenge
Thank you to Precious and the whole Risen team for having us. It was a joy to be in a room full of mamas who are paying attention.
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Web: evergreenplanner.com
Instagram: @EvergreenPlanner
YouTube: @EvergreenPlanner
Quiz: evergreenplanner.com/quiz
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SEO: Risen Homeschooling Conference | Christian homeschool conference keynote | faithfulness in an age of distraction | mental load for moms | deep planning | Christian time management | homeschool moms | attention economy | analog planning | biblical productivity
34 min
October 12Episode 31: Why Modern Time Management Was Never Built for Motherhood
✨ Overwhelmed? Knowing your productivity personality makes all the difference: https://www.evergreenplanner.com/quiz
If you've ever felt like you're just bad at time management, this episode is for you.
We start by reading the words women in our membership have used to describe how time feels to them: scattered mornings, slippery days, and the constant feeling of being behind. Then Shelby traces modern time management back to the factories where it started, and shows how that way of thinking found its way into our homes.
In this episode, Shelby and McCauley discuss…
How classical management theory grew out of the industrial revolution to make factories more productive
How the gospel of efficiency was applied to the home in the early 1900s through home economics manuals, magazines and government programs
Why motherhood, which is organic, relational, seasonal and often unpredictable, was never going to fit that measure
What a Christ-centered approach to time management looks like instead
Scripture mentioned
2 Peter 1:3 – God has given us "everything we need for life and godliness."
Hebrews 13:2 – "Some have entertained angels unawares."
Resources & next steps
Learn the Evergreen Planning Method inside the Evergreen Membership, where our Renew course walks you through six practices, layer by layer: https://www.evergreenplanner.com/pages/join

🌿 Ready to uncover enough time for everything God is calling you to do?
Join us in the Evergreen Membership: https://www.evergreenplanner.com/pages/join
If you've been blaming yourself for falling short of a standard that was never built for your life, this episode is your invitation to set that measuring stick down.
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Web: evergreenplanner.com
Instagram: @EvergreenPlanner
YouTube: @EvergreenPlanner
Quiz: evergreenplanner.com/quiz
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SEO: Christian time management | planning for homeschool moms | time management for moms | history of time management | gospel of efficiency | biblical productivity | faith-based time management | reducing overwhelm | sustainable daily rhythms | Christian productivity for moms
11 min
January 13Episode 30: Cultivating a Life-Giving Calendar with Sherrie Williams
🖨️ Download Sherrie’s free Value Filter → https://www.sherrieanne.com/cultivatevalues
✨ Join the Evergreen Entrepreneurs waitlist: https://www.evergreenplanner.com/pages/evergreen-entrepreneur
Before we dive in, you should know: this episode is really special.
It’s not just a beautiful conversation with our first official podcast guest—it’s a glimpse into how God used a breaking point behind the scenes of Evergreen Planner to reveal just how essential it is to apply Evergreen principles everywhere, including our business.
This interview was recorded during a season when things felt fragile. We’d just walked through a painful breakdown with a former contractor. Due to sheer inexperience on our part, the backend of the business we’d built in the margins of our motherhood was clunky. All of the untouched inefficiencies we’d hired the contractor to solve were draining the very margin we were teaching women to protect. I (Shelby) remember sitting down to record this conversation with a new acquaintance, holding back raw, weary tears. I had no idea how we were going to bring order out of the chaos.
God’s Providence is so astounding and kind. The woman you’re about to meet—Sherrie Williams—was His next step in answering our prayers.
At the time, she was “just” our guest: a homeschooling mama of six, a doula, and an online business manager with an uncanny ability to cultivate time with intention. I had no idea that God would later use her to bring life-giving order to our business in a way we’d never experienced before.
This conversation is about so much more than scheduling or systems. It’s about alignment. About building—whether a home, a homeschool, or a business—in a way that deeply supports what is most valuable in life instead of competing with it.
If you’ve ever felt the tug-of-war between being fully present for your family and juggling the opportunities that come your way, this episode will meet you right where you are.
In this episode, you’ll hear:
How Sherrie uses core values as a practical filter for her calendar
Why every yes costs something—and a rubric for deciding intentionally
How being careful with your “yeses” doesn’t mean pruning the unique, tiny ways God has called you to bless others
Real-life ways to stack functions so relationships, work, and homeschool support one another
Scripture mentioned
Genesis 1–2 (theme): God bringing order from chaos with beauty and intention
Genesis 2:15 (theme): Cultivating what God has entrusted to us
Resources & next steps
Sherrie’s time-cultivation resource - The Value Filter: sherrieanne.com/cultivatevalues
Productivity Personality Quiz: evergreenplanner.com/quiz
The Renew Course: Learn the Evergreen Planning Method:evergreenplanner.com
An invitation for fellow business mamas
We believe you have wildly important things to do in this world, too. Some of them may involve larger-scale operations than you yet know how to manage, working with a team, and other things that are requiring you to up-skill.
If you’re currently building a business, writing a book, or stewarding a project that requires real operations, decision-making, and sustainability—we’re creating something for you.
Very soon, we’re opening Operations Office Hours inside the Evergreen Membership, led by Sherrie Williams.
These are live, open sessions where homeschooling mamas can bring real questions from their work—capacity, rhythms, systems, seasons, decision-making—and get grounded, life-giving help applying Evergreen planning principles to the backend of what they’re building.
As we describe in this episode, Sherrie has been applying these principles to the backend of Evergreen Planner itself—bringing order, clarity, and sustainable rhythms to our operations in a way that has been deeply life-giving for our families and our team.
If you’re already part of the Evergreen Membership, these office hours are included for you.
If you’re not yet a member, you can join the waitlist for more information: https://www.evergreenplanner.com/pages/evergreen-entrepreneur
52 min
December 23, 2025Episode 29: There is STILL Enough Time for a Peaceful Christmas
✨ Overwhelmed? Knowing your productivity personality makes all the difference: https://form.typeform.com/to/X1h33hT5
✨ Feeling behind this Christmas? You won’t want to miss the encouragement in this episode.
If you’re feeling the constant tug between slowing down to worship and scrambling to “pull Christmas off,” this episode is for you. In this gentle, honest conversation, we remind weary mamas of this freeing truth: you are not the provider of Christmas—Christ already accomplished it. There is STILL enough time for peace, reverence, and real joy, even if the season hasn’t gone according to plan.
In this episode, McCauley and Shelby discuss…
Why the pressure to perform intensifies during December—and the mindset shift our hearts need to truly rest
The difference between celebrating what Christ has done and misaligned strivings
How children remember the spirit of the home, not a “Christmas success” checklist
A gentle reframe from the traditional liturgical calendar that can offer relief, margin, and worship—even in sickness, chaos, or unmet expectations
🎧 Listening Note: This episode was recorded during the annual virtual Christmas Planner Party we hosted within our Evergreen Membership! 🎄
After concluding the live podcast segment, we went on to cozy up with our hot drinks and have a lovely discussion with our Members. We were especially thankful for the wisdom on liturgical rhythms shared by our new partner, Allison Misulia, from Married and a House.
Afterwards, we all walked through a practical planning exercise for tackling any last-minute Christmas overwhelm and enjoyed a Q&A!
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Scripture mentioned
Isaiah 9:6 — “For to us a Child is born…” (Prince of Peace)
Matthew 1:23 — “They shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”
Resources & next steps
Waiting on the Word: A poem a day for Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany by Malcolm Guite
Liturgical calendar rhythms:
Advent spans November 30 - December 24
Christmas traditionally spans December 25 – January 6
The Cultivating a Peaceful Christmas Masterclass is available to our members inside the Evergreen Membership
🌿 Ready to uncover enough time for everything God is calling you to do?
Enroll in Renew January 2026, our live 6-week onboarding into the Evergreen Planning Method. This is the practical path out of endless striving and into a life-giving planning rhythm that keeps Christ at the center of your days. Our course integrates modern research in executive function with timeless Biblical principles to present a system that develops to supports you throughout any season. Our students call it “life-changing!”
Doors close on Renew January on 1/10.
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If you’re finding your spirit groaning “I just want to enjoy Him and my family without feeling behind,” this episode is your cue to lay the pressure down and let Christ carry the weight of Christmas.
Shop: evergreenplanner.com
Instagram: @EvergreenPlanner
YouTube: @EvergreenPlanner
Quiz: evergreenplanner.com/quiz
SEO: Christian time management | planning for homeschool moms | biblical productivity | sustainable daily rhythms | reducing overwhelm | setting ROOTED goals | women’s goal setting | functional planning
31 min
December 09, 2025Episode 28: Numbering Our Days: Our Story & Renew Course Overview
✨ Overwhelmed? Knowing your productivity personality makes all the difference: https://form.typeform.com/to/X1h33hT5
Time-management is, in and of itself, a SKILL that takes time to learn.
This is a long episode, but worth it if you want a full overview of our methodology (and a whole lot of practical encouragement along the way).
In the first part, we tell the origin story of Evergreen: how a 9 page to-do list, a breaking point, and Psalm 90:12 led us to ask God for wisdom in our approach to time-management—and how over the next decade He led us to see that His Word was overflowing with answers to the challenges we faced each day.
In the second part, we walk you through a full overview of the Renew course. We recorded this before our recent rebrand so the language in the course will be a little bit different here and there. But the heart and life-changing promise remains the same—there is enough time for everything God is truly calling you to do.
Note: we mentioned a video a few times in this episode but ended up changing the way this episode was released. We eventually may put something together with the photos we mentioned inside our membership!
Scripture mentioned
Psalm 90:12 – “Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”
Genesis 1:14–19 – God placing the sun, moon, and stars as markers for “signs and for seasons, and for days and years.”
2 Peter 1:3 – God giving us “everything we need for life and godliness.”
Resources & next steps
You Are A Tree by Joy Clarkson
Learn the full Evergreen Planning Method inside our six-week Renew course, where we walk you step-by-step through the exact practices we talk about in this episode.
Want to stay consistent with a life-giving daily habit? Our analog planner makes it simple to apply the Evergreen Planning Method in a screen-free, nourishing environment that anchors you in the quiet authority you’ve been given to take radical personal responsibility for the hours of your real life.
If your heart keeps whispering, “There has to be a better way…”—this episode is your invitation to stop trying to figure it all out under pressure and on the fly and start making the space you need to take dominion of the way you invest your most precious resource, time.
P.S. In this episode, we mentioned our productivity personality. You can learn yours now, free and in about a minute, at evergreenplanner.com/quiz
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Web: evergreenplanner.com
Instagram: @EvergreenPlanner
YouTube: @EvergreenPlanner
Get started with the Evergreen Planning Method by taking our quiz: https://www.evergreenplanner.com/quiz
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SEO: Christian time management tips | planning for homeschool moms | planning for family business | self-care | Reducing decision fatigue | Biblical self-care practices | Christian productivity strategies | Building daily routines | How planning reduces stress | Setting priorities with intentionality | Creating margin in your life | Faith-based time management
1 hr 2 min
May 22, 2025Episode 27: Why Planning is the Most Underrated Form of Self Care, Part 2
✨ Overwhelmed? Knowing your productivity personality makes all the difference: https://form.typeform.com/to/X1h33hT5
🗣️ Submit a question for the podcast: https://www.evergreenplanner.com/pages/podcast
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Here's the rest of Shelby and McCauley’s conversation from September about why planning is one of the most powerful, yet underrated, forms of self-care.
In this episode:
Unexpected directions your self-care will take when you use a planner
Cultivating deep seated happiness that cannot be robbed by external circumstances
How making progress on your goals actually nourishes your life
Biblical References:
Acts 16:16-40
Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
The ROOTED Goals Workbook: http://evergreenplanner.com/rooted
Season 3 of the Make Space to Thrive Podcast: https://www.evergreenplanner.com/pages/rooted#14691785
Our Wildfire Season Podcast Episode: https://youtu.be/mpkcLD2Ej6o
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Web: evergreenplanner.com
Instagram: @EvergreenPlanner
YouTube: @EvergreenPlanner
Learn the Evergreen Planning Method: https://www.evergreenplanner.com/pages/core-offer-page-membership
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SEO: Christian time management tips | planning for homeschool moms | planning for family business | self-care | Reducing decision fatigue | Biblical self-care practices | Christian productivity strategies | Building daily routines | How planning reduces stress | Setting priorities with intentionality | Creating margin in your life | Faith-based time management
39 min
May 13, 2025Episode 26: When Life Falls Apart: A Personal Update from the Evergreen Founders
✨ Overwhelmed? Knowing your productivity personality makes all the difference: https://form.typeform.com/to/X1h33hT5
🌿 Discover "enough time" with our Free Crash Course for Homeschool Mamas: evergreenplanner.com/homeschool
In this personal update, Shelby and McCauley reflect on walking through a recent “wildfire season”—a time of deep personal trial and pruning. Drawing parallels to redwood forests, they explain how literal wildfires are necessary for redwoods to thrive, clearing out competing growth and enriching the soil. In the same way, God often uses spiritual wildfire seasons to burn away what’s no longer serving His purposes in our lives—making space for something stronger and more enduring to grow.
They share how they had to lay down their business plans, rhythms, and even personal productivity systems during this season and enter into a period of deep surrender and trust in the Master Gardner.
Now, emerging into a season of rebuilding, they are using the Evergreen Planning Method not as a tool for control, but as a way to faithfully redeem the time and flex with God’s Providence. They discuss the reality that planning isn't about preventing hardship—it's about tenaciously following through on personal responsibility while remaining surrendered to the word God is doing.
The Evergreen Planning Method is designed to support women through all seasons of life—including the messy and unpredictable ones. This episode looks at the EPM from the vantage point of grabbing ahold of a Revival Season after the trials of the Wildfire.
Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
**Homeschool Mama Mini Crash Course** - Weave wonder, discipleship, and rich learning experiences into your days—without ignoring all of your other responsibilities or burning out.
The Renew Course – A 6-week deep dive for organizing your schedule and mastering a Christ-honoring approach time-management using the Evergreen Planning Method.
The Evergreen Planner – Redeem your time with this gorgeous leather-bound system.
📖 Scriptures Referenced: Romans 8:28; James 4:13-15; Psalm 90:12; Genesis 1; 2 Peter 1:3; Matthew 3:12-14; Hebrews 12:29
🤓 Nerd note from Shelby: Since recording this episode, I’ve learned that the National Park Service is now claiming that there are thousands of redwoods between 2,000-3,000 years old and a few possibly as much as 4,000 years old. Using the traditional Biblical chronology, Noah’s flood would have been in 2350 BC—about 4359 years ago. While researching for the kids’ lessons on this topic, I came across an article by the Institute for Creation Resource that connected the planting of the redwood forest to Noah’s flood. We say in this video that the redwood forests are older than all of the wonders of the world, but the National Park Service now says that earlier published ages for the redwoods were exaggerated. Even so, the groves themselves still could technically have been planted before the pyramids were built—even if the oldest original trees do not still remain.
🌿 Related Resources:
Why Make Plans When Plans Change - blog post
The Ongoing Ministry of Bringing Order Out of Chaos - blog post
Why Planning is the Most Underrated Form of Self Care, Part 1 - podcast episode
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🎧 Subscribe on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/make-space-to-thrive/id1588587854
Instagram: @EvergreenPlanner
▶️ Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/mpkcLD2Ej6o
🛒 Shop Planner: evergreenplanner.com
📚 Learn the Method: evergreenplanner.com/renew
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SEO Tags:
Evergreen Planner | wildfire season | Christian time management tips | Biblical time stewardship | Planning with God in mind | Christian productivity for moms | Proverbs 31 | Spiritual growth through hard seasons | Biblical approach to planning | Trusting God with time | Rhythms and routines for Christian women | What to do in seasons of crisis | Planning after burnout | Gospel-centered planning tools | Redeeming the time | Time management for Christian homemakers | leather planner | travelers journal | bullet journaling
36 min
September 24, 2024Episode 25: Why Planning is the Most Underrated Form of Self Care, Part 1
✨ Overwhelmed? Knowing your productivity personality makes all the difference: https://form.typeform.com/to/X1h33hT5
🗣️ Submit a question for the podcast: https://www.evergreenplanner.com/pages/podcast
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Spent? In this episode, Shelby and McCauley dive into why planning is one of the most powerful, yet underrated, forms of self-care. They explore how intentional planning not only helps you manage your time but also reduces stress, preserves emotional bandwidth, and supports your goals for your relationships.
Throughout this episode, they explore:
The power of proactive planning and why it’s essential for taking care of your future self
How planning can help reduce stress, decision fatigue, and mental clutter
Why rhythms and routines provide the margin you vitally need to manage an abundant life
How planning allows you the relaxation you need to consistently pour into your loved ones instead of feeling like you always need to hide from them in a bubble bath
Why self-care fundamentally requires you to take the time you need to reach a state of mental clarity and peace about your life’s direction
Biblical References:
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 – “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.”
John 10:10 - “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”
Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing. A schedule defends from chaos and whim. It is a net for catching days. It is a scaffolding on which a worker can stand and labor with both hands at sections of time.” — Annie Dillard, The Writing Life
The Evergreen Planner – The core planning tool discussed throughout the episode, designed to help you proactively care for your time, reduce decision fatigue, and create rhythms that support your life.
The Renew Course – A 6-week challenge to help you to start working with the strengths of your personality, organize your entire life with the Evergreen Planning Method, and set up sustainable rhythms that actually make sense in your season of life. (We guarantee that your future self will thank you for taking this course.)
The Evergreen Collective – An exclusive online community where you can connect with like-minded women, access resources, and receive support on time management and intentional living. Available to planner subscribers or Renew course students.
Other Podcast Episodes:
Episode 13: Why You Need a Hub for Your Brain - An entire episode on how the Evergreen Planner can specifically help you to organize your brain.
Episode 5: The Story Behind ‘Make Space to Thrive’ - A deep dive into why you need margin in your life, what exactly margin is, and how to find more of it in your schedule so you can reap more peace, clarity, and energy from the way you plan your days.
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Web: evergreenplanner.com
Instagram: @EvergreenPlanner
Learn the Evergreen Planning Method: evergreenplanner.com/renew
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SEO: Christian time management tips | Proactive planning for self-care | Reducing decision fatigue | Biblical self-care practices | Christian productivity strategies | Building daily routines | How planning reduces stress | Setting priorities with intentionality | Creating margin in your life | Faith-based time management
32 min
September 17, 2024Episode 24: There IS Enough Time
✨ Overwhelmed? Knowing your productivity personality makes all the difference: https://form.typeform.com/to/X1h33hT5
🎙️ Submit a question for the podcast: https://www.evergreenplanner.com/pages/podcast
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Overwhelmed? In this episode, Shelby and McCauley delve into the profound truth that God has given us everything we need for life and godliness—including enough time.
Throughout this episode, they explore:
the real reasons why we often feel like there isn’t enough time in the day, despite the biblical promise that God equips us for every task He calls us to
the challenge and high calling of time-management
the time boundaries God built into creation itself
how to combat perceived stress
the importance of creating rhythms, setting priorities, and combatting decision fatigue through proactive planning
Biblical References: Genesis 1:2-3; Genesis 1:14-19; 2 Peter 1:3
Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
The Evergreen Planner - The core planning tool discussed throughout the episode, designed to help you manage your time according to biblical principles in just 15 minutes each day.
The Renew Course - Our 6-week course that dives deeper into the Evergreen Planning Method, providing detailed guidance on how to apply it to your unique life and circumstances.
The Evergreen Collective - An exclusive online community where members can access time-management resources, join in discussions on intentional living, and receive support from like-minded women. Hosted in a private app, away from social media to foster focus and intentionality. Open to planner subscribers or students of Renew.
Other Podcast Episodes:
Make Space to Thrive - An episode from Season 1 that shares the story behind the phrase "Make Space to Thrive."
Planning while Postpartum - An episode from Season 2 that offers tactical advice for managing time during the postpartum period.
The Rooted Goals Podcast Season - Binge Season 3 where Clari and Shelby unpack the Rooted Goal Setting System and share practical examples of ROOTED Goals in their own lives.
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Web: evergreenplanner.com
Instagram: @EvergreenPlanner
Learn the Evergreen Planning Method: evergreenplanner.com/renew
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SEO: Christian time management tips | How to manage time biblically | Overcoming overwhelm as a Christian | Biblical approach to time management | Christian productivity strategies | Faith-based time management | Managing stress as a Christian | daily routines for Christians | Setting priorities as a Christian mom | Combatting decision fatigue | Reducing overwhelm in Christian life | Christian goal-setting strategies | Intentional living for Christian women | Time stewardship for believers | redeeming the time
40 min
December 04, 2023 Replay: How to Cultivate Peace & Avoid Seasonal Overwhelm this Christmas
✨ Overwhelmed? Knowing your productivity personality makes all the difference: https://form.typeform.com/to/X1h33hT5
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This podcast is a replay of a live masterclass I (Clari) taught for the Evergreen Collective in November.
Advent and Christmas are my favorite times of the year, but it also happens to be the one of the busiest times for the business, which means I need planning strategies that are easy to implement and help me do what I most want: to celebrate the birth of Christ in very meaningful ways with my family and to be a person who exudes peace while doing it.
You can access the video replay of the masterclass & the free workbook here: https://www.evergreenplanner.com/pages/how-to-cultivate-peace-avoid-seasonal-overwhelm-masterclass
✨✨✨
May this Christmas be your most peaceful yet!
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Web: evergreenplanner.com
Instagram: @EvergreenPlanner
Learn the Evergreen Planning Method: evergreenplanner.com/renew
41 min

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Meaningful and self-compassionate productivity for Christian women.

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