A Holy Definition of Productivity

And Favorite Content From This Week

We had our February Mastermind Meeting inside the Catholic Women in Business Membership Community last night, and it was another great one. Dr. Amber Curtis, a professor and productivity coach, facilitated a presentation and discussion on “Why ‘More Time’ Isn’t the Answer.” I loved her definition of productivity:

Real productivity is using your God-given gifts of time and talent in accordance with His purpose for you.

It reminded me of this article, inspired by a conversation I had with my husband a couple of years ago.

I’m always so impressed by how seamlessly our facilitators weave their faith into their business-related presentations. It shows how integrated it is into their life and work—exactly our goal as Catholic women in business.

If you are a perfectionist or recovering perfectionist (like me), you won’t want to miss our March Mastermind Meeting featuring entrepreneur and therapist Bella Pecyna: “The Perfectionism Paradox: Get Unstuck and Cultivate True Excellence.” Join here.

What else I’ve been up to lately:

• Releasing a new episode of “Catholic Women Lead” with my co-host and co-president (and co-author!), Elise Crawford Gallagher. We talk about Lent (and I share an exciting personal announcement!). Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

• Kerri Christopher
  interviewed me for her excellent series “Life Outside the Box” on her Substack,
  Cultivating Clarity
  . Go give it a read, and be sure to subscribe to her newsletter for more on related topics!

Content I’ve Liked:

• Sacred music is a controversial topic (because the internet makes everything a controversial topic), but this Pillar article did a great job of looking at it fairly. I have lots of thoughts about sacred music that don’t necessarily fall on one so-called “side” or another, but I do love traditional chant and organ, when it’s available.

• If you’ve been struggling because you feel like your Lent sacrifices aren’t “good enough,” read this Theology of Home blog post by

  Dixie Dillon Lane
  .

• I’ve been intrigued by and reading about the Montessori approach lately and was excited to see this Aleteia article about a new order of religious sisters inspired by Maria Montessori (a Catholic). Their fourth vow (in addition to the usual vows of poverty, obedience, and chastity) is “to honor Christ in the Child.” How beautiful—and perhaps a vow those of us who have children should also take.

• I enjoyed this Harpers Bazaar article about “matronage”—female patronage of the arts (I love the word “matronage”!). I do have to make a sadly-too-common caveat that the writer goes off the rails talking about abortion later in the article.

• This Independent article was a fascinating look at the work habits of millennials and Gen Zers.

Books I’ve Enjoyed:

• We loved Robobaby by David Wiesner so much that Gigi bought it so we wouldn’t have a crisis after returning it to the library. It’s a fun take on the “new baby/big sibling” story featuring an all-robot cast.

• We’ve started the potty training journey, and Once Upon a Potty was a helpful library read. I’d like different language and illustrations to match what we’re using, but it was otherwise a good introduction to the potty and very body-positive.

• Baby Belly by Patricia Martín was a delightful wordless board book about a little boy and his mother’s pregnancy and new baby.

As you may be able to tell from this book list, the personal announcement I made in the podcast this week was that I’m pregnant. I’m out of the first trimester now but have been rereading Harry Potter, as I did during my first trimester with my daughter. I have a stack of review books I need to catch up on, though, so stay tuned for some more grownup recommendations!