This week I’m in Alaska fishing with family. I’ve been thinking about the idea that time with them is more important than most of my other goals.

Spiritual goals always supersede everything else, but they’re so closely related to family goals that I don’t think they necessarily need more time. Spending time with family is a spiritual thing, really, so it’s better to spend more time with family than praying or studying the scriptures each day.

And as long as you maintain your connection with God, however simple it may be, you’re good. That can be as simple as keeping a prayer in your heart regularly, or taking a few minutes to study the scriptures, or taking a moment to be grateful.

But when it comes to other goals, like financial and fitness, it’s best to simplify those when on a trip like this to give the most time and attention to family.

I’m doing a 12-week personal growth challenge right now that involves me completing 5 daily tasks that will move my life forward in a big way. I don’t think I necessarily have to give these up, but I can simplify them significantly to direct my time and attention to my family.

My first commitment is to wake up at 6:19 each day. I can keep this one exactly without taking away time from family. It’ll probably give me more and better time with them because it’ll help me do the little I need to complete my other daily tasks and will give me more energy!

The next is to spend 30 minutes with God each day. I used to think this had to always be at my desk, done all at once, and really focused. It’s still important I do this as often as I can, but I’ve now realized it can be listening to a conference talk or studying the scriptures on my phone or just praying. All I need to do is connect with God, and that can be simple. Especially while I’m here in Alaska, or on other days that family activities necessitate I break it up.

My third commitment is to spend 30 minutes with family daily. This one is easy while I’m on this trip. I do it each day without thinking about it, but I have to be present and not on my phone very often.

Next is the commitment to write a blog post every day. I can write quick posts when I wake up early or at other downtimes throughout the day. Instead of going for posts that are 1,000+ words and highly focused on SEO, I can just write 250 words or so of ideas I have. I enjoy writing though, so if I go a little more than that it’s really no different than me playing a game on my phone, which I’d do anyway during my downtime here.

This brings me to another quick idea I’ve been having recently about blogging and work in general. I have this story, or “Soundtrack” as Jon Acuff would say, in my mind that work has to be hard and can’t be enjoyable and should be avoided while relaxing. But I don’t think that’s true anymore because of how much I enjoy writing.

That idea I mentioned above, that I like writing so it’s no different than playing a game on my phone, is a big deal. If I like it, there’s no need to resist it. This means this commitment to write daily isn’t as much about making my blogs succeed as much as it is about me releasing myself of this story that’s holding me back from doing work that I really enjoy. This means it’s not actually work and I can do it in times that I’m relaxing! I don’t have to spend forever on it while I’m on vacation, though.

Last is the commitment to exercise 30 minutes per day. Like the spiritual commitment to be with God daily, I make this one more difficult than it has to be, but only in my head. This is good most of the time to keep me more fit. Just walking every day doesn’t work for me, I have to sweat most of the time to grow my stamina and health. But while I’m here, I can consider it like a whole week of Sundays, when I just walk for my exercise because it’s a day of rest. Which, that walk is super restful because it’s so peaceful and gives me time to think.

This was longer than I had hoped it would be, but I’m up early this morning and nobody else is awake, so it’s not interfering with family time. I think the biggest lessons here are to prioritize family, simplify goals, and not be afraid to do “work” that is really just something I enjoy doing that’s not typical, like movies, video games, and so on.