Happy December friends!

It’s been a year hasn’t it? Most people I talk to are seeking greater alignment of ‘values’ in work and lives. The latest Gallup poll showed financial freedom, health, and family topped the list of Americans most important values. I’ve generally wanted the same, and entrepreneurship provided the path to all three.

With that said, most of my career, I’ve worn overwork like a badge of honor. I started full-time work at the age of 15, with a bookkeeping gig on the side.

Forty-hour weeks weren’t enough. My energy was big, and my desire for challenge and learning even bigger.

Sixty-hour weeks were normal—something you powered through with coffee, grit, and the belief that nonstop effort was the price of success. I prioritized work over sports, even friendships, feeling immense satisfaction in a job well done and in fueling my love language of gift-giving.

But nature kept whispering a different truth:

What grows well isn’t what grows fastest — it’s what grows in rhythm, in alignment, and with care.

I didn’t listen with any consistency.

After 43 years of service jobs, founding businesses, raising a family, chairing boards, leading teams, and navigating multiple seasons of war and peace in my own life, I did something radical—something that challenged every belief I had about productivity, leadership, and impact:

I cut my workweek down to 15 hours during a stage of life when most experts say we’re at peak productivity.

And when I did, something even more radical happened:

• My health improved.
• My impact grew (and time will tell how this compounds).
• My creativity blossomed.
• My sense of purpose expanded.
• My grandkids see me far more often—and look forward to it as much as I do.

Most people assume a 15-hour workweek means I stepped back.

The truth is—I stepped up into a way of working rooted in sustainable productivity, mindful leadership, and intentional living.

A way of working more aligned with my purpose, my season of life, and Yeshua’s Way than anything I’ve ever attempted. It was, without a doubt, a leg-up.

Here’s what this peace-driven, purpose-led schedule actually looks like:

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My Peace Performance Week (The 15-Hour Workweek)

3 hours/week → Chairing Boards + MJV Committee

High-level leadership, helping teams make better decisions with fewer mistakes.

This is leveraged time: every hour removes 20+ hours of downstream chaos.

This is sustainable productivity at work.

1 hour/week → Filming videos

I record in batches.

My team handles editing, formatting, uploading, and distribution.

This keeps my presence and voice alive without consuming my life.

7 hours/week → Community + Engagement

One hour a day responding to comments, lifting others, adding value.

Not as a marketing tactic—but as a ministry of presence, aligned with purpose-driven leadership and conscious living.

5 hours/week → Research & Foresight

Studying advancements in technology, ecology, bio-pesticides, leadership, toxins, and conscious systems.

This is what keeps me 10 years ahead, instead of 10 steps behind.

15 hours total.

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The Truth I Wish I’d Learned Earlier

When you choose what matters, you naturally eliminate what doesn’t.

When Jim and I downsized our material footprint this year, it created more time, more clarity, and more energetic currency to grow what God began planting in us in 2024.

My to-do list became a to-don’t list.

My life became more peaceful, productive, and aligned.

If you’re curious about the 15-hour workweek, or you simply want more purpose, peace, and rhythm in your days, I hope you’ll follow along on social.

Your friend,

Kari