I have been thinking about how sometimes, to get more done, you first have to do less.  It has been on my mind how often the road to productivity begins with some seasons of being unproductive.  It all seems backwards.  To say more, say less.  To be have a larger impact, do fewer things.  This is not always the case, but it often is.  Here is what I am learning.  This backwards process – the lack of productivity, the dark times, the trials, the confusion – all of this is often part of the pruning.  Pruning is hard.  It is painful.  But here it is – for something to grow to its fullest potential, it needs to be regularly pruned.  No one wants to talk about this.  No one gets excited in these times.  But consider that maybe the situation or the circumstance you are in is because God or your boss or your organization or whoever is pruning you for something more.