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Writer's pictureRachel Tenney

The ROOTED Goals System

Updated: Mar 13, 2023


I used to be a productivity junkie. I read all the books I could get my hands on, listened to countless hours of podcasts and audiobooks, and tried all the hacks I could find. I was desperate to fix my productivity issues because I struggled so much with being able to get anything done.





In this review, I want to introduce you to a system of goal setting that is like nothing else I’ve found. And it’s enabled me to actually follow through and accomplish the big things God has laid on my heart to do- all while honoring my limits as a human and my other responsibilities in life. It’s taken away the crippling shame and demotivating overwhelm I felt before, and it works in even my most crazy seasons of life. Sounds amazing right?


But before I dig into explaining the ROOTED system, let me just share with you some of the problems that plagued me with traditional goal setting, and what sets this system apart.




  • A lot of productivity advice and systems assume that you are going to have a lot of mental space and time to develop and execute your goals, like 8 hours a day in a quiet office. Trying to take that model and copy and paste it into my life as a stay-at-home mom and entrepreneur just leads to a lot of frustration and false guilt. The ROOTED Goals system on the other hand, was designed by entrepreneurial stay-at-home mamas who know what it’s like to wear a lot of hats and juggle a lot of responsibilities. This system is optimal for people who juggle lots of plates, like ministry, homemaking, a business or side hustle, etc.

  • Traditional goal-setting often leaves God out of the picture. The ROOTED Goals system is informed by solid Christian theology to help you shed worldly mindsets around productivity and embrace the reality of living in God’s world - accepting your limits, honoring your responsibilities in all areas of your life, and trusting in God’s loving sovereignty as He brings unforeseen events or circumstances.

  • Most goal-setting systems start by asking you to close your eyes and dream big about where you want to be in the next year, 5 years, 10 years, etc. Then you reverse-engineer your goals and if you actually care about making your dreams happen, you’ll hustle and do whatever it takes to make that happen. The problem with this is that those goals are not ROOTED in the context God has providentially given you. What often results from that dreamer-based goal setting is that you end up living in this tension of trying to accomplish these goals you set out, and trying to live intuitively when your other priorities clash with your goals. For instance, in the past, I’ve had the goal of waking up at 5 am. But then in the evening, someone needs to have an important conversation with me, and my conscience and intuition are telling me that having that conversation is what I need to do. So I have to choose between discipline and intuition. The Rooted Goals system helps you to set goals that work within the context of your life. Instead of ignoring those realities, it helps you to be creative and work within those good limits so that your goals aren’t constantly at war with your life. It helps us not to be surprised when other responsibilities interrupt us.

  • Traditional Goals resist change. The ROOTED goals system embraces that we can’t see the future and the things that God will sovereignly bring into our lives. Our goal-setting needs to be ready to flex when God changes our plans. For example, in 2020 I set a bunch of lofty business goals, and then became unexpectedly pregnant with our first child and the Coronavirus hit our nation. I felt totally demotivated and paralyzed. If I had been setting ROOTED goals back then, I could have been expectant for how God was going to change my plans, and taken those things more in stride and enjoyed my pregnancy more, instead of seeing it as an interruption to my business.

  • Traditional goal setting often sets unrealistic expectations ROOTED goals embrace limits. God isn’t asking you to do more than is possible. He knows our frame and he knows that we are dust. Psalm 103:14. The ROOTED system teaches you to build slowly so that you can both pursue your dreams and honor your current responsibilities. It does not put you on an arbitrary timeline.

  • Traditional Goal Setting creates unnecessary shame. I used to think I was really lazy because I wasn’t able to accomplish the things I set out to do. But shame is not necessary or productive! It wasn’t that I was too lazy, undisciplined, or uninspired to make my goals a reality. It’s that I needed to learn how to set better goals.

  • Traditional Goal Setting tends to copy and paste what works for other people without thinking critically about if that’s the right goal for you. The ROOTED Goals System forces you to be creative and essentialize because you don’t start with your dream (which is often influenced by what others are doing and how they do it) but rather the unique calling you have and how you can realistically make that happen within your God-given limits. (How many of us have made a goal about social media content creation that didn’t work? It’s probably because we were just looking at what other people are doing and tried to copy and paste that into our situation instead of essentializing.)

  • I wasted a lot of valuable time with traditional goal setting. The ROOTED System helps me to spend my precious time and emotional energy working on my goals, instead of trying to pull myself out of shame spirals. It taught me to recognize tiny slivers of time and opportunity to work on my goals, even in crazy seasons. Because of the ROOTED system, I am significantly MORE creative and MORE productive. I get more done now than I did when I had more time before kids!


Okay, so hopefully I’ve piqued your interest by this point, and you want to know what this ROOTED goals system is and how to start using it in your own life.

First off, ROOTED is an acronym. It stands for—

  1. Rooted in your core calling – creating goals that fully resonate with your God given calling over the long-haul

  2. Organically growing out of your context – creating goals that recognize the season you’re in and identify ALL of your reponsibilities (not ignoring that you’re a wife, mom, daughter, friend, church member, Christian, etc.)

  3. Outlined for clarity (part 1 & part 2) – creating goals that are broken down into tangible action-steps

  4. Tailored to your lifestyle – developing creative solutions to accomplish your goals within the confines of your lifestyle, and conversely, developing creative lifestyle changes that help you support your goals.

  5. Etched into your memory – Keeping your goals top of mind, training your subconscious to recognize even small opportunities you have to make progress on it

  6. Developed by Providence – Working hard to be faithful stewards of our time and resources, while living in light of the reality that God is the one who is in control. Looking expectantly for the ways he will shape and change our goals as we live them out helps us to recognize His hand in our lives and not feel defeated when we need to pivot.


So, how can you get started making your own ROOTED goals?


The best way to start learning and implementing the ROOTED goals system is to start with the WORKBOOK and the PODCAST.


There are actually 2 workbooks.

  • Crafting ROOTED Goals Workbook which is designed to help you craft your general life goals

  • Crafting Business ROOTED Goals Workbook which is designed specifically for setting business goals that don’t burn you out and work harmoniously with the rest of your life


You can purchase the general lifestyle ROOTED Goals Workbook in the Evergreen Planner store.


The ROOTED Business Goals workbook is currently only available through my online Christian women’s business community, the Voca Society. When you join, you get free access to the ROOTED business goals workbook, and together as a community, we set ROOTED goals at the start of every quarter (every January, April, July, & October)! Shelby Shepherd, the creator of the ROOTED goals system is one of our Voca Society members, and she coaches us on how to set ROOTED goals and answers our questions as we apply the ROOTED principles to our lives and businesses. So come join us and set business goals that will actually work in tandem with your life! Click this link to join!


Another great resource for learning the ROOTED Goals system is the podcast MAKE SPACE TO THRIVE. In it, the creators of the ROOTED Goal system and co-owners of the Evergreen Planner company teach the ROOTED principles and talk about what that practically looks like in their lives.


Those are the best places to start- choosing a workbook and listening to the podcast.


There are two more resources I don’t want you to miss out on as well and that is the Evergreen Planner itself and the free printable version


The Evergreen Planner is an incredible tool that supports living out ROOTED goals. I will link to my review of the planner here and in the description box, so make sure you check that out. Other planners are set up to work well with traditional goal setting and may be a little more frustrating to work with when you’re trying to operate from the ROOTED Goals understanding.


There is also a free printable version of the Evergreen Planner daily pages, which you can download for free. Watch my Evergreen Planner Review video here to get the coupon code!


I hope this article has given you hope that you CAN actually set goals that you will accomplish, and not just write down and stick in a drawer somewhere. I hope you take the next steps to really delve into this life-changing system and start reaping the benefits!



Have a question? Write a comment below or email me at rachel@vocasociety.com!


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