As we enter the final months of the year, you might be feeling stretched thin. And if you had goals for the year (like I did), you’re probably not as far along as you hoped to be by this point. With the end of the year approaching, we might feel that need to push ourselves into high gear, so we can finish strong. Our instincts say we need to do more. But what if the key to ending the year on a high note wasn’t to take on more, but instead to cut back?

Now is a great time to prune your commitments.

We have several large red oaks in our property. One of them is estimated to be over 250 years old. It sits at the back of our house, and its branches envelope the entire backyard, shading everything from the children’s swing set to our back porch.

I love that tree. But the previous owners hadn’t really keep up with trimming it. Since moving in a couple years ago, it’s been one of those things we’ve been meaning to get to. Especially a couple of massive dead limbs hanging ominously over the yard.

But then it finally happened.

I happened to step outside at just the right moment. I heard what sounded like a gunshot and looked up to see a giant limb come crashing down from 30 feet up, leaving a giant crater in the grass.

I called the tree trimmers the same day.

While it was a safety issue dealing with the dead wood, the arborist told me that we really need to have some of the living limbs pruned, too. But we would have to wait until the tree was dormant so it would be less susceptible to disease. I just wanted to get rid of the dead limbs, but he explained that even some of the healthy limbs need to be pruned so the tree can really flourish.

Pruning is essential. Whether it’s a tree, a garden, or a Christian life, there is only a finite amount of resources to go around. And if we want to see maximum fruitfulness, we need to carefully trim back even otherwise healthy limbs at times.

I think this analogy is apt when we think about the commitments in our life. We can think of every commitment we take on as a branch drawing from our limited pool of time, energy, and focus. Some commitments are fruitful, but some simply drain us and don’t leave us with much to show for the effort.

In the course of life, we are constantly sprouting new commitments; little opportunities we quickly say yes to without accounting for their potential fruitfulness or how they will strain our resources. So if we never stop to prune, we may find ourselves very busy but not very fruitful. We may find that we are doing a lot of things, but we don’t have a lot of fruit to show for it.

Jesus gave us the picture of pruning starting in John 15:1.

Here we learn to see Christ as the True Vine, in whom we abide. It is only by virtue of our connection to Christ by faith that we can produce good works that please the Lord and last into eternity. But Jesus pushes the metaphor further when he states that the Father acts as the vine dresser, helping us to flourish and be fruitful.

Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. – John 15:2

The Father prunes us for greater fruitfulness providentially through trials, conviction of sin, discipline, wise counsel, and opening and closing doors of opportunity. Pruning always feels like a loss in the moment. But the object of this cutting back is to make us more productive in what really matters.

And it seems to me that wisdom would call for us not just to wait for the Father’s providential pruning, but also to be proactive in this process. Why wait for the trial when you know you’ve got dead wood? Confess the sin, change the habit, and act on the conviction. Before the consequences and discipline come tumbling down. And I would suggest that this kind of self-pruning should extend to our commitments as well.

What are the obligations you’ve undertaken that are holding you back from stewarding the things God has actually called you to? And it’s not just about “bad” commitments versus “good” ones. Sometimes, like with my oak trees, you have dead wood commitments that are draining you of valuable resources, but aren’t really producing any fruit at all. But even good branches need pruning.

The classic example of this I see is believers who are volunteering for half-a-dozen ministries at their church, but it’s causing them to not fulfill their calling to their family or vocation. Always adding but never subtracting, they feel guilt over pruning these good commitments, because they don’t realize that multiplying obligations dissipates their focus. Left unchecked, even good commitments can sap strength from what’s most important.

Just as my oaks have more preferable times for pruning, the fall season is a great time for us to reconsider our priorities and commitments. Fall is a natural reset point. School is back in session, the days are getting shorter, and rhythms are beginning to shift. It’s the perfect moment to pause and reconsider before we slide into the holiday season.

If we fail to prune now, we may simply limp to this year’s finish line, drained and distracted. But if we take the time to prune our commitments, we can enter the end of the year lighter, with more focus, joy, and presence for the commitments and people that matter most. We can end on a fruitful note.

My encouragement to you is not to wait for a new year to get serious about your goals. What would happen if you decided to really focus for the rest of the year? Well, I imagine you’d start pruning some commitments. Focus, after all, is just “no” spelled with more letters.

If you’re feeling you need to prune, I’d encourage you to join us on September 19th for our annual Post-Summer Productivity Reset. In this free workshop, I’ll help you refocus on your priorities, narrow your goals, and create a plan for finishing this year well for the glory of God.

Spots are limited, so click that link to register now.