I know I struggle every day with the question, "What will I focus on today?" I want to get the necessary stuff done as well as have time for the things I want to do (and here is the key point) without getting stressed out. I know I can get stressed if I try to do too much, even enjoyable stuff. Cramming too much activity in a day is a sure-fire way for me to get stressed and strained.
Personally, the formula I use (if you could to call it that) is this:
- Make sure the most important necessary stuff for the day gets done (work, time with God and His Word, time with family, home obligations are the key things in that list). In these, the most important thing to do is to not spend too much time at work. I can easily spend too much time at work trying to get everything done. I enjoy my job, and want to do well, but there is always something else to do. Last year I had tried to work too many hours for too many weeks in a row. Not only did I strain myself to the breaking point (figuratively) but I never could make a real dent in the work load. If you spend less time at the office (keep primarily to the main hours only without constant overtime) you end up with so much more time for the rest of your life. I've added about 2-3 hours to my time by doing this alone.
- Spend time on what I enjoy, but either focusing on one thing only on a particular day or a little bit of each. This, I've found, is a very helpful approach. Perhaps it is obvious, but for myself, being someone who likes to tackle many things, it requires a change in thinking. For example, rather than trying to read and play games and watch a movie and play chess and play the guitar, etc. I'd rather pick one on a given day and spend a good amount of time on it. Then, the next day I can pick something else. This way, in a week, I can spend at least a good block of time once a week on something I enjoy doing personally. The alternative is to do a little bit of a few things. This I also find satisfying, because I don't always feel like doing just one thing for a long time. So I allow myself to spend say 15-30 minutes on one thing, then 15-30 minutes on another, etc. This way I can actually do several things for several days in a row. In the end, the total would be the same as if I had done it all one one day only, but then I get to enjoy it many days in a row (which I often prefer).
- This is perhaps the most important of all. In all of the above, take time to "just chill". Take time to silently reflect on God, to read something almost mindless (that doesn't require much thinking), listen to some music, whatever. Perhaps your personal activities are in that vein (mine are not as they are mentally engaging), but either way you need time, even just a few minutes, to allow yourself to mental, even physically, rest. You need to take moments during the day to just back away from the stuff of life and take time for yourself. That a bit of a "steam release" if you would, lets the boiler pressure down, and allows you to move forward smoothly again. Those are great times to think of God, too, to seek His peace and His presence to enable you as you continue through the day.
Some simple thoughts, but they have been very helpful for me the last little while that I've being tacking this approach. Again, the focus is to remember priorities. Work is always there and is important, but there is also God and family which are more important ultimately, because jobs can come and go, but God and your family are always with you.
What I found interesting is to do a Google search on "busy lives". See what it brings up. Some are interesting. Some are funny :-).
"Cease striving and know that I am God;" Psalm 46:10a.
1 comment:
Keep up the good work.
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