Time Well Spent

As the lazy days of summer slowly fade away, most of us are getting back into the swing of things with the new school year. I’m a teacher, and while I love summer and the freedom and flexibility, I also love the beginning of a new school year. It’s a fresh start, time to be back on a schedule, not to mention a chance to buy all new school supplies! However, with the all of the positives of the new school year, there are a few negatives: schedules are a tighter and there are more responsibilities. Balancing teaching, writing, and family (not to mention cooking, cleaning, and exercising) has always been a struggle for me. I love what I do, but teaching requires a lot of commitment outside of the classroom.

Managing Our Time Well

Deep down, I knew my time management skills needed some tweaking, but on the surface I was in denial. I told myself I thrived under pressure; that I had to be under a pressing deadline to get something done. While it’s true that I work better when I have a deadline, it’s not thriving when you feel stressed and defeated all the time. I love lists, calendars, and planners, but not one of those items do me a bit of good unless I follow them. The first step to successful time management is to schedule blocks of time for each task and follow your schedule. Obviously, life doesn’t always go according to our perfectly planned schedules, so while we need to be diligent with our time management, we also need to be flexible. Being flexible will save us from additional stress.

If you’re like me, sometimes the sheer amount of what you need to accomplish paralyzes you. You have the time available, but the to-do is just too daunting. You feel defeated before you even begin. This was happening to me more than I cared to admit. One day I just sat and stared at my list, longing to mark something off but unable to decide where to begin. Finally I picked a few items that were top priority and randomized. I used random.org, entered my tasks in, and let the program put them in order for me. Simply taking the decision out of my hands freed me up to get started.

Just Do It

My eighteen-year-old did not relish the idea of working full-time this summer. She had to face the harsh reality that adults—even teachers—don’t really get a summer vacation. I half-jokingly told her, “Welcome to adulthood: doing a bunch of things you don’t want to do.” Sometimes we just have to be stern with ourselves. There is stuff to do so we just have to do it, whether we like it or not.

There are several Proverbs that speak to the benefit of hard work:

“A sluggard’s appetite is never filled, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.” (Proverbs 13:4 NIV)

“Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor.” (Proverbs 12:24 NIV)

“All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.” (Proverbs 14:23 NIV)

“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” (Proverbs 16:3 NIV)

I think the Bible makes it clear, not just in Proverbs, that the Lord values hard work and diligence. We are to do our best in everything because as Christians, our work should bring the Lord glory. I know sometimes it can be difficult to view our mundane, day-to-day tasks as God-honoring or glorifying, but they are.

The Lord wants what is best for us, and that is not overwhelming stress or sluggardness.

Narrow Your Focus

We have to focus, really focus, on our tasks at hand. We adults like to chide the younger generation about being so prone to distraction, but it can affect all of us. One of the main the distractors and disruptors of productivity today is our devices. I recently reread a post on Facebook about how we are missing moments in life by being tied to our phones. (Yes, I read a post on Facebook about getting off of Facebook, and in fact, I read it while taking a “break” from writing this post.)

We need to make hard cuts when it comes to many areas in our lives, not just social media. If you are like me, you are prone to say yes to almost everything that comes along, whether it stems from it sounds like fun, FOMO, or guilt. We have to be able to say no sometimes. I am bad about starting things, such as book clubs or Bible studies, and not finishing them. While these are good and fulfilling things, I just can’t commit to every study I know I would love. Yes, we need to do things that we enjoy and fill up, but we do need to narrow our focus. If I commit to too many things I enjoy, I end up being stressed because I don’t have time to do them all. I have to learn to set boundaries and really focus on the best ways to spend my time.

Listen for God’s Voice

The key I keep missing when it comes to time management is praying and listening for the Lord’s guidance. Even though I know better, it is difficult for me to believe that my schedule is important enough to take to the Lord. But it is. The Lord cares about every single second of our days. Committing our plans, no matter how miniscule, to him will make a difference in our lives.

Dana Herndon is a writer, blogger, and middle school teacher. She and her husband live in Georgia with their three children. In addition to teaching and writing, Dana loves to read, paddle board, and sometimes run. She blogs about faith, family, and enjoying the everyday life at danaherndon.com.

Photograph © Joanna Kosinska, used with permission