Lately there is a whirlwind of activity, a TaDa list a mile long, and a lot of people who feel like we never are available to do what they want us to do, including faithful blog readers who expect a little new content from time to time. So sorry. I sit and try to write, but my head shuts down and I go find mindless activity like reading all my Facebook friends' updates. My oldest has started his summer job as a lifeguard, so there was a flurry of activity getting him set up with the required uniform and bus pass. There is VBS this week. Half of my man's volunteer team is on vacation, and 75% of the team or more will be out on Father's Day. We're planning a business trip that I get to accompany him on which means I have to plan to get the kids dealt out like so many cards.
When there are so many things on our plates, it's not always easy to figure out what to do. Some things happen because of urgency-- I have to just drop what I'm doing to feed the kids. They're at my elbows right now telling me we need to make something for supper so they have food before VBS. The last few nights they've been eating something thrown together and eaten in the car on the way over, or on the sidewalk outside the church. We cleaned the bathrooms today because they were fixing to be condemned. Urgency sucks us in despite our efforts-- and often are just maintenance issues that have been neglected by others who wait for you to do it, or have tampered and broken or messed up something.
Urgent is rarely important.Other things happen because of importance-- I open my Bible (ok, technically I touch the Bible icon on my iPhone), I listen to sermons, I read, I check my prayer request lists, I do laundry. These things are important, but to most people who catch a glimpse of this activity I look idle-- and I look like a prime target for whatever urgent thing they want me to do.
Last, there are the projects that I have chosen because it is time to do those things or because it's a call on my life. Blogging is a project that I prayerfully considered and chose. Remodeling was the alternative to moving. And helping Jeff with his business is my calling. In order to accomplish the projects in the last category, I have to make a concerted effort to ignore
the Urgent, and make concrete plans to begin my work after the Important.This season of our life has kept my man and I constantly discussing the difference between Urgent, Important, and Projects. We evaluate what goes in each category. We pray over what we've accomplished, what we are doing, and where we are headed, and what we'll do next. We pray against the Tyrrany of the Urgent. We have to decide what gets put on back burners, what is removed from our dockets, and we have to repent of forgetting the Important.
How do you handle monitoring your time so that you are stewarding it well, and not committing the sin of busyness? And how do you handle others who misunderstand your drive and are put off by their low ranking in your priority list?
Talk to me!
5 comments:
How do you handle monitoring your time so that you are stewarding it well, and not committing the sin of busyness? And how do you handle others who misunderstand your drive and are put off by their low ranking in your priority list?
Not committing the sin of busyiness...well I remember that not all the things on MY list are on His list...and that sometimes the things on my list, like moving the dishes from the sink to the dishwasher, or scraping the toothpaste off the bathroom mirror, have to fall off the list in order for me to see the beauty and importance right in front of me (usually my kids!)
as for those who grumble about their ranking? well grumbling just moves you further down the list...okay not really but a while ago I was blessed with the notion that I can do nothing about how another person feels...I can only do something about my thoughts, words, feelings and actions. How another chooses to respond/react to my choices, is out of my hands.
It has really made ALL of the difference. Of course, I forget sometimes...but Spirit is usually not far behind to gently remind me :)
I have found that the main time I feel like a cruddy wife is when I'm trying to be something other than a wife. The main time I feel like a cruddy mom is when I'm trying to do something other than be a mom. The main time I feel like a cruddy writer is when I'm trying to be something other than a writer.
In other words, I have to keep a precarious balance or else I topple altogether. God is the glue.
But beyond that ... I'm still learning. Let me know if you figure it out.
It is frustrating to feel the rebuff of those who are put off by lropl. How do I handle it....well that is a good question:) It makes me think about how God wishes me to handle it.
Balance, balance, for me it's all about balance. I find it very hard to maintain. In fact, I'm thinking about cutting the forums out of my life because I'm feeling like they take up time that could go to better use. When you find the secret let us know.
Realizing that I can't get everything done and that it is o.k. to "choose to neglect" some things. People before things 'cause bathrooms don't care :)
But sometimes it is also looking hard at what is sucking up my time and choosing to drop something I like but doesn't move me towards my goals.
Othertimes it is allowing myself to do things for a set time - I'll have fifteen minutes forum time after I get xyz done to continue Karen's example.
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