Do you find yourself overwhelmed with all that you have to do on a daily basis? Are you wondering how you will get it all done? Do you know how you are spending your time each day?
I think we mistake the scripture, There is a time for everything under the sun (Ecclesiastes 3:1) as meaning we have time for everything! 😊 We try to fit as much as we can into our days thinking we have to live up to a certain productivity standard. Or we are trying to keep up with what everyone else is doing.
I know when I first became a stay at home mom, I had this idea of what all I was supposed to accomplish. The house would be clean, laundry done, perfect Pinterest crafts everyday with my daughter…. I would garden, read, paint, craft…. I would have a thriving small business from home…. homecooked breakfast, lunch and dinner…. fun outings after naptime.
But…. reality smacked me right in the head and I soon realized I was trying to fit too much into my 24 hours. I needed to take a step back away from my to-do list and set my priorities.
We have to be intentional with how we spend our precious, limited time.
Planning our days with intention will help us make the most of what the Lord has given us. We are to be good stewards of our time and talents.
How we spend our time should be a reflection of our priorities but oftentimes we let time slip by through distractions and by being overwhelmed.
What would our days look like if we planned our time with intention? If what was most important to us came first? What if we said “no” more? What if we chose our “yes” more carefully?
How much time would we have for the important things if we stopped scrolling our phones or streaming the latest show?
What if we stopped looking to be entertained and instead created a life full of enjoyment? Being active participants in the world around us instead of spectators?
How would our lives look if we planned our days with the things that actually matter to us, and not what the world says we need to live up to?
Have you ever considered how you spend your time? I mean actual days and hours and minutes? (If you haven’t read our post about how much time actually adds up doing basic things, read here.)
What are the most important things to you? Is this evident in how you spend your time?
Many times it helps to get our thoughts down on paper. Download our free Time that Matters worksheet with questions to help you figure out what matters to you now, in this season of life. You may want to come back to these questions as life changes and you enter a new season.
Here are some practical steps you can take to help plan your Time That Matters:
1. Put God first
This should always be our first step! If we want answers to any questions, this is where we start – by looking to the Lord. He is our strength when we are weak. He is the light to our path.
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6
2. People before things
Always, always… relationships are far more important than having a perfectly clean house, or a completed to-do list. They are more important than having a 5 bedroom house, 3 car garage, yearly vacations and anything else we may buy. Our time is the most precious gift we can give to those we love.
3. Pray for guidance on prioritizing
This goes right along with number 1. We are to put God first in everything we do, and we should also seek out his guidance when we are making our plans. Ask Him to help you know what is BEST. We put a lot of good things on our schedules that get in the way of the BEST things.
Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11
Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. Proverbs 16:3
4. Identify time wasters and distractions and remove them
But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14-15
let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. Hebrews 12:1-2
5. Practice self-discipline. Do not be lazy or procrastinate.
Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth. Proverbs 10:4
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12:11
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23
6. Get help when needed. Don’t be afraid to ask.
Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. Proverbs 15:22
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Ecclesiastes 4: 9-10
This could be asking your spouse to help you. Maybe you hire a cleaning company to do a deep clean of your house for you. Calling a friend who has been through your stage in life and asking for advice. Asking grandparents to babysit.
7. Don’t make big things out of the small things.
My dad would say don’t make a mountain out of a mole hill. We often make big deals out of things that really don’t matter in the long run. Spilled milk is no reason to hurt your relationship with your child. Finishing your to-do list but neglecting your soul is no way to live. We need to focus on the bigger picture. I love this story in the Bible that so wonderfully depicts this.
“As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10: 38-42
Friend, you can’t do it all…. We weren’t made to do it all.
There is a time and season for everything but we don’t have time for everything all at once. We have to decide what is most important to us and do those things first. C.S. Lewis said…. You can’t get second things by putting them first. You get second things only by putting first things first.
In her book, the Lazy Genius, Kendra Adachi says “When you care about something, you try to do it well. When you care about everything, you do nothing well.”
Let’s first figure out our priorities and then plan our time from there. When we are doing the things that align with our goals and what’s important to us, we will have lived a life well spent.