Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Time
Last week at our church we heard a message on “Going Deeper in Giving”. It left me with a lot to think about in terms of how I am using my resources (time and money). In particular, I felt urged to reflect upon where my time is going. For most of my life, this has been an easier question to answer: 10- 12 hours a day at school/work. Now, some days I really am left wondering, what am I doing all day? I feel busy (I love to be busy) but do not want to be satisfied at that.
I decided to document the hours in a week to see how my time breaks down. This is based on a 5 days a week, 12 hours a day (roughly the hours Jason is gone each day)= 60 hours. I’m not sure how accurate this really is because every day/ week is so different. I didn’t make Josiah a category because I can’t slot him in; he is a part of every category.
*Housework (cooking, cleaning, laundry) - 12 hours
*Socializing (hanging out with other moms and kids) - 10 hours
*Projects (blogging, correspondence, making crafts, planning events, internet research etc) - 8 hours
*Running Errands (grocery shopping, bank, printing photos, doctor’s visit) - 7 hours
*Ministry (planning/ leading PLUS group, meeting with leader and members volunteering at African Fellowship) - 7 hours
*Transportation (buses, trains, ferries, walking) - 6 hours
*Down time (exercising, napping, quiet time with the Lord) - 6 hours
*Tutoring- 4 hours
I don’t have any real conclusions at this point, although I am surprised I spend so much time socializing and running errands. Also, I thought I had more down time but I seem to avoid voids in my day.
I was reading this morning from 1 Corinthians this verse “There is no time to waste, so don’t complicate your lives unnecessarily. Keep it simple”
I certainly have a knack for inviting complication. When I fill my life with lots of details and projects I remove my availability to hear and respond to the Holy Spirit. When I am rushing to yet another play date or trip to the market, I am no longer free to stop and talk with a neighbor or carry the groceries of a stooped over old woman.
I have been trying to pray each morning “Lord, what do you want me to give today?” Ultimately it is about surrendering all of my time to Him.
What do you think? Where does your time go?
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2 comments:
I'm going to put it to the test my dear sister. I was thinking about this while at work today and so I decided to track my time for the next week and see. I understand though how you're not quite sure what to do at this point yet..
Wow, this is something I need to do too. Except perhaps I need to include my evening hours because I feel like Matt and I burn a lot of time in the evening on absolutely nothing. I'm going to give it a try and see where I need to adjust- thanks for the inspiration!
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