Generally speaking, there are a few things in our lives that we can look at which help us determine what is of most importance in our lives. How and where we spend our money shows us a certain set of priorities in life. Likewise, who we spend time with, and where, also gives us insight into our priorities. How we allot the time we spend throughout the day is yet another indication of what is of importance in our lives, and it is on this last one that I want to spend a few thoughts.
Do you currently know how you spend the time God has gifted you each day? Or, perhaps, let me start from a different place. How do you think you are spending the time that God has given you each day? Sure, you have a certain amount of time dedicated to sleep. Another significant portion may be set apart for work (though we will look a little at how we spend our time at work as well). Then, depending on our life situation, we will allot the rest of the time in ways that reveal things that are important to us.
Initially, here is what I would ask you to do. Write out how you expect that you are spending your time each day. Now, don't give too much thought to this, but do take it seriously. Don't try to pin things down to the exact number of minutes, but give the general feel for how you spend your day. Please make sure that it adds up to 24 hours, though. Though He reserves the right to do so, God rarely extends the day for anyone.
Now comes the hard part. Starting tomorrow, make a log of how you spend your time throughout the day. Again, don't focus so much on getting it down to the minute, but make sure you are giving an accurate representation of how your time is being spent. If it takes you 15 minutes to drive to work, simply write down the time you leave your house and the time you arrive at work. If you are sitting down to eat, note the time you start and then the time you wrap up. Don't make the exercise more challenging than it already is.
This especially goes for your time on technology. Write down when you sit down and turn on your computer, and then when you turn it off. If you log onto something like social media, make a note of when you get on, and then when you get off. For these, I would actually suggest that you keep it as accurately as possible (easy to do, since most computers have the time stamp at the lower right hand part of the screen).
For work purposes, you likely have to engage technology in some way. Rather than keeping track of how you spend your whole work day, focus instead on the time you dedicate to other activities besides work. If you are surfing the net, write down when you do that on non-work related activities. Basically, record anything that you do that falls outside of normal work expectations.
Do all this for one full day. Then, the next day, compare how you thought you were spending your day to how you were actually spending your day. What did you observe? Were you surprised by the times you dedicated to certain activities? What does your observation tell you about what is of importance to you? Are these the things to which you want your time dedicated? I'm offering this, not to make you feel bad about how you spend your time, but to encourage you to consider the time that God is giving to you. You are a redeemed child of God in Christ Jesus, and my hope would be that your day would carry a reflection of how God would have you prioritize your vocations in service to Him and to neighbor. If you find that is not the case, now is the time to repent and then start to work some change into your life. We'll deal more with that in the next post.
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