Part 2 of a 2 part series about time management
(If you haven’t read part 1 first, click here https://keepersofheartandhome.com/does-time-management-matter-to-god/ )
Prioritize by the Bible
There are 3 basic categories our daily activities fall into. 1) Things we do for others, 2) things we want to do for ourselves, and 3) things we do for Jesus. When we place these in the right order by priority according to the Bible, we get the acrostic J.O.Y. We add joy and rest to our lives by prioritizing our day in this manner.
- JESUS: Things God commands us to do can be found only in scripture. A good place to start reading about these things would be in Titus 2. This chapter tells the aged, or more mature, women what they should teach the younger about how to live as a Christian lady. The commands given in this set of scripture must be top priority in our life. There may be some days this is all we can do. Life gets hectic. Children get sick. Work can be overwhelming. It’s okay. God knows where you are in life. We all go through seasons when we are able to be more productive than other times. Give yourself grace. Notice that these verses in Titus 2 (shown below) cover many areas of our lives. Our home, husband, children, ministries and giving out the Gospel (teachers of good things).
That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.
Titus 2:2-5
The aged women likewise, that [they be] in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;
That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,
[To be] discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.
2. OTHERS: The things we do for others should come next in line of priorities. When we serve others, and are a blessing to others, we are truly living as Christ lived. He spent his life doing for other people. This doesn’t mean you don’t take time for yourself! Jesus himself had to depart into a solitary place once in a while to pray, and rest. This simply means the Christian life is not a self-centered one. We have been liberated to share that liberty, love and lifestyle with others!
For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only [use] not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
Galatians 5:13
3. YOURSELF: The things we want to do; hobbies, entertainment, even furthering our education, should never take precedent over the first two categories. There is nothing wrong with bettering yourself! We should always have goals. But it is possible to put your personal aspirations and desires ahead of God and what he wants for your life. God’s way is always best! Put him first, and the rest will follow.
Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
Psalm 37:4
Practical application:
Get up earlier.
Nobody wants to hear this. I am not a morning person. I started getting up earlier because I needed more hours in my day. But as I routinely got up early and made scripture reading in the morning a priority, it truly changed my days. I believe this is how God wants it. He wants us to put him first in our lives, our homes, and in our days. Before we pick up a phone, before we turn on the news or music, pick up the Bible. Pray to God. Ask him to help you with your schedule for the day. Once you make this a habit, you will be amazed at how much easier it gets over time. You will enjoy it. Eventually. Trust me. I also, wholeheartedly believe we should study scripture ourselves, in addition to whatever blog, podcast, or good devotional book we choose to read. God wants to speak to you personally through his word, and not only through someone else’s studies, but your own personal study one on one with Him!
She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.
Proverbs 31:15
O God, thou [art] my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;
Psalm 63:1
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Matthew 6:33
Get more sleep.
I know, it seems contrary to what I just said previously. It’s not. We only have ourselves to blame when we stay up late, wake up early, and still can’t get it all done. God wants us to rest! As a Mom of 5, I know what it means to be exhausted and busy. There is never enough time in the day. Some days you just have to quit and leave the rest for another day. That is okay. Give yourself permission to “clock out” and go to bed. God will take care of the things you have no control over. Let him. And if you physically, literally have too much to do each day, maybe you are doing too much.
[It is] vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: [for] so he giveth his beloved sleep.
Psalm 127:2
Have a calendar and make lists.
Not on your phone. On paper, and hang them up. There is something so satisfying about having a “To Do” list for the day, and as you complete tasks on the list you can cross them off! I even like to make a “Has to be done today” list, and a “Projects for the week” list. When I have extra time one day I go to the “projects” list. Having these lists and calendars hanging up makes them easier to see, stay focused on, and keep going back to throughout the day, without having to continually pick up your phone. Which leads me to my next suggestion…
So teach [us] to number our days, that we may apply [our] hearts unto wisdom.
Psalm 90:12
Put your phone down. Leave it alone.
OUCH. I know. But hear me out – The average person picks up their phone over 80 times a day, checking them approximately every 12 minutes, for an average of 10-15 minutes per use! Think about how many alerts come in to your cell phone daily. Text messages, Facebook alerts, phone calls, app notifications, reminders, and the list goes on. When you receive an alert that someone posted a comment on one of your pictures on Facebook or Instagram, is it REALLY urgent that you read that comment right then? Chances are no. When we pick up our phone to reply to someone, how many of us find ourselves minutes later sidetracked looking at other things? As a society, we have become so “instant gratification” minded, that we think something is wrong when people take more than 2 minutes to reply to a text message or phone call. Remember the good old days when Mom or Dad left for work at 6am, and you didn’t talk to them again until they returned home – and that was NORMAL? I sometimes think it would be nice to have a little bit of that back. Turn certain app alerts off. Silence ones that are not considered urgent. Remember – Martha was cumbered about with many things…but Mary chose to do what was most important, and Jesus said she was wise in so doing.
