Friend,
If you are like me, you constantly struggle with having enough time to accomplish all that you desire within 24-hours. There are so many things that we want to do, but sometimes, it just doesn’t seem to be enough time to get it done. I recently got annoyed with what I felt was a lack of time. I began to take inventory of my life, and what I typically did in a day. After I realized what my days consisted of, I questioned myself. I wondered why I didn’t have enough time to be productive. Yes, I was getting things done, but I didn’t feel like anything I was doing what was actually productive. Although I contribute a lot of time to my family, partner, child, and work, I also contribute a lot of my time to distractions that have no bearing on my productivity. I noticed that social media and lounging around was a big contributor to my lack of productivity. After taking inventory of my day, I realized that I waste hours upon hours doing…. nothing!! I then had to make a decision: am I going to stay in my comfort zone and continue to be nonproductive, watch everyone else live their lives to the fullest, be another statistic and waste time playing the comparison game? Or, am I going to make the sacrifices I need to make in order to manage my time better, become more productive, and level up? I saw that I was wasting so much time gazing into other people’s lives while neglecting my own. As a result, I was left feeling empty, unfulfilled, and ultimately worthless. I made the decision to make the necessary changes to get back on track.
Here are some tips that I picked up along the way:
GET ORGANIZED
In order to stay focused, it helps to know what needs to be done. Planning the day with the Holy Spirit has not only allows you to be more productive, but it has also allowed you to better discern what’s important and what’s a waste of time. This also allows you to time block and recognize how long each task would typically take so that you are more diligent in your work throughout the day. Planning the day helps you to be able to cut down on idle time and devote it to the next task.
IDENTIFY YOUR TOP PRIORITIES
Secondly, it is important to know what gives you purpose in life so that you know what to devote your time to. I personally am a very creative and family-oriented person who is devoted to The Most High God. So, I personally tend to make sure I prioritize down time to spend time with family and God, while also devoting time to what I’m passionate about. We must realize that life isn’t all about work. We must leave space for pleasure as well. Life shouldn’t be all work and no play. So when you’re learning to prioritize your time, make sure you include your hobbies.
TIME BLOCK
In order to be more productive, it is important to be mindful of your time. I’ve found that time blocking helps me tremendously. Time blocking is where you list your tasks, and assign a certain amount of time to spend on each task. This not only gives you a better idea of how long it will take you to complete your tasks, but will also force you to eliminate any distractions to allow you to maximize the time you’ve allotted yourself.
DON’T OVERDO IT
I’ve learned that it is important to keep task lists simple and precise. I used to have a bad habit of adding way too much to my task lists in order to feel more productive. I realized that these large lists left me feeling overwhelmed and intimidated. I’ve learned to spread out my tasks over the week and keep a steady pace on less tasks.
Friend, when it comes becoming more productive, it’s best to keep it simple, work on improving these small habits, and keep God first.
“And a servant who knows what the master wants, but isn’t prepared and doesn’t carry out those instructions, will be severely punished. But someone who does not know, and then does something wrong, will be punished only lightly. When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.”
Luke 12:47-48 NLT