We're in week 3 of a series called No Regrets: Living Wisely and focused on applying wisdom to how we use our time.
Here's the brief: whatever we value and give importance to warrants our time. We don't have time for everything, so we must choose. The scripture tells us to make the best use of our time, or make the most of every opportunity (Eph. 5:16).
Digging deep into the wisdom literature of the Old Testament we understand that 1. there's a time for everything, 2. our time is limited, and 3. Time = Life. If this is true, how much more important is Eph. 5:16? But how?
We reasoned on Sunday that the best use of our time is "cumulative deposits" of time in the right places because it reaps rewards (eg. 20 min. of exercise every day, dinner with your family, etc.)
If Time = Life and time is limited, if what I value I put time into, then how would I divide my time. Here are 4 categories: Spiritual, Relational, Physical, Professional. Here's what I'm attempting (some is in progress, some still needs to be implemented):
Spiritual:
- 20-30min. (4-5x per week) reading/reflecting on the scriptures, responding in my journal and with prayer
- weekly Sunday gatherings
- other books that help me cultivate my relationships with God and how I can live out his values in my life.
- periodic retreats away with extended time in the scriptures, prayer, reflection, and other spiritual disciplines (needs to become a more frequent habit)
- meet with a mentor every 5-6 weeks for about 1 hour
Relational:
- *breakfast with my family every morning (really short), leave my son at the bus stop daily when possible
- dinner every night with my family (with rare exceptions for meetings or projects)
- *after dinner play time, reading, piano/homework with my kids
- a chunk of Saturday afternoon together with family (in progress, needs work)
- friday family night (2-4x per month depending on other relational commitments)
- *time with my wife after the kids are in bed (post 8PM)
- periodic date night with my wife (in progress, needs work)
- 2-4x per month with friends, neighbors or church community
- small group (mix of spiritual and relational, 2-4x per month)
*sometimes my schedule can interfere with this - early morning meeting, or meetings/groups 2-3 evenings per week, but I try to keep it as consistent as can be; here's an example of where some other cumulative deposits need to be looked at with your whole life in view (spiritual, relational, serving others), there's a time for everything. E.G. sometimes we serve with our kids, or visit friends with them - the line of priorities can sometimes blur.
Physical:
- floor hockey every 2 weeks
- 20min. walk 3-4x per week (in progress, need to be implemented more frequently)
- weekly landscaping (summer only)
Professional:
- mentoring session every 5-6 weeks
- regular study time outside of regular teaching prep (needs implementation)
- regular reading (late evening before bed, needs more consistency)
- conference 2x per year
That was my draft, lots to work on, some stuff happening already. I go back to this pretty often, b/c I always seem to need improvement or adjustments somewhere. I don't think our time commitments (though needing our faithful commitment) can be too set in stone, especially as we evaluate if our priorities are getting enough attention.
Does writing it out like this make it helpful for you? Do you appraoch it differently? What's your time look like?
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