The lines of purpose in your lives never grow slack, tightly tied as they are to your future in heaven, kept taut by hope. Colossians 1:5 [The Message]

I would love if this passage described my life. Unfortunately the lines of purpose in my life are often tangled, and they do get slack, forgetful as I am of my future in heaven, at least when the going gets tough. I put my hope in a fridge full of food, or a full night’s sleep, or a balanced budget, and I end up taut with anxiety or frustration when those things don’t happen.

But each day is a new day! And this week, as I reflect on how I schedule my days and watch how they actually go, I have been challenged to plan my time more intentionally and keep my hope at the forefront of my mind. I mentioned in a recent post that I’ve decided not to create a fixed schedule for myself – there are activities that I know repeat themselves every day or week, but assigning them a regular time doesn’t make sense to me since at this point it would be completely arbitrary. 95% of my life is unscheduled right now, and it seems best to embrace that. I’m not concerned whether I connect with God at 10 a.m. or 3 p.m. or 2:37 a.m. as long as it happens regularly and isn’t getting pushed aside for time on facebook.

DSC07397So I am test-running a new time-management strategy, which is basically a to-do list that spans a few days or weeks at a time. This way an unproductive day doesn’t put me behind schedule, but I also don’t lose sight of the tangible steps that will help me accomplish what I value. I noticed my list does not include a lot of household management type stuff – that’s because dishes and laundry tend to schedule themselves for me – I don’t need them on a checklist to remember they need doing. And while the state of my home does reflect on part of my identity, those aren’t part of the values I’m working to cultivate right now :)

[If you are looking for a resource to make better use of your time - check out my review of a great ebook Tell Your Time]

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