Picture this. You’re on a float in the middle of your small town parade. Driving down the oak lined streets, you’re throwing candy right and left.
Laughing kids are scooping it up and running alongside the parade, hoping to grab more.
They told you at the beginning of the parade to pace yourself so you you wouldn’t run out of candy, but you’re having a hard time doing that. It’s so fun making all the little kids happy, you don’t want to stop.
Round about 4th and Main you run out. Right at the post office. You still have four blocks to go and up ahead you see your own kids and all their friends.
They’re laughing and cheering and looking expectantly at you, waiting for the candy you’re sure to throw their way. Unfortunately, you have nothing left to give. As the float glides by their cheerful little faces, all you have to offer is a wave.
Are You Using Your Time Well?
Life is like throwing candy in a parade. Only instead of throwing candy, we’re throwing minutes and hours at the things God wants us to do and the people God wants us to love.
Like the parade candy, we only have so much time to give. If we use it all up on time-wasting activities, we won’t have any left over to do the things God wants us to do.
God has been really convicting me of this lately, and I’m trying to be more intentional about how I use my time. Here are a few questions you can use to evaluate the way you use your time and talents:
4 Questions to Help You Use Your Time Well
- What unique gifts and talents has God given you?
- How are you using those gifts to love others well?
- What are your biggest time-wasting activities?
- Is there anything you need to change in order to love God and others well?
Here are a few possible ways to love others well: Volunteer at your local nursing home or school. Visit a prisoner, an elderly neighbor, or a lonely person. Teach a Bible study. Disciple someone. Raise money for a well in a third world country. Give an overworked mom a break by offering to watch her kids for free. Do something nice for your spouse or roommates. Spend time with your kids. Pray.
P.S. Don’t forget to consider perfectionism and people pleasing in your list of time-wasting activities.
Discussion: What is your biggest time waster? Can you think of any other questions to add to the list?
Interesting analogy, Barb. Will definitely stick in my mind. My biggest time waster is perfectionism. It also causes disunity in my home sometimes – too often – too. I have improved over the years, but it is so easy to slip back into that mindset. I have some post ideas in mind on the topic but haven’t gotten to them yet. I needed this reminder.
That’s also my biggest time waster, Kari. I’ll be looking forward to reading your posts on the subject!
I agree with Kari, Barb. Really good analogy. My time waster used to be people pleasing, especially when my children were still at home. Now it’s probably wandering email and social media. Since I’m on my computer so much, and I’m easily distracted . . . I can lose track of time very easily. I’m trying to discipline myself to do what needs to be done first and leave the rest as a reward. Hopefully, that will give me more time away from the laptop. Thanks for a great post!
I’m trying to do the same thing, Deb – sometimes successful, and sometimes not! It would be far less of a temptation if I didn’t have to write on the computer!
Great illustration and points Barb! We all have the same amount of time in a day, however not everyone uses their time well or effectively. My biggest time wasters are social media(But I’m becoming better) and procrastination.
Social media is a big one for writers, I think, because it provides such a nice pleasant diversion from the mundaneness of writing! And a nice, easy way to procrastinate. I would get so much more done if I could break my “wasting time on the Internet” habit. One of these days!
Ha, me too:)
OUCH to the people-pleasing and perfectionism! I’m sooo guilty here.
Great analogy with the parade!
Haha, I hear you. I’ve gotten over the people pleasing for the most part (I used to not even realize “no” was an option) but still working on the perfectionism. It’s an incredible time waster.
Yes it is and yet I continually do it!
Great post and analogy Barb. I find myself wasting time when I’ve hit a mind-block when writing & creating and when I have too much on my plate. i jump from one mindless thing to another – internet, long lunch breaks, wandering around the house aimlessly (true story), zoning off (over thinking, worry).
I love # 1, it has helped me with focus and cutting out excesses lately.
Wow, Ngina, I thought I was the only one who wandered aimlessly around the house! Pathetic, isn’t it? I do all the things you mentioned. Plus I have a 17 year old daughter who is willing to play games with me when I hit a writing roadblock. :) It’s a wonder I get anything done. Lately I’ve been trying the pomodoro time management system which I’m really liking – 25 minutes on 5 minutes off, etc. It works great with my personality.
I’ve heard of pomodoro time management, although I’ve not looked it up. i try to implement breaks but most times i forget to take them. But i agree, frequent breaks are great for focus.
Melanie Wilson does a good job describing it at the end of this post: http://www.psychowith6.com/can-mark-forsters-do-it-tomorrow-help-you-get-more-done/ plus her next post in the series has a pdf you can download if you’re interested.
Just clicked through to Melanie’s page and about to download the pdf. Alot of great info!
Hmm, I just read the pdf – or at least part of it. I’m not as rigid as he suggests but just having the 25-5-25-5 idea is helpful.
What a great analogy. I’m usually done giving out candy at noon and I still have people waiting for handouts til 11 at night. LOL I do need to conserve! :-)
Ahh, the life of a homeschool mom. :)
A post after my own heart.
I think for most people the biggest time wasters are useless leisure and entertainment – and then the other extreme of committing to too much. We constantly feel like we SHOULD be doing more.
I had a friend who was really good at taking intentional leisure. She’d get a lot done and then have a planned break day. She enjoyed her break so much more because she’d accomplished so much and because she wasn’t feel guilty. I would like to be more like her. :) But I agree, for most people, it’s a big time waster.
Entertainment can be a big time waster for me. It’s so easy to just shut off the mind and before I know it and hour or two has gone by. Thanks for the great reminder to use my time well!
I know what you mean. I can waste time like crazy. i would be so much better off if I just took the time to renew because for me there’s usually a reason I’m wasting time – I’m avoiding something. Getting better though. Small steps.
This is an awesome analogy… it hit like a hammer. Even the good activities can become the wrong thing to do. Sometimes good isn’t good… I cut back to posting two posts a week for this very reason. I’m not good at balance, it takes real discipline for me to use it…
Excellent post, Barb.
Sometimes good isn’t good – that’s a great way to put it. I cut back to posting one time a week because it was taking too much of my time and I wasn’t able to put effort into writing the Bible studies I wanted to write. Thankfully the posts aren’t taking as long as they used to take, and I’m almost through writing the Bible study I cut down for! That feels good. :) That’s great that you were also able to make yourself cut down when you felt like you needed it.