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You are here: Home / Goals and Productivity / 4 Questions to Help You Use Your Time Well

4 Questions to Help You Use Your Time Well

April 15, 2013 By: Barb Raveling

This post may contain affiliate links. View our disclosure policy here.

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.

Do you ever feel like you're wasting your days away? The truth is, God has things He'd like us to do. Here are 4 questions that will help you use your time well!

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:

Do you ever feel like you're not doing all that God wants you to do? Here are 4 questions that will help you use your time well!

4 Questions to Help You Use Your Time Well

  1. What unique gifts and talents has God given you?
  2. How are you using those gifts to love others well?
  3. What are your biggest time-wasting activities?
  4. 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?

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Comments

  1. Kari Scare says

    April 15, 2013 at 6:25 am

    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.

    • Barb Raveling says

      April 15, 2013 at 7:23 am

      That’s also my biggest time waster, Kari. I’ll be looking forward to reading your posts on the subject!

  2. Deb says

    April 15, 2013 at 9:15 am

    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!

    • Barb Raveling says

      April 15, 2013 at 11:40 am

      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!

  3. Dan Black says

    April 15, 2013 at 10:57 am

    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.

    • Barb Raveling says

      April 15, 2013 at 11:44 am

      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!

      • Dan Black says

        April 15, 2013 at 12:22 pm

        Ha, me too:)

  4. TCAvey says

    April 15, 2013 at 11:46 am

    OUCH to the people-pleasing and perfectionism! I’m sooo guilty here.

    Great analogy with the parade!

    • Barb Raveling says

      April 15, 2013 at 11:51 am

      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.

      • TCAvey says

        April 15, 2013 at 12:22 pm

        Yes it is and yet I continually do it!

  5. Ngina Otiende says

    April 15, 2013 at 7:33 pm

    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.

    • Barb Raveling says

      April 15, 2013 at 9:38 pm

      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.

      • Ngina Otiende says

        April 16, 2013 at 4:58 pm

        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.

        • Barb Raveling says

          April 16, 2013 at 5:31 pm

          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.

          • Ngina Otiende says

            April 17, 2013 at 7:45 am

            Just clicked through to Melanie’s page and about to download the pdf. Alot of great info!

        • Barb Raveling says

          April 16, 2013 at 6:48 pm

          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.

  6. Melanie Wilson says

    April 15, 2013 at 8:54 pm

    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! :-)

    • Barb Raveling says

      April 15, 2013 at 9:24 pm

      Ahh, the life of a homeschool mom. :)

  7. Loren Pinilis says

    April 16, 2013 at 9:34 am

    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.

    • Barb Raveling says

      April 16, 2013 at 5:35 pm

      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.

  8. Caleb says

    April 18, 2013 at 12:05 am

    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!

    • Barb Raveling says

      April 20, 2013 at 6:37 pm

      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.

  9. floyd says

    April 19, 2013 at 7:09 pm

    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.

    • Barb Raveling says

      April 20, 2013 at 6:35 pm

      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.

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