We’re all aware of the fact that there is only 24 hours in the day. Just as an ‘interesting’ exercise, let’s look at this a moment. The math:
1. If you work outside the home then, typically, at least 8 hours is spent at your place of employment. You have to get to and from home which can be as little as 15 minutes up to over an hour+ in larger cities. To be generous and ‘universal’ let’s say it takes you an additional hour for both the to and from. 9 hours utilized. Remaining: 15 hours.
(However, if you are a ‘house spouse’ there is no remaining time since you are involved in all the tasks that surround this role – 24/7/365.)
2. Then there’s sleep – something that many of us feel we don’t get enough of due to our tossing and turning. However, let’s do the average of 8 hours. We’ve now utilized 17 hours. Remaining: 7 hours.
3. Eating and preparing the food, is another activity we engage in daily – 3 meals: being very skimpy let’s say 30 minutes each preparing and consuming another 1.5 hours, unless we go out to eat which will add more time, but minimally = 18.5 hours used. Remaining: 5.5 hours.
5.5 hours, does this sound like a lot? Really? 5.5 hours to do all those things you actually may want to do and/or the ‘things’ you have to do. I’ve only included the major areas of time-use in our day, but this only begins the process of looking at how we use our time. Let’s face it – we all also waste time, but ignoring this… what exactly do we do with the (maximum) 5.5 hours? What would you want to do?
Faced with this choice many tend to do a ‘rob Peter to pay Paul’. You pick those tasks and activities that really can’t be put off and ignore the rest. It is understandable but rarely effective because at some point you really do have to ‘pay Peter’… but at what expense? No choice? Somehow I question this because you are the one choosing to do what, when.
At some point you really are going to have to say, “Enough!” I can’t add any thing else to my schedule. One thing you have to remember is that this issue will never go away until you face it. And it is never simple because in every situation that you say ‘yes’ to… you’ll have to say ‘no’ to something else. I suspect people-pleasers have the most problem.
Just as an aside – the Lord is not the one you should ever say – ‘later’ to or ‘I don’t have time to pray/study’. Quite honestly, the time you intentionally spend with Him is far more important. However… it is your life to be lived in the manner you choose. I’m simply presenting the math and indicating one area that I believe should never be short changed.
