I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me… ~ Ecc. 2:18

Quick Sip

The devo last Saturday in 15 Minutes Alone with God, “One Day at a Time,” has really got me thinking about time management and learning how to balance all of our responsibilities. Personally, I’m really struggling with that right now.

This week I’m teaching a Professional Studies course at SNU, taking a course to learn how to teach online, and working with a designer to redesign the blog and make it more welcoming and user friendly. Plus being a mom to two little boys and running a household. It’s enough to make one’s head spin!

The typical advice to feeling overwhelmed is to make a list and see what all you can cut out. I don’t know about you, but right now there’s is really nothing to cut out. All these responsibilities need my time. I have delegated where I can (Thank you, Jeremy, for grocery shopping!), but there are just some things that can’t be delegated.

On the other hand, Emilie’s advice  in 15 Minutes Alone with God to make a list and check things off as you finish them is one of my favorite things to do when I feel overwhelmed. I just love putting that little scratch through an item when it’s done. I also like her advice to begin the day with God. Even on busy days, just that little pause at the beginning sure helps me a lot!

Another resource that I just found this week in my online teaching course is this website: Time Management. Though, designed for students to figure out if they have enough time for a class, I think it would work well just to see how much time you really have in your day, especially if you’re looking at adding something else.

I don’t know about you, but when I read the verses in Ecclesiastes that Emilie referred to in our reading this past week, I was saddened by how despondent the Solomon sounded. Whatever my day fills up with, I don’t want it to be consumed with stuff that won’t last. Instead, I want to make those things a priority that will last into eternity.

Full Cup

For further study on this topic…

Ecclesiastes 2:17-26
Matthew 6:19-21
Matthew 6:25-34

*I will also link this Time Management Tool under “Resources” on the right to be easily found later on.