Time Savers for Fall
“Make the most of every opportunity.” Col 4:5
With fall schedules heating up, carving out time to write is even more of a challenge.
I remember many days (even with my kids at school) that seemed to slip by with very accomplished at home — much less at the keyboard. I often thought, “Am I in a time warp?? It CAN’T be 3:00 already!” Feeling like a complete failure, I’d step over the pile of dirty laundry that had been blocking the door all day — knowing that once again I wouldn’t have an answer to the most dreaded question of the day, “What’s for dinner?”
There were many times I would have relished replying as Liz, the main character in one of my novels, “Why are you asking ME what’s for dinner? Do I have a menu on my forehead? Pots hanging from my belt? A roast around my neck?”
But then again, that likely would have cinched my spot on Dr. Phil. Instead, I decided to find a better system.
I believe saving time and thus “making the most of every opportunity,” is found in the little things. For example, I used to stumble down to the kitchen in the morning, turn on the coffee and stare at it while it brewed. It didn’t take long for the Holy Spirit to break through the fog and prod me into using those few minutes in a more productive way.
Now, after turning on the coffee, I trust the machine to work its magic apart from my anticipatory gaze. My routine is to toss a load of laundry in the washing machine, empty the dishwasher and take dinner out of the freezer. It’s amazing how much I can get done in those few minutes.
Encouraged, I forced myself to develop an evening routine. This was tougher but as they say… no pain, no gain.
So, before I go upstairs to bed for the evening, I’ve made it my habit to straighten up the family room, check the calendar for the next day’s activities, start the dishwasher and carry up my clean laundry to put away.
I had to face the fact that this is a much better use of my time than my old habit of leaving the dishes soaking until morning and tripping over my shoes on the way up the stairs.
This week I have a challenge for you. Take a look at your habits with an eye toward replacing the time-wasters with time-savers. You’ll be glad you did.
