How easy was that? You were likely doing something important, yet by calling this urgent, you stopped to read it.
Where else is that happening in your life?
We attract things that are “urgent”
If you’re like me, you go through periods of time where you wish there were more hours in a day. You may want this for a number of reasons. If you’re paid by the hour, this allows you to make more money.
Most likely at the end of your days, you feel anxious because you didn’t accomplish enough. You feel as though there were a number of things left undone, and you wish you had more time to give so you can feel accomplished.
Ending your day with a sense of anxiousness because of all that didn’t get done is quite common for people. Yet if measuring your accomplishments revolves around your ability to end the day with a to-do list that is completely checked off, then more often than not, you’ll be disappointed at the end of the day.
There will always be more to do. And the better you get at doing what you do, the more there will be added to your list. More will be expected of you. More business will come your way. It’s as if you attract more “urgent” things to do.
But that’s not what we need
We need quiet time, a time of rest!
It’s imperative that we take time to rest and recharge. During this time, we need to seek guidance and plan. Without this, “urgent” things will always take over the important things in our lives. Quiet time and rest allow us to prioritize and put the important things first in our lives.
And the busier we are, the more we need this time of rest.
It’s ironic, but the busiest of us take the least amount of time for quiet, planning, and rest. This seems to be the first thing that we sacrifice, but it’s the last thing we should sacrifice.
For every hour we spend in quiet time, seeking guidance and planning, it will likely save us 2-4 hours of work. It will also help us get in touch with what’s most important and prioritize that in our lives.
Jesus was busy, very busy. While he had only 3 years of ministry on earth, he was able to accomplish his work. There were still “urgent” things that needed to be done, but Jesus accomplished what was important.
Did he heal everyone? No. Did he feed everyone? No. Did he dominate the marketplace? No.
But each day he took quiet time. He went off to pray to God the father, sought guidance and planned his day. In the midst of busyness, he was able to stop and pour into people. He was able to care for them.
If he would have let the urgent rule in his life, he would have never been able to accomplish his work.
We need to be intentional
I make it a practice to have quiet time just about every day. I take 1-2 hours for it. It’s during this time that I pray, read, plan, and seek guidance.
Other people may have things that they expect of me that day, but I have peace with putting those things off for the important things.
I feel good at the end of my day when what was important that day was addressed. I’m OK with knowing that my to-do list may be bigger tomorrow than it was today, provided that I accomplished something important.
Of course, sometimes the urgent is important and I need to get that done, but hopefully you get the point.
How can you change the way that you approach your days? What can you do to keep your priorities in order? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
(Note: When re-prioritizing your life, a Vision can help you. Your Vision is a clear, written description of what your complete, ideal life looks like. If you don’t have your own Vision yet, here’s a simple resource that can help you start the process for yourself.)
