Yesterday I was able to celebrate my forty-third birthday with pizza, ice-cream, family, and friends. It was a blessing to remember how much the Lord has done for me in the last twelve months.
It was also a not so gentle reminder I need to take better care of myself
Taking care of myself in this situation doesn’t mean eating healthier (though I should do this) but carefully conserving my energy, as well as mental concentration.
In our younger years it’s possible to play all day long without getting tired, and rely on an encyclopedic memory of whatever happened. But of course as the years pass energy becomes a precious resource, and more time is spent in a mental fog.
Add to this lots of walking uphill in Barrouallie’s hot sun, and saving physical or mental energy is more important than ever!
So how do I plan to use my energy and concentration wisely?
By scheduling everything!
Basically I’ve used an idea from Cal Newports book “Deep Work” by breaking my day down into thirty-minute blocks, with a goal for each of those thirty minutes (communication, sermon prep, revelation notes, etc). Then each block is written down in a notebook I constantly carry.
While this isn’t a perfect system, it does help me from wasting energy or concentration:
- my mind doesn’t have to ask “what should I do next?”
- Energy and thought is focused on one goal
- writing down a schedule allows me to organize tasks by importance, and eliminate unnecessary ones
- And I stay on track! For the most part it allows me to get the important work done
The point isn’t really time-management however, but using the gift of energy and strong mind while it’s still there
There will come a day when my mind will lack the concentration to do the work, or my body will lack the strength to carry it out. On that day I want to with the Lords help look back on the great things I invested my time and energy in or Him instead of wishing I had done more.
Johnhwilburn.org 