Time and again I find myself complaining.

Time and again I find myself saying, “I haven’t had time” or “I ran out of time” or most often, “I’m sorry I’m late.”

Time, time, time.

I haven’t forgotten about my time management project and series for this blog. I really haven’t! I’ve just found other things that are occupying my time more often.

Like the commute to my daughters’ schools, which is no longer a ten-minute round trip, but more like thirty in the morning and forty-five in the afternoon.  Or the nearly half-hour trip to the dance studio, one way. My husband’s refractive eye surgery and subsequent checkup appointments. Joining a Bible study at the local PWOC. Working on the ever-enlarging database of blogs and a few other projects here at Wives of Faith. Supporting my friends long-distance. Financial Peace University at a local church. Selling off much of my husband’s pastoral library a book at a time. Downsizing my own library. Writing as much as I can. Shredding old tax records and other old documents.

If you look at each thing on that list, there is not one bad thing. In fact, all of them are very good things. But combined, what I’m finding is that if I look at that list, I feel so overwhelmed I am tempted to sit on the couch and eat ice cream and watch TV, or read book after book and hide from everything.

Do you ever feel like that? I know so many of you are heavily involved in your church or base/post chapel, in PWOC, in FRGs and other family and spouse support groups. And so many of you work outside the home on top of your regular wife and mom duties. Plus, our husbands’ jobs can often impede on our schedules, can’t they?

In all the time management resources I’ve read, the feeling of overwhelmed is common. Here are four of the first practical steps we can take to get past that feeling of “I give up–let’s eat ice cream.”

• What are your priorities, really? Obviously God, husband, children are at the top of the list. But what about everything else? We have to make time for the important things first.
• Make a to-do list every day and stick with it. On the days I actually stick with the list I’ve made, I do pretty well with the hours I’ve been given.
• Find your time-wasters and avoid them. Better yet, use them as motivation to get a few things done first. If you love Farmville or some other game on Facebook, make yourself finish a task or two before you play, and then set a timer for yourself so you aren’t tempted to harvest one more crop.
• Finally, remember this verse; let it remind us all to be open to the Holy Spirit’s schedule interruptions in our days:

Colossians 4:5:
Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.

Thank you for reading, and as always, please respond in the comments if you have any ideas about time management. I love to hear from you!

I haven’t forgotten about my idea to talk about priorities and the fairy-tale idea of a balanced life.  We’ll get there.

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