Have you ever had one of those months where you feel like you are running but not accomplishing? Where you feel like you are checking off items on your to-do list, but perhaps not the items that you wanted to check off? Where your answer to people asking how you are is always the same…busy! That was February for me. I was convicted when our pastor mentioned at church that he was frustrated with everyone answering the same way…busy. It’s true, we are all busy. We all have the same 24 hours in a day. Then, convicted even further when listening to The One Thing podcast, based on the book by the same name, and the question was asked…
“Do you schedule your life or does your life schedule you?”
As coaches, we love questions, so I immediately thought…
What would it look like if I began intentionally scheduling my life?
For the most part, I keep a calendar on my phone for appointments and I have a planner for my business, but it doesn’t seem to be serving me well. Sometimes I don’t feel as if I’m honoring the things most important to me. I was recalling the illustration of the rocks, pebbles, and sand in a mason jar. {Video of concept} Bear with me as we start diagnosing the problem that most of us face. Remember, the rocks must go in the jar first.
Follow along and answer these questions, honestly, for yourselves.
What are the “rocks” in your life? The "rocks" are the non-negotiables in your life. The "rocks" in my life are time with the Lord, time with family, and time for health.
What are the “pebbles” in your life? The "pebbles" are the things that matter and can enhance your life, but are not necessary for survival. Of course, these are things that give meaning to life so, for me, the "pebbles" are house care, career, friendships, and hobbies.
What is the "sand" in your life? These could be the material things or perhaps the time-sucker/filler activities that are replacing the "rocks". I don’t know about you, but the "sand" can be my cell phone. It seems to always be nearby waiting to distract me. Whether I’m mindlessly scrolling through social media, watching TV, or running errands to Target for what was supposed to be just paper towels and turned into a cruise of the entire store. Whose with me?! A 15-minute errand can quickly turn into 90-minutes of lost time.
I encourage you to really take time this week and analyze for yourself where you are spending your time versus investing your time. Keep in mind that if the "sand" goes in first, there will be no room for the "pebbles" or "rocks". Convicting…right!?!
In closing, we have 86,400 seconds or 1,440 minutes in a day. Granted 28,800 seconds and 480 minutes are spent on sleep. But that still leaves you with 57,600 seconds or 960 minutes of waking time to choose what order you will fill your jar. Let’s march into Spring with a renewed focus where we choose what life we want to lead. Next week, in part 2, we will learn a proven technique that will help you schedule the life that you are desiring. We all have our own unique path, once we acknowledge our distractions, we can resume the focused walk we yearn for. If you are struggling to prioritize your mason jar, we would love to chat with you! A FREE 20-minute Discovery Call is our gift to YOU!
Kelli
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