Scheduling

Last month, I took a course in managing multiple deadlines, where I learned to use a computer's calendar and task features to plan events and lock in some personal time, so the demands of work and life in general don't take over my life and leave me a raving, sleep-deprived lunatic.

It went well, until I realized that something was missing from the calendar and to-do list. What was it?

• Time to eat: check.
• Time to get the work done by the deadlines: check.
• Time for the meetings: check.
• Time for exercise: check.
• Time for after-work activities: check.
• Time with my husband: check.
• Time off from work: check.
• Time for family events: check.
• Time to write...? I'll squeeze that in somehow.

I had gone through all the items listed in the class booklet. What was missing?

Time with God and time to pray.

As 3:00 pm is the accepted time of death for Christ on the cross, it seemed the ideal time to peel myself away from a busy work afternoon, or even to pause on weekends and vacation days. I choose that as my prayer time, in addition to morning and nightly prayers.

The white space in the schedule is the buffer for last-minute "drop everything and put out this fire" stuff that is normally part of my work day. But I wanted to commit time for the most important thing in my life: God.

 It's sad how good intentions don't pan out when I move from planning to practice.

At the point of implementation, I discovered that those little blue boxes are sure easy to move when "priority projects" are squeezed in, or when the boss drops something complex on my desk that he "needs done right away."

Often, my plans are moved well past 5 pm, or moved to tomorrow, or next week, or cancelled all together. "Prayer Time" was one of those boxes that life shoved off the schedule.

That little pop-up reminder on the computer was ignored too. Maybe if I had a cat that would walk away with my computer mouse and paperwork at 3pm each day, it would help. I needed something else to help me. God was worth far more than to be lost in the shuffle of life.

While I don't have the latest iPhone - or anything remotely close to a smart phone - my cell phone (pictured here) does have an alarm feature. I may be able to ignore a pop-up on the computer screen, but it's a bit harder to ignore a mexican jumping bean in my pocket that blasts out an annoying little song.

For the past few weeks, I've found this works for me. Even when I am in a meeting, I can close my eyes and offer a prayer to God - at 3 pm. I even find it works great on weekends, even if I go hiking miles from a cell tower, let along a wifi hotspot or a computer.

My boss may ask me to drop everything and work on his project, but I owe much more to the One that dropped EVERYTHING to work on mine.

What's in your schedule?
Make the time.
It's worth it.
~ ESA


Images: Top from US Marines website, checkboxes from ncvps.org, stressed woman from the internet (source unknown), phone from Verizon Wireless website, the rest are mine.