How Do You Spend Your Time?

 I usually spend 30 minutes on the elliptical each morning. The number of calories I burn depends on my effort. If I increase my pace and resistance I burn more calories. If I exercise at a slower pace I burn fewer calories. I said all this to say it’s the same 30 minutes but what I get out of it depends on me.

 Many of us end each day saying ‘there just isn’t enough time in the day’ or ‘I just wish I had a few more hours’.

What are you doing with your time? There are 24 hours in each day. The recommended amount of time for sleeping is 6.50 hours however I’m sure some of you get more and some of you get less. Let’s just say you average 7 hours of sleep. That leaves 17 waking hours. What activities do you have during a normal work week? Most people spend about 9 hours a day on the job and depending on your commute may spend an hour or two driving to and from work. That leaves about 6 hours.  If you spend an hour at the gym, shopping, cooking or doing other activities that may leave you with 5 hours.  

 What are you doing with your 5 hours? A lot of you are adult learners and are spending a lot of your time studying. But what about those of you who at not hitting the books? Are you spending your time on the telephone, on facebook, or watching television?

Are you using your time wisely? Time once spent cannot be recaptured. Some of you may remember a commercial for I believe it was AT&T’s cell phone service. If all of the minutes were not used during the month they would rollover into the next month.

 

Wouldn’t it be nice if the time that we waste could be rolled over and used for more productive activities? Well it can’t! I’ve wasted more Saturdays than I care to remember watching movies all day. My how I’d like to roll that time over and use it for more productive activity. Bearing that in mind I’ve made a conscious decision to allocate a certain amount of my time each day for more productive activity. I have a set time, one that I know I will be able to use that won’t interfere with other activities. I am also not making the amount of time too lengthy so I don’t set myself up for failure. This will prevent me from neglecting my production time to attend to other tasks. Lastly, I’ve outlined what I would like to do during this time and set a goal for myself for accountability. By the way, I’m using my productivity time to write this blog.

My challenge to you is for you to allocate time each day to be more productive and accomplish something that you have been putting off because you didn't think you had time to do it.

Encouraging your financial, emotional and physical wellness

Greta

What Are Your Doing With Your Talent?

So you think you've come up with the best idea since sliced bread. Or maybe you've written a poem or a book that will change lives. Perhaps you have perfected a technique that will revolutionize a current process. What are you doing with your idea, talent, or gift?

We read in Matthew 25:15-28 about the man travelling the country that gave talents to his servants. I like what it says in verse 15. He gave the talents to each of them according to their ability or their willingness to use their talent in the most beneficial way. The servants that were given the most talents used their talents and doubled them. The servant that received one talent buried his talent. He said he was afraid. He didn't want to lose the one talent he was given so rather than risk it her buried it, but as you read in verse 28 he still lost his talent. It was taken from him and given to the servant that was initially given 5 talents.

Which servant are you? Are you willing to take a risk? Are you willing to step out and use your talent to benefit others as well as yourself? Have you ever seen a product, a book, a movie or even a recipe that's similar to an idea of yours? Have you ever seen a person doing exactly what it is that you love to do? What thoughts go through your mind? Do you think I thought of that years ago or that's supposed to be me? Do you become jealous or envious? Perhaps you become angry with yourself for not following through.

So what's your next step? It would be easy to convince yourself your idea has already been done. It's especially disconcerting if your idea has been brought to fruition by a well known personality. Well I'm here to tell you no one can do what you can do exactly the way you do it. Your gifts are your gifts! Your destiny is your destiny! How many brands of chocolate chip cookies are there? How many motivational speakers are there? How many fashion designers are there? How many books have been written on the topic you feel led in your heart to write? Not everything will appeal to everyone. Your audience is your audience!

Indulge me for a moment. Imagine a group of people wandering aimlessly. They've tried one thing or another but have not been able to have a specific need met. Who knows, you may be one of those people. I know I am. I have been on a hunt for the perfect fitting shoe all of my life. My feet are long and narrow. Anyone who has ever shopped for apparel or shoes knows different brands fit differently. And, to add to that as most of you know one side of your body is slightly bigger than the other. Anyway, back to my shoe challenge. If I find the right length the shoe is usually too wide. Sometimes I can add pads to get a better fit. If I find the right width the shoe may be a smidgen too short. I haven't tried stretching my shoes to get a better fit. That's my next step. I said all of this to say. We all have things we are in need of and someone may have hidden the talent in the ground that could meet the needs of a huge audience.

One of my fears has been what if someone with more resources gets wind of my idea and produces it before I can produce it?

What gift or talent do you have that you have buried? Don't be afraid you will not succeed. What God has placed in you He is more than able to cause to succeed. Make a commitment to start today. Get back on track if you've gotten off track. Pull out that old notebook full of ideas. Your time is now? And by the way, which one of you has the design for my perfect fitting shoe?