“Redeem the time” – Eph. 5:16
How many of you have lingering projects? To do lists still needing to be done. Whether in artistic expression, business and more importantly spiritually no one can turn a dream into reality without taking advantage of the opportunities that are before them.
In the above Scripture the Paul characterizes time as a fixed season. “God has set boundaries to our lives, and our opportunity for service exists only within those boundaries” (John Macarthur) Paul encourages us to make the most of our time which is depicted in some translations as redemption. (Redemption is used in the buying of slaves to set them free, thus Paul encourages us to buy up all the time we have and use it wisely. )
If anyone knew about redeeming the time it would be Paul. Paul’s accomplishments are vast and significant in only a short amount of time. He planted churches, mentored young believers, engaged in missionary journeys, and oh yea…wrote books. Wow! I am sure this took a great deal of focus and determination
As an individual who self-diagnosed himself with ADHD years ago and found out this year I was indeed diagnosed as a kid focus and determination are tools I am still learning but would like to share with you some things that has helped me a long the way:
1) Appropriate Amount of Sleep? It is funny I say this because I am truly a night person, but I have learned that at some point in working I climax and nothing is better than getting good sleep. I once read a study that stated appropriate hours of sleep helped with brain functioning. Now this appropriate number is different for each person, but a general rule of thumb is that adults need between 7-9 hours.
2) Breaktime – A couple years ago my good friend (Marcus) and I got into Social media marketing and other trainings we learned about a resource called the Pomodoro technique. It is a way to get the most out of time management whereby you set a timer for 25 minutes and work wholeheartedly on that project and at the completion of the time frame you reward yourself with a break. This means you cannot answer a cell phone, text, email, or anything else but give your entire attention to the project.
3) Create conducive environments – It is interesting but usually music foster creativity in me. Depending on the type of project determines the music I listen to. Personally I am a music lover and jam all types. Also, certain locations help me focus and think strategically.
4) Dismantle Distractions – Distractions can come in an array of social media, tv, “multi-tasking”, etc. I have learned that one of my favorite times of the day to work is later in the evening because I am usually the only one still awake and I can get alot more accomplished. However I just found a resource in a book I am reading called Anti-Social. It allows you to set up times to be anti-social media while working on your project. Also, multi-tasking is something I thought I was really “good” at, but when I look back at my progress I realized I didn’t do much at all. This is often seen when I try to clean up, and I start in the living room, take something to the kitchen and begin to work in there, only to find I need to take something to the bathroom and begin to work in there. After doing this several times in several rooms (probably alot to do with my ADHD) I am tired and realized I really didn’t do much work. What I just did was “serial-tasked” lol.
5) Eat Healthy – I am not the healthy guru, but I do reliaze that when I eat certain foods like cereal, pastas etc I gain an initial boost in energy and then I get sleepy. I also realize that energy drinks may be a good source of quick energy, but how much do they really aid and do the pros outweigh the cons. It would be wise to research the kinds of foods that are good for you.
6) Force Completion – I must admit that it is so easy to put things off. It was Benjamin Franklin who once said “you may delay, but time will not” Deadlines provides direction, clarity, and ultimately something to shoot for, thus force the issue by creating self-imposed deadlines and invite people to hold you accountable to your deadlines.
So before you move on to your next project and leave the current one you are working on to accumulate fine, dry powder consisting of tiny particles of earth redeem the time by making the most of every opportunity you have. Because believe it or not the “stopwatch” is ticking. .
Join the conversation!
In what areas do you struggle with most? What has helped you in overcoming procrastinating? Has this blog helped you?