With the way 2020 has turned out so far, it can be tempting to escape the harsh realities of this world with Netflix and Disney +. I have fallen into this vegetative trap during the social distancing era we find ourselves. I have gained 10 pounds; I have watched too much television; I have let the activities that give me zest fall away as I sit with all the unknowns. Unable to move forward or backward because I do not have the confidence of what tomorrow will bring. For the past 2 months, I kept waiting for things to return to normal, so I can return to normal...
Then, I did this Beach Body activity with the Morning Meltdown 100 called "Prioritize Your Life" because I decided to work an exercise program after gaining 10 pounds with ease. You basically make a pie chart of how you spend your time--a time allocation exercise. The scientist in me probably took it to an exactness that was not intended because I did calculations, but you do not have to do calculations. I split my pie charts into nine categories: Family, Work, Fitness, Faith, Nutrition, Socializing, TV, Sleep, and Art. I am sure you wondering when the "Art" piece was going to come into this blog, so I finally got there. My percentages in order of greatest to least: Sleep (33%), Family (25%), Work (20%), TV (10%), Fitness (4%), Nutrition (4%), Faith (1%), Socializing (1%), Art (0.5%). Gasp, I love God, and I spend less time with Him than I do Fitness (I do not like exercising). Gasp, I love Art, and I spend less than a percent doing a God-given Talent. Wake up call: time to assess how I spend my time and do something about it.
Let's break down the time allocation. Sleep: 56 hours a week, I'll keep it the same. Family: 41.5 hours per week, I'll keep it because I value family time. Work: 40 hours a week, I'll keep because I want to keep my job. TV: 16.5 hours per week, hmmm, room for improvement there. I spend over two hour a day vegging out in front of the television-- not how I would want to spend my brain cells. Fitness: 7 hours a week, not bad especially because I would like to lose 10 pounds. Nutrition: 7 hours a week, not bad especially because I would like to lose 10 pounds and feed my family nutritious home cooked meals. Faith: 2 hours a week, definitely need to improve here, especially because I call myself a Christian and need to walk the walk. Socializing: 2 hours a week, I was never super social to begin with but social distancing is at play here. Lastly, Art: 1 hour per week, which is so sad.
How can I make more time for the things I want to do? Biggest time waist: TV. Goal #1: reduce television intake by 1 hour a day. This would allow me to increase time spent in Faith and Art 30 minutes each. Good starting goal but not the final destination because that would increase my Art allocation to 4.5 hours a week, and my Faith allocation to 5.5 hours a week. I would like to spend at least two hours a day actively in my Faith, and one hour a day with Art.
I realize a lot of my "categories" do not need to be mutually exclusive. Family time can include Faith with family Bible studies and prayer, Nutrition with family cooking and baking, and fitness with family dance parties and walks, Socializing with family outings and play dates, and Art with family painting and drawing. My next goal will be to maximize the value of family time by incorporating the other priorities in my life. Do life as a family.
When I spoke of God-given Talent earlier in the post, that got me thinking to read the parable where Jesus talks about this in Matthew 25: 14-30. This parable really ties together the ideas of my love of God and love of the God-give T(t)alent that I have through Art. I challenge you to give this passage a look and question whether you are truly living up to the capacity of your God-given life.
Be blessed!
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