Are you living a life by design, a life on purpose? Or are you just living day by day and going through the motions? Planning and time blocking are Biblical principles. I’m not encouraging you to spend the entire day working on your to do list, there will always be items needing done. I’m talking about prioritizing so that the most important items are completed first. I use a paper planner and a digital version because as you write items on paper, it impresses into use parts of your brain that simply saving a date on your phone does not. I’ve been working on my planner, color coding the items so that I can see the most productive and important events at a glance. I have my personal appointments (those that only I can do like attend a child’s sports activity, play, birthday party, etc) blocked out in pink marker in my planner. Appointments that put me in front of a client and will produce income are blocked in green. Educational classes and events are in blue. Webinars and digital meetings are in purple. Medical appointments are in red. This helps me organize my time doing the things that are most important. And each day, it’s important to start with three things…spiritual thought and prayer, exercise/eating/health, and love. Make sure you spend your first few moments doing the things that will set the tone for the entire rest of the day.
Here is a quote from Ephesians 5:15-17…
“Look carefully then how you walk! Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as the unwise and witless, but as wise (sensible, intelligent people), making the very most of the time [buying up each opportunity], because the days are evil. Therefore do not be vague and thoughtless and foolish, but understanding and firmly grasping what the will of the Lord is.”
My understanding of this scripture tells me God wants the best for his children. He wants our lives to be purposeful and meaningful. We are not put on this earth to become successful. We are put here to be significant. He wants us to begin and end each day with Him. So, choose carefully, make wise decisions, have a plan, think it through, and understand what it will take to reach your goals.
“You wake up in the morning, and lo! your purse is magically filled with twenty-four hours of the unmanufactured tissue of the universe of your life! It is yours. It is the most precious of possessions.”
― Arnold Bennett, How to Live on 24 Hours a Day
From Cottages to Castles 