Intentional Time

 

This past week I had the conversation about how it is so hard for me to just sit. I enjoy the feeling of being productive, of doing.

If there is something fun I would like to do, I often tell myself I can do it as a reward once ALL the other things are done.

But here's the rub. The things are never done.

And so often my "reward" is never gotten to.

It was interesting to hear from others who are similar to my bent, some even more so. And I was fascinated with those who could set aside work to play without a feeling of guilt.

I feel like we could have a balance of both in our lives.  For me, realizing that I don't have to have ALL the household chores done before I reward myself with 30 minutes with a good book. For others it may be seeing the benefit of completing a list before going off to do the fun thing....at least every once in a while.

I think a good reason why we need to bring a little bit of both into our lives is because there is most likely a younger version of ourselves watching how we handle work and free time and learning from us.

Of the myriad things we do each day, we want something to count– not just in a quantifiable way, but in a soul-filling, joy-inducing way

When asked the question, of course I would say that I don't want my kids to grow up to be workaholics, feeling the need to always keep getting things done. I want them to have a good work ethic, but I also want them to know when it's time to set it aside and enjoy rest.

I want to be better at this because of my kids, for my kids. I want to see the value of rest, and that it can be productive in and of itself.

I want to be able to walk away from a few things undone so that I can enjoy my kids while they are still in my house.

I want to help them see the satisfaction of a job well done, and also the feeling of joy that comes in the rest afterwards.

I know this will not come easy to me, that I will have to intentionally think through this during my day as I'm going down that to-do list. But that's at the core isn't it? Intentionality.

This week, think through how you view work and productivity, rest and to-do lists. What kind of message are you passing on to others? That to-do lists are more important than relationships? That getting things done is more important than that rest that your body so needs? Or work and to-do lists are seen as boring and mundane and something to avoid at all costs?

How can we balance that out in our lives this week? To bring a healthy mix of 'getting-it-done' with 'taking it easy?'

We all have the same amount of time....what are you choosing to do with yours?

 

Want more of the Intentional Life? Sign up for weekly emails HERE.