A couple of days ago, in the comments, Tracy was kind enough to say something about how much I get done every day. Believe me, this summer has not felt like my most productive season. I've been busy, but it's felt a bit more like hamster-wheel busy, just trying to stay afloat and meet as many deadlines as possible. I cringed at some things that fell through the cracks and felt guilty about things I should have made more of an effort to accomplish but just...didn't.
Even though the return of the school year doesn't affect me personally anymore (since I'm not driving kids to school or volunteering in a school office), it seemed like a most splendid time to restart my outlook on my days and try to be more productive.
Please don't confuse productive with busy. I don't need more busy work. I just need a handle on my days and a chance to feel accomplished at the end of the day.
I decided to go about it by using a different day planner layout for my weekly lists. Ironically, I'm using the pages of a teacher's lesson-plan book. I'm categorizing my days into the lines intended for subjects, and writing in each square the things I need to accomplish in that category. My hope is that viewing the specific areas of my life will help me balance my days a bit better, so I'm not spending all my time doting on one area at the expense of the rest.
Everything about yesterday felt new. I started a new online Bible class, taught by a new-to-me person, and I stored my class notes in a new folder on my computer. I tried out two new recipes and found a new shirt at the Goodwill for half off. (And bonus: the shirt actually looked brand new.) I made new sugar scrub for the shower and edited a new podcast.
I even tried a new little something in my day. I'd read an article (which I may post in the Saturday Six, because it really made me think) about returning to the simplicity of making time in each day to sit on the porch. So I sat on the porch for about twenty minutes before Ryan came home from lunch and used the time to (are you ready for this?) READ.
As I scrolled through Instagram yesterday, my friend Sarah Forgrave had posted Psalm 98:1, which says, "Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him."
Yesterday felt like a new song. A new song of a new start. I sat down at the end of the day, fully satisfied in all I had accomplished. The day had been busy, yes, but it hadn't felt like a hamster wheel of busy work. It felt like a good day's work balanced with a good day's rest.
This part of the year can make us feel a bit stuck, I think. Unless you are on the brink of a new school year, this isn't a season of new. It's a season of same and possibly mundane.
But if you purpose in your mind to have a fresh outlook, and if you sing to the Lord a new song, I think you'll find that He is indeed doing marvelous things in and around you. New things, even. Things worthy of praise.
Sing a new song with me?
3 comments:
How smart to use a planner like that!
Thank you! Words I needed to hear! I am a single mom who also homeschool and I work full time. I have felt like a hamster on a wheel for far too long. I've never been a planner but I do like goals. Time for me to set new ones!
Tamar - Thanks!! The teacher nerd in me just won't quit!
Becky - Oh you're so welcome! What a full season you're in right now! I hope you're able to come up with a way to feel a little less hamster-wheelish! Cheering you on!! :)
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