Six Things to Order Your Day
Noisy Balloons
I laughed out loud when I was recently asked to write an article about an “ordered day.” I teach junior high English and have four kids under the age of eight. I would consider my days the farthest thing from “ordered.”
Have you ever blown up one of those big noisy balloons then let it go? It goes screeching wildly, this way and that until it runs out of air and collapses feebly to the ground.
That’s my day.
The funny thing is that we “noisy balloon” people can live well-ordered lives too. They just look a little different. But whether you have all of your ducks in a row or can’t even find all your ducks there are some universal principles that need to be followed in order to get the most out of the time you have.
Here are a few.
1. Get into Spiritual Alignment
You can be super-organized, hyper-productive, and laser-focused, but if you don’t have don’t have the favor of God in your life you’re going to stay endlessly frustrated. And the quickest way to spurn the favor of God is to get out of spiritual alignment. (See: Miriam and Aaron)
I recently resigned the church I pastored and was faced with the question of which church I would make my new home. After settling on a church, I was faced with another question – a more uncomfortable one. That is, where did I fall in God’s spiritual order?
I had been a Sr. pastor for seven years and was unaccustomed to having another pastor call the shots. I had to get myself aligned quickly. But when I submitted, God began to bless.
Before you start writing your to-do, you might need to work on a submit-to list.
2. Write Your Personal Definition of “Order”
II Corinthians 10:12 (NKJV) says it is not wise to “compare ourselves among ourselves”. This counsel works well for ministry but it should also be applied in the area of daily routines. We all carry different weights, live in different seasons, and have different measures of faith.
Recently, I talked to someone about his daily routine. It goes something like this:
- wake up early
- coffee and conversation with spouse
- pray and read Bible
- exercise
- shower, get dressed, start day.
Every. Single. Day.
This routine is just not happening for me because of my season. My “well-ordered” friend has no children. I, on the other hand, have four under the age of eight. He and I are not even playing the same game.
Don’t get me wrong, my friend is a disciplined steward of his time. And someday I hope to follow in his footsteps. But for today, I have to define what “order” means to me based on the context of my season. And so should you.
3. Put the Big Rocks in First
Steven Covey made the “Big Rocks” illustration popular in the 1980’s and it still rings true today. The gist is this:
A presenter takes several large rocks and fills a gallon jar to the top. He then pours in gravel, sand, and water to fill all remaining space.
The presenter asks the audience, “What is the lesson of this illustration?”
Inevitably the audience thinks the answer is: You can always squeeze more into your schedule if you try really hard.
But the presenter corrects them and says: The lesson is, if you don’t put the big rocks in first, they’ll never fit.
How often we let pressing matters squeeze what’s most important.
What are the big rocks in your life? Prayer, family, exercise, etc.
Do they fit?
4. Silence Your Smartphone Addiction
You might not be a smoker or a meth-head, but you constantly look at your phone for the same reason the addict takes another hit. Dopamine.
The Atlantic revealed some amazing science that speaks to this. Here’s an excerpt:
We now believe that the compulsion to continually check email, stock prices, and sporting scores on smartphones are driven in some cases by dopamine releases that occur in anticipation of receiving good news. Indeed, we have grown so addicted to our smartphones that we now experience “phantom smartphone buzzing,” which tricks our brains into thinking our phone is vibrating when it isn’t. (The Neuroscience of Internet Addiction – The Atlantic)
I like my smartphone, but I do need to be mindful that it wants to control me.
I have found that turning mine off completely causes me to check it less often. And I don’t bring it to the dinner table.
What boundaries have you set for your smartphone? Does it need a curfew?
5. Move Away from Multitasking
If you are one of those people who tries and does three things at once, you’re not quite as productive as you think. Stanford University did a study that uncovered some very telling, but not unsurprising revelations about the long-term pitfalls of multitasking.
“People who are regularly bombarded with several streams of electronic information do not pay attention, control their memory or switch from one job to another as well as those who prefer to complete one task at a time…”(Adam Gorlick – Stanford University)
The study goes on to say “they (multitaskers) couldn’t help thinking about the task they weren’t doing.”
Your ability to refrain from engaging in multiple stimuli simultaneously might give you the breakthrough in productivity that you seek.
Try it for a week and see what happens.
6. Take One Bite at a Time
Srinivas Rao said, “Our daily habits are the foundation on which our lives are built. So don’t underestimate the impact of the little things you do repeatedly. They’re the catalyst for the most significant change that occurs in our lives.”
No one was more shocked than I that I wrote 60,000 words last year and read over twenty-five, books. The surprising part is that I did this despite having super thin time margins due to the demands of my job, family, and church.
I made big progress by taking small steps. I didn’t write for long stretches, but I did write multiple times per week. I didn’t read for hours at a time, but I read almost every day.
The same principle is true for reading your bible through, running a marathon, and eating an elephant.
How does one eat an elephant?
“Order My Steps”
What is God calling you to this year? Perhaps you’re frustrated because you have a God-inspired vision that you don’t have the time to pursue. In past years, maybe you’ve started projects with a bang, only to end with a fizzle.
Psalm 119:133 (NKJV) says, “Order my steps in your word and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.”
My recommendation is to pray this prayer as often as you can.
Then, let your balloon go and leave the rest up to God.
This article first appeared in The Pentecostal Herald.
What principles do you rely on to order to the chaos of life?
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