Tracing one’s time is a tool I often suggest to people when they are making the first steps in getting a hold on the use of their time. I regularly suggest that one begin with keeping a record of how they have spent their time during a week in thirty-minute increments. Go HERE for the Excel file I normally use for this purpose. So, when I am wanting to reflect and examine my own time habits, I usually do a running “tick-tock” of how I spend my time. This go-round, I actually published it to the web rather than merely kept the list on a piece of paper.
What I Think Went Well: In essence, the majority of what I planned to accomplish I was able to accomplish. I did not find myself forwarding many of my tasks to the next day, I was actually accomplishing them. I was able to meet with twelve people for discipleship purposes, our pastoral team in several significant meetings, the majority of my Sunday School class for a fellowship and one of our shut-ins. According to my e-mail statistics I received 63 legitimate e-mails (not spam) to my church account and sent 25 e-mails from that same account. I made or received 31 phone calls on my cell phone, and 60 text messages were sent & received. Through various means, I did a lot of talking. I was able to have significant times of Bible intake and prayer during my devotional time and consistently read from John Owen’s book, Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers. I finished Augustine’s Confessions and made progress on a few more books. I was able to study fairly consistently and early in the week for my sermon. I took care of all of the filing that needed to be done and was able to plan my week well. I enjoyed good time with Kelly and Brie and even took some time to rest. I also took some time to blog most days of the week.
What I Think Could Be Done Better: I always wish that I had spent more time in concentrated prayer. I did not work well on Scripture memory, which I want to do much better. I did not contact members of my extended family as I had planned and wished and need to do better. I wanted to take a bit more time to cultivate a gospel centered relationship with our neighbors. I also felt I need much more time for my sermon preparation. The four hours I took with our Sunday School class was normally time I am in study. The fellowship was great, it simply made for a hectic push to the end in finishing my sermon, and affected my delivery of it Sunday evening (in my estimation). I did no work on my DMin project, which cannot happen again next week. Also, I want to do more varied reading. My plans for reading were pushed around too much and I want to move more consistently and steadily through my reading list.
I’ve tried to plan for many of these adjustments and this week has begun quite well. However, looking at my task lists, I’ve probably scheduled far more than I can possible accomplish each day. I have also made a number of small adjustments in my schedule for this week that I hope will prove helpful. So, I’m in the midst of another average week, trying to be a good and faithful average pastor.
