Life Goes On

One of the things that I'm discovering during "retirement" is that I don't do well without deadlines and job descriptions. Complain as I may (and as I have) about these, it seems that I've become somewhat dependent on them. Now that I'm in charge of what I do and when I do it, I'm likely to fritter away huge blocks of time that I can't really account for. I'm feeling the need to set a daily schedule that includes my workout, writing, the "honey-do's" around the house, and all those things I used to say that I would do "when I had time". Perhaps I've not yet purged myself of 50+ years of employer expectations. I'm hoping that one day soon I'll wake up and find that I really have developed a personal schedule that is flexible and yet productive. Now that I've accepted an interim pastorate, I'm once again under deadlines to produce two sermons and one Bible Study per week as well as do some ministry tas...

I'm somewhat of a multi-tasker.  I often have several balls in the air.  I'm learning that I can better handle multiple tasks if I do them in segments.  Let me explain.  Rather than jumping willy-nilly from one task to the next, try focusing on one task for 10-20 minutes, then relaxing for 5 minutes, and then return to the task if it isn't finished yet.  Or, after relaxing for 5 minutes, switch to another task for 10-20 minutes.  For example, today I spent @ 20 minutes reading and answering e-mails; then did the USA Today crossword, then uploaded a video to FaceBook & Twitter, and then started on this blog entry.  I'm about to take a snack break, and then do some writing on my book for @ 20 minutes of so.  By incorporating these "spurts" of productivity, I can remain fresh.  I find that if I go much longer than 20 minutes at the time, my creativity begins to wane.  By segmenting I reach the end of the day having completed many if not most of my tasks while...

I have a friend who once gave me this formula. Impression without expression leads to depression. He didn't actually give that formula just to me, he gave it in context of a personal story he told about his trying to circumvent an impression from God. What reminded me of that formula was preparation for teaching the first chapter of the book of Nehemiah. First, Nehemiah became aware of a problem with his people in Jerusalem. His awareness came in response to a question posed to his brother who had just arrived from Jerusalem. Quite often we ask people how things are with them, their family or friends. Just as often, we immediately forget their response, or file it away in our "information" file. Nehemiah didn't file it away. He immediately began to act on the information he had received. His actions included; Prayer and fasting (indicating the intensity of his concern) Formulating a plan of action Going through the proper steps to launch his plan. He had no e...