Time Theft -- 31 Days to Clean by Sarah Mae ~ Day 20

Again, I find myself being encouraged by the daily reading of this guide.

Today, the subject is Time.

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We always complain about never having enough of the most valued commodity on the planet --Time.

How do we manage our time? Are we managing it wisely?

I know that I always feel as if I have so much to do and so little time.

I then find myself getting irritated when I'm actually working hard and there is an interruption.

I like this quote from Chuck Swindoll. It says, "God has given you...sufficient time in each day for you to fulfill His perfect plan - including the interruptions!" 

That really got me thinking about my reactions to interruptions when things are seemingly humming right along. Most of the time, I'm not proud of those reactions. This is something I really need to work on especially when most of the interruptions come from family...I'd say that I probably wouldn't react the same way to a stranger who had interrupted me. Sad and embarrassing, but true.

Moving on...

We are only given so much time on this earth. We don't know how long we get overall...only God knows that, but while we are still alive and kicking we each get the same 86,400 seconds or 1,440 minutes or 24 hours each day.

So how are we spending them? Yesterday was a complete flop for me. I spent most of the day feeling completely unmotivated, however, I did get something done. The kids are alive, well and fed, I made the bed and picked up the living room. I still have dishes to do from yesterday. I'll get to them pretty quickly here.

I have noticed that I really thrive on a schedule and setting goals for myself as per 6 Steps to A More Disciplined Life - Day 19's reading. It also drastically helps if you write out your 6 List. the night before.

I've also noticed that when I allow my time to be stolen by distractions such as TV, dawdling on the internet, texting or chatting on the phone my day is gone before I know it and I'm left feeling stressed because the house isn't picked up and I have no idea what to make for dinner.

I don't know about you, but I HATE that feeling. I hate the even more down and discouraged feeling I get when I've been lazy all day. I know that I feel so much more optimistic and happy at the end of the day when I've accomplished what I've set out to do.

The key to reclaiming our time is to lead a more disciplined life. As we do that, our stress load will lessen because things will flow along more smoothly.

Sarah Mae encourages us to make an honest assessment of our time. Create a log of how we spend the hours in our day so that we can see where the leaks are and plug them. You may be surprised to find how you are actually spending your time. 

Today's cleaning assignment is wash the mirrors, windows and walls and dust the ceilings in the bathrooms.

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