Where did the time go?…the day?…the week… the month….the year?  We’ve all said this with a sense of bewilderment.  Time slips through our lives like unmolded jello, a glass of milk in the hands of a toddler or a wet dog sneaking in from outside.  I discovered the secret to keep that from happening.  Letting time slip through your fingers, not the wet dog thing.

It was so simple I almost dismissed it as irrelevant.  It’s like taking time captive and training it to do our bidding.   It’s like making time your BFF.  It’s as simple as 1,2,3.  Literally.

If you want to stop looking at the last day of the month and feeling a sense of loss and unease, or panicking when it’s December and your Christmas planning and doing are woefully nonexistent or behind schedule, then let me share the secret with you.

In a word: ROUTINES.  Now don’t jump ship yet.  Let’s explore this together.  For our purposes TIME has two components.

  1. PERCEPTION
  2. ORDER

Generally speaking, we think it takes longer to do a given task than it actually does.  OUR PERCEPTION OF TIME IS SKEWED.

For instance:  in another life I managed multi-family housing–APARTMENTS.  You know, those behemoth complexes going up all over America.  Day One at one such complex I toured the grounds and discovered to my horror trash strewn all about the dumpster area.  Inside, outside and all around.  Unsightly…and it didn’t smell too good either.  When I brought it to the attention of my maintenance supervisor he informed me the crew did not have time to pick up trash.  The next morning I arrived at work early and in my red heels, navy straight skirt with matching jacket and rubber gloves and commenced to pick up trash around one dumpster area.  Yes, it was as disgusting as it sounds.  Items Unimaginable and Unmentionable.  It took exactly ten minutes to make it presentable.  Stains not included.

There were half as many dumpster areas as there were maintenance crew so I concluded at two persons per dumpster it would take only 5 min to clean each area each day.  Really? They didn’t have FIVE minutes?  Plus, if done regularly it would likely only take a couple of minutes.

I’ve done that same test on household chores.  Load DW: three minutes.  Load laundry: four minutes.  Make bed: three minutes.  Wipe kitchen counter and sink: 90 seconds.  See where I’m going with this?

The perception is “I don’t have time”.  We perceive time as our enemy, as never having enough of it. The REALITY is it’s not the time it takes to do a chore–it’s because we just DON’T WANT TO DO IT.  So, let’s be honest and stop saying “I don’t have time” and say “I don’t want to”.

“Time is a created thing.  To say ‘I don’t have time’ is to say ‘I don’t want to’.”  Lao Tzu

Now, I realize that sometimes we really don’t have time.  I’m not talking about those instances.  I’m talking about MOST days.  The regular nitty-gritty, hullabaloo of our lives.  When we slide it over into the I don’t want to column we see it for what it really is–childish.  As adults we do the hard things.  We do the things we don’t want to.        (More on how to change your attitude HERE).

When God created the earth He knew exactly how long it would take because He made the PLAN!   He divided the task into manageable time periods and executed His Plan.  This brings us to the second component of time: ORDER.

Often with housework, it just seems overwhelming.  Kind of like cleaning up an entire apartment complex of trash.  But, if it’s broken down into micro tasks and assigned a specific time to do it–in other words if it’s ordered 1, 2, 3 it becomes much less formidable and more doable.  You will more likely do it.  And if you do it on a regular basis it becomes a ROUTINE.

Establishing a routine will make the difference of getting nothing done and getting everything (well almost) done.  I’ve had so many peeps turn up their respective noses at sitting down, thinking and writing down an orderly system of doing things.  YES! It’s hard work.  Anything worthwhile is.  But, the rewards far outweigh the time and effort it takes to MAKE A PLAN.

I took myself in hand many years ago and created my routines.  Yes, I have slacked off at times.  Yes, I still have days when I think “But, I don’t want to mop the floor”.  I’ve learned the hard way that if you don’t keep up with your routines your life will get out of control.  It’s ok to skip things occasionally, but it’s far better to do one meal’s dishes than two or three meals….or days.

Here’s a list of my routines.  You’re welcome to make them your own–use them verbatim or use them as a template to create your own.  Each one is a link to it’s own page with descriptions and scriptures.

  1.  Rise and Shine                            Prayers, devotions–Up with the rooster crow!
  2.  Ponderize and Memorize          Prayers, thinking, scriptures–Use the brain the good Lord gave you.  (Mama’s words!)
  3.  House and Home                       Prayers, husband, kids, cooking, cleaning–This is what it’s all about.
  4.  Compassion and Kindness        Prayers, giving, service, Embrace the Samaritan!
  5.  Feed and Seed                             Prayers, animal and plant chores–Gardens and chickens? Flower beds and cats?
  6.  Streams and Dreams                 Prayers, income, projects–Making money and doing stuff you love.
  7.  Books, Blogs and Bliss              Prayers, reading, writing, crafts–Who doesn’t have three books and/or crafts going at once?
  8.  Rest and Rejoice                       Prayers, gratitude, journal, sleep–Slow down and say thanks.
  9.  Routine Results                         Prayers, discovery and recognition–Realizing, Hey, this works!! 🙂
  10.   Prayer                                        Seeing a pattern here?!
  11.  Just For You                               Inaugurate your own routines with the My Life routine tracker and other helpful downloads page.  They are my gift to you.