Watch The Timing

“When we wake up in the morning, the troubles and duties of the day crowd around us. When will we do this? When that? One wants to jump up in a rush and dash away. You had better take the reins in your hand and say: Whoa! None of this must come near me just yet. . . .   It is important to have a quiet corner where one can commune with God as if nothing else existed and it is important to do this on a daily basis. The obvious time appears to me to be in the morning hours before the daily work begins.” Edith Stein

How many of us experience life as described in the first sentence?  A multitude of things to do with no time plan goes nowhere. The flowers of a spiritual life do not grow among the weeds of poorly regulated daily activities, or a fast, fragmented life style. As Christians, prayer is our lifeline with God and has top priority. Where would our spiritual life be without it? When we take time for prayer, we take time for God. We need sacred time to sanctify our lives and refresh our souls. As we rest in him internally, and use discipline in our use of time externally, we can relax in the peace of Christ.  

Duties of the day flow easier if we take some quiet time for God before our daily rush. Like Edith Stein suggested, time for prayer, especially in the morning, is essential for a healthy spiritual life, inner peace, and the ability to be attuned to God’s grace during the day. An excellent morning prayer is the Morning Offering:

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world. I offer them for all the intentions of your Sacred Heart: the salvation of souls, reparation for sin, and the reunion of all Christians. I offer them for the intentions of our bishops and of all Apostles of Prayer, and in particular for those recommended by our Holy Father this month. Amen   

Prayer helps with time management. If we have good time management skills we can be more productive, have more energy, get things done, and maintain well balanced days. Balance is maintained by sound decisions, clearly defined boundaries, establishing set times for necessary activities, and sticking to them as closely as possible. Time schedules are necessary for harmonious living. We get done what is essential or necessary. If we do things when we feel like it, or are in the mood, many things will be left undone.

Time Savers

A component of time scheduling is moderation. Too much or too little time for basic living activities create disproportionate days. Although there are exceptions, we should maintain time moderation in eating, sleeping, exercising, entertainment and other activities that sustain us. Moderation sets healthy boundaries and stays within reasonable limits. 

Alternation is the key. Place essential high energy jobs at peak energy periods. Alternate active jobs and quiet jobs, standing/walking  jobs and sitting jobs, heavy jobs and light jobs, jobs done with others and jobs done alone. Allow for a rest break after a high energy job.

When we feel frazzled take a Hail Mary break. Sit down, say it slowly and remember God is in charge. Instead of taking a coffee break, we can take a spiritual break by praying a five decade rosary. Like the rhythm of a gentle rain, the Hail Mary falls upon us and can calm us down and lighten up our harried lives. Even a rosary held quietly in the hand may be comforting by lessening frustration and worry.

Remaining within the present moment is time worthy. Therese of Lisieux tells us “When we surrender to discouragement or despair, it is usually because we are thinking too much of the past or the future.” We are fully present to whatever we do by doing it honestly, calmly, with consistency and a good sense of humor. When we concentrate on the task at hand we do not waste time by thinking about a vague something that might happen, a better job, what we are going to do on our day off or on vacation, or imagining conversations. Wishful thinking depletes energy, limits attention, and decreases the satisfaction we find in daily mastery of the task at hand. Our mind and heart should be where we are physically.  To rush to complete a task in order to rush to something else is to miss the point.  

It is easy to put off, or avoid, doing something. How often do we say, “I will do it later?” To avoid procrastination we can do the following: If there is a spill, wipe it up. If it is empty, fill it. If it is moved, put it back. If it is broken, fix it. If it is used up, put it on the shopping list.

Edith Stein was born in 1891. She wrote, “One finds time for so many useless things, to read up on all sorts of useless stuff in books, magazines and newspapers, to sit around in cafes and gab away a quarter hour, a half hour. Shouldn’t it be possible then to eke out a morning hour during which one does not scatter oneself but concentrates, to gain strength in order to cope with the entire day?” With internet, smart phones, other electronic devices, and ongoing news reports we wonder what she would write today. Excessive time used to pursue trivia needs to be evaluated. How can we use this time for a better purpose?

Equality

Time spent in everyday routine tasks is just as valuable as time spent in history making tasks. Time spent doing a hidden and monotonous task is still a task well done, even though it goes unnoticed. All tasks are equal if we care for what we do. Therese of Lisieux reminds us, “Draw profit from the smallest of deeds, and do them for love. . . .  Without love, deeds, even the most brilliant, count as nothing.”  If our work is done as well as we can, and lovingly completed, no matter how small the task, it contributes to a peace within us that ripples out beyond us. John of the Cross directs us to the top of the spiritual mountain, “God is more pleased by one work, however small, done secretly, without desire that it be known, than a thousand done with desire that men know of them. The person who works for God with purest love not only cares nothing about whether men see him, but does not even seek that God himself know of them.”      

As responsible members of God’s family we are diligent in doing what we do. Our prayer time stabilizes our days and creates an openness to God’s grace and all that is beautiful. Even when trouble assails us, we trust in God and believe all will be well in his good time. Time is our gift from God. How we use it is our choice. May our choices be prayerful, honorable and life enhancing.  

A poem written by a nineteen year old girl in domestic service in England offers a sound perspective regarding use of our time.