From the Pastor: I Just Don’t Have the Time!

“I’m too busy, it’s overwhelming me.”
“I just don’t have the time. No kidding.”
“I know I promised to get back to you, but…”
“There aren’t enough hours in the day to get things done.”

As a pastor, I regularly hear that the busyness and demands of life today are just too overwhelming to live a happy, healthy life. Parents of young children are too busy helping with homework, parents of youth are preoccupied with their issues as well as ensuring their children are keeping up their grades, youth are getting more dependent on technology, young adults are juggling work and relationship challenges. And as people age, there are a new host of problems—health, job security, financial uncertainties, getting older, grandchildren, and more. People are finding it difficult to do even basic house chores—cooking, cleaning, and it’s getting even rarer for families to sit down to a meal together and talk with each other.

And then came the pandemic.

“Everyone has exactly 24 hours in a day. If others can get work done and still find time for family and friends, so can you!” says David K. William in his article 10 Reasons Why Some People Feel Like They Don’t Have Enough Time.

William suggests ten reasons as to why people feel like they don’t have enough time, and what one can do to change that.

1. They don’t rise early.
 Men and women who are considered successful have one thing in common—they all are early risers. The benefits of early risers include earning better grades, being more proactive, better able to handle problems, better planners, have time to exercise, get better sleep, are more optimistic, have more family time, and more. Complainers of “not enough time” are usually late risers.

2. They multitask a lot. 
Contrary to popular belief that multitasking is profitable and time efficient, it’s not. We’re not designed to focus on more than one task at a time.

3. They don’t track or budget their time. 
If you don’t budget your finances, you won’t know where your money went. The same is true of your time. You’ll wonder where it went and why you can’t accomplish much in a day.

4. They are not organized.
 “Where did I put…?” “Has anyone seen…?”
Does that sound familiar? Organized people know where things are and don’t waste time searching and stressing.

5. They don’t prioritize.

6. They are easily distracted.

7. They don’t have a daily routine.

8. They’re too concerned with being fast.

9. They don’t review their schedules regularly.

10. They are negative and have bad attitudes.

To read David K. William’s complete article, click here.

To his reasons, I’d like to add three more that I have found through speaking with those who enjoy their day as well as get their To-Do list accomplished effectively. These believers have a positive and hopeful attitude about their lives and their future, and are a constant source of light and encouragement to others around them. These include those who battle severe depression and suffer from chronic health disorders. What do all these people have in common?

1. They make time to read the Bible, pray, and find a quiet time to focus on God’s grace, abundance, and blessings in their lives. This time of gratitude helps to undergird their day and lays the foundation for all that follows.

2. They make sure they connect weekly with other believers—either attending church or a Bible study. Being around other believers gives them the encouragement they need to get through their week. Many refer to this as their “refueling station”—like a car needs gas/petrol, they hear the Word of God and are strengthened by the power of his Holy Spirit that enables them to do the little or big things of the week.

3. They put others first. The happiness in loving and serving others means they spend less time on the pointless worry and anxiety that Jesus commands us not to engage in (Matthew 6:25-34), and it adds more hours to their day.

All time is God’s time, given to us for his use and his best plans for our lives. When our priorities align with God’s, we’ll discover that we are more relaxed (and fun), joy-filled, and fulfilled. We will have more time to enjoy God and the things of God, depending daily on his mercy and grace that are new every morning.