Do you ever get overwhelmed by your to-do list? Have you felt like adding one more responsibility to your day would cause everything to fall? I have often felt like this, so today I wanted to encourage you with this world.

How to Manage Your Day and Keep Everything From Falling

Sometimes I feel like the Cat in the Hat! You know where he is balancing a cake, a rake, a fish in a bowl, and multiple other things all while fanning himself with a fan by his tail and hopping on a ball? Yes, there are days when managing career, kids, marriage, and household, have left me feeling like I was in the middle of a balancing act. The one question that I would dread the most, the “jenga block” that would cause my whole stack to topple was, “What’s for dinner?” I don’t know why that question stressed me out so. Maybe because it always came at the end of a long day when I didn’t want to think about anything but maybe chocolate!

HOW DO YOU MANAGE YOUR DAY?

In an attempt to answer this question, I decided to start at the beginning or I guess you could say in the beginning. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. OK, well that was a lot of responsibility! Having a dream and making it become a reality takes a lot of work. I know of course that He is God… but everything that He put in His Word is there to teach us.

All Scripture is breathed out by God, and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete and equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV

God had a big to-list. If you have a huge project staring you down, you can learn from His example.

• Set clear and concise goals – God gave himself a time limit. He made a plan and stuck to it. He had seven days to get the job done and He set specific goals to achieve in each of those days. It is important when looking at a big project to break it down. When you give yourself small goals to achieve instead of just looking at the end result every day, then you have more chances to celebrate success. Otherwise the end of every day or week your focus will be on what you still have to do instead of all that you have already accomplished.

• Find others with the same vision or goals to work alongside of you. Look for those who are uniquely skilled in certain areas that you are not strong in. As an example, this ministry would never have gotten off the ground if it had not been for the support and encouragement of some very special people in my life. Who did God have? The Father had His Son and the Holy Spirit.

The Father says to His Son “In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth; and made the heavens with your hands” Hebrews 1:10

The Earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Genesis 1:2

The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life Job 33:4

• Take some time to rest and celebrate. Make sure to take some time off in between projects to rest and to celebrate. God included the day off in His plan for a reason. He could have easily said it only took six days for creation to happen. But He didn’t, He said it took seven. That is because the resting and looking back with enjoyment was all part of the plan. Actually He took a moment at the end of every day to look back over what His team had accomplished. Then He celebrated by giving His approval. It is Good!

IS IT POSSIBLE TO MANAGE YOUR DAY AND KEEP EVERYTHING FROM FALLING?

The answer to that question is yes! It is possible; the answer I believe is finding the balance. This is a scripture that the Lord recently gave me on the subject.

Know well the condition of your flocks, and pay attention to your herds, for riches are not forever, nor does a crown endure to all generations. When the grass disappears, the new growth is seen, and the herbs of the mountains are gathered in, the lambs will be for your clothing, and the goats will bring the price of a field. And there will be goat’s milk enough for your food, for the food of hour household, and sustenance for your maidens. Proverbs 27: 23-27

What are the flocks that you have been put in charge of? Some of the most obvious answers would be, relationship with the Lord, relationship with spouse (if married), children, and home. For others there will be work responsibilities, church, friend and social groups, or even hobbies.

It is time to take stock of your flocks!

What areas are you doing great at? What areas need some more attention? Do you have your flocks prioritized and in the right order? It is easy sometimes when certain things are going well to neglect certain flocks to take care of others. This is dangerous ground, however, because soon the thing that you neglected will lead to a new crisis. Thus you end up in a never ended battle of putting out wild fires!

Exhausted and discouraged everything falls!

This is why the author of this Proverbs goes on to say, “Pay attention to your herds”. I believe that our most important herd is our family. The scripture goes on to say that our riches or crowns won’t last forever that they are not guaranteed to be passed down to the next generation. If we do not tend our crops and flocks there will be nothing to pass down or no one to pass it to.

Keeping everything from falling requires balance

The key to making sure that everything is attended to is finding balance. Jesus set a perfect example of balance for us to follow. He was a pretty busy guy once His ministry took off. He had to manage, family, disciples, followers, naysayers, the religious crowd, the government, and the pressures of His calling.

These were His different flocks and how He managed them.

• The Father – He often took time to get away and spend time with the Father
• Few close friends – Those closest to Him were Peter, Andrew, James, and John. They were with Jesus during some of the most intimate times in His life.
• The rest of the 12 – These are the men He chose to delegate responsibilities. He mentored and taught them to carry on His work after He had gone.
• The followers – He would teach to the crowds but did not reveal secrets to them. They didn’t know Jesus intimately but just knew about Him. Some He ministered to on a more personal level, but only when the Father told Him to do so.
• The government – He followed the law and the rules set by those in authority.
• The religious leaders – He tolerated and spoke truth when the opportunity arose.
• His mission – He stuck to it and followed through.

How will you MANAGE your time so that everything doesn’t fall

I suggest these things.

• Prioritizing your herds. What are the things that you must give attention to. Set specific times to be available for these and stick to it.
• Next you may need to thin your herds for a time. Is there something that is keeping you from spending the time you should with God and family? Is the quality of your work suffering because you worry about other things while about on the job? It may be time to step away from some social groups or even volunteer opportunities until your flocks are in order and their needs are met.
• Delegate some of the responsibilities. Have your kids help more around the house. Train someone at work to help in your area or trust in another person’s ideas or abilities.

Here is my personal system of managing my day and keeping everything from falling

I recently made up a system that I would love to share with you. I call it Get Into the Zone. It is a way that I designed to insure that every important area of my life was getting a little attention. You can download it for FREE when you sign up for free email update. Here is the information below.

BTW I would love to hear your comments and prayer request! Also what are some areas that you would like me to talk about?

Blessings from our family to yours,

Madaline