I love reading books and articles on leadership, time management, effectiveness, and more. Whether it’s rising early, time-blocking, taking regular days for Sabbath,or tips for getting a full night’s sleep, there are a myriad of great ideas and advice for living a healthy, whole life in books and articles that we can now access with a few clicks.
It’s great stuff. That is, until that advice bumps up against reality.
Rough nights
When I wrote the first draft of this post a couple weeks ago, Kelly and I had spent the previous night up until 1:30 AM with our three year old who was alternately crying, screaming, and puking. At 3AM our 9 month old woke up coughing. Kelly nursed him back to sleep. He then woke up at his usual 5:15 AM, happy and ready for the day. Two things Kelly and I were not.
No amount of time management tips or productivity tools can give you more sleep, eliminate your depression, or give you purpose.
Is productivity the priority?
In order to be the most productive my ideal day would look like waking up at 6AM after sleeping a solid seven hours, spending 45 minutes exercising, 45 minutes praying and reading scripture, then eating breakfast and starting my work day with an hour of reading and writing before 9AM.
The reality of Kelly and I’s current season is that many days don’t look like that. Instead it’s Kelly waking up shortly after 5 to nurse Jude, me getting up at 6 to take Jude and let Kelly get another hour of sleep. I can get a 20 minute workout in occasionally, and sometimes even 20 minutes of Bible reading if Jude is content an extra long time. By 6:30 Micah’s awake and it’s a rush of making breakfast, getting kids ready, and if I’m lucky I’m working by 8.
The reality is that kids are inconvenient. They prevent you from being as productive as you could be. The same could be said of basically any other human. We all have friends and coworkers who have interrupted our absolutely crucial to-do list.
But is productivity really our priority?
The problem with leadership and time management advice
The problem with most of the world’s leadership and time management advice is that it assumes that productivity should be our top priority. Is that God’s priority for us? I think not.
Jesus says the command of God is this: love one another as he loved us. That means that my goal must never simply be productivity. The task list in our pocket (or mind) must never supersede the person in front of us.
Even in my passion to make disciples of Jesus and see others do the same, my desire to see that happen must not override the call of love for those around me, particularly those closest to me. Ministry isn’t accomplished by “getting things done.” It’s through the often un-timely motions and choices of love that we minister and follow the Spirit’s lead.
Love in season
Love calls for you to acknowledge, accept, and value the season that you are currently in. Love calls for us to acknowledge that there is, as Ecclesiastes says, a season for everything. And sometimes that certain seasons call for a lessening of our productiveness.
For me that means accepting that my ideal schedule isn’t my top priority: loving my wife and kids is. It means doing less “ministry” and more family. It means getting (far) less sleep than any of the experts say is healthy. It means playing more with hot wheels and Thomas the Train figurines than having late night conversations about theology and life.
What does loving those around you look like in this season? What does love require that you prioritize today? Accept the season. Let love take root in it and God will be the one who causes productivity to happen and fruit to be borne.
No Comments