As the days grow colder and the to do lists grow longer, ESN is sharing a series of time management tips, interspersed with longer reflections on aspects of our relationship to time. Today’s quick tip is from Inez Tan; read other posts by Inez here or click here for the rest of the time management series. Like many of the topics we publish on, time management is an area that combines opportunities for practical growth and spiritual formation. Our goal is to encourage readers to steward the gift of time God has given us, using it to love God and others and live out Christ’s Kingdom.
Tip: Reward yourself with check marks!
Three years ago, I started giving myself check marks on a physical calendar every day: blue for doing at least an hour of writing (but ideally more than three), orange for exercise, and green for at least at hour of my part-time job. Initially I was hoping to push myself to get triple check marks every day, but after looking back on a few weeks, I realized it simply wasn’t possible, most days, to do all three of those things (along with my teaching position at the university, church activities, social life and downtime, etc.). So I adjusted my schedule accordingly. I highly recommend the calendar check marks–especially when it comes to writing or other activities where it can hard to tell if you’re making progress!
Image courtesy of TeroVesalainen at Pixabay.com
Inez Tan is a poet and fiction writer based in Irvine, CA and Singapore. She’s currently pursuing an MFA in poetry and teaching at the University of California, Irvine. She also works with the Augustine Collective, a student-led movement of Christian journals on college campuses. https://ineztan.com/
http://augustinecollective.org/