What Are You Doing With Your Time?

"But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made." (Luke 10:40)

Leaders are often a distracted people.

Many times it’s easy for them to get caught up in little things that seem momentarily important, but may not actually be of much value.

This is particularly true in the challenging areas of ministry and organizational oversight. Every day church leaders face a lot of different things that seem to have only marginal value.

Some of the examples of distractions that I am thinking of are in the areas that follow. Everyday, leaders face:

• Random Questions 
• Personal Requests 
• General Phone Calls 
• Mundane Decisions 
• General Mail 
• General Emails 
• General Text Messages 
• Mid-Morning Snack 
• Facebook Updates 
• Twitter Updates 
• Blog Posts 
• Sales People 
• Drop-in Guests 
• Coffee Shop Appointments 
• Stacking and Reshuffling Papers 

 Yes, some things in life simply aren't that important. They can be likened to "chaff." Spending too much time on them keeps you from accomplishing the more substantive things. A ministry can easily get overwhelmed by things that are urgent, but unimportant.

So where should a leaders spend their time? I recommend some of the following priorities:

• Your Personal Relationship With God
• Your Spouse
• Your Children
• Prayer
• Worship
• Biblical Study
• Ministry
• Leadership Development
• Outreach
• Stewardship and Finances
• Health
• Job
• Close Friends
• Planning and Organization
• Core Values

What do you think about this list? Do you have some other items that you would add? Why don't you get out a piece of paper and consider where you should place your time over the next few weeks. This little exercise could totally transform your future.