The FloatingAx: What do you want to do today?

I know what you are thinking... "Huh?"

It's an open ended question, though. The question is not, "What do you need to do today?", but a directive toward that nagging issue of desire. It is ironic because what I want to write about is the quote from the previous post, but I feel as if I need to get this off of my chest.

You see, my days are filled with things that need to get done. "To Do" lists are made and checked off accordingly. There are times when the need must wait for the following day, and there are also times when the list is completed early. The "productive" days of early completion are usually met with additional "needed" items that had either been put off from days before, or newly placed on the list by a phone call or an unplanned visitor.

To be honest, it all feels like running in the hamster wheel.

I'm tired of running in the hamster wheel.

I have taught classes on "Organization for the Un-Organized." Those that are around me sometimes feel as if I am an unorganized person. I really am not. I have a style that borders on the chaotic, it's true; but there is a rhyme and reason to it all. My problem is not my schedule, but the reality that my schedule is oftentimes set by others rather than myself.

There is a principle that I teach, but all too often fail to live by. The principle is this:

Don't prioritize your schedule. Schedule your priorities.

Simply put, schedule in times for the priorities and let every thing else find a place if it can. This is not shirking responsibility, but rather being responsible for things that really matter. Going a step further, it also means taking some time to schedule in your "wants" as well as your needs.

Think about this... "Who are you?"

I am a pastor, but I am also a husband, a father, a brother and brother-in-law, a son and son-in-law. I am an uncle and a nephew, as well as a grandchild. (This is beginning to sound like the song, "I'm my own grandpa.") I am a friend, a citizen of my country and my community. I am a leader, a Christian, and a human being. I could go on and on. With that in mind, the tasks of the job are only one piece of the puzzle. The other faces of my schizophrenic life must have their time as well. What do those parts "want" to do?