A Day In the Life

I recently read an article in Real Simple that got me thinking about how I spend my time... It's sort of challenging to think about how I really spend the hours of my day, but it's also been very telling about how I define myself, how I define success, and how I want my life to look. This semester has been very different for me. I expected student teaching to eat my life and my free time. For some of my peers, I think it has. But for whatever reason, it's been relatively easy for me - as far as my time goes, that is. I've had my challenges, I promise. But what that means is that I've had some days with large amounts of free time. I'm thankful for it and of course I use much of it to plan for the wedding or to spend time with Adam, but I've found that it's sometimes hard for me to relax alone. I sometimes feel guilty for the extra time that I have.

I recently heard a speaker say these words, "You are not a victim to your schedule; you are only as busy as you choose to be." I found this statement so freeing. We all have things that tend to take more of our time than we really want to give (especially in ministry or education). These things can cause us to feel like "victims," but there is also an element of choice that we should identify and be honest with ourselves about what we really want in life. What's the main goal?

For example... Does it take a lot of work to plan a wedding? Yes. Are there days when I'm tired of it? Yes. But the element of choice is that I want our wedding to be nice. We've planned what I hope will be an elegant and enjoyable evening for everyone and it's important to me that things are done well. Another element of choice is that our main goal for the wedding day is simply that we're married at the end of the night! So if there are details that get overlooked, so be it. That's my choice.

Anyways, I'm sorry if I'm rambling. I used the tool on realsimple.com to create a pie chart of how I spend my time. Personally, most of my days look very different, but I chose a typical Wednesday. Now their labels are not perfect ... For instance in my pie chart, volunteering = leadership meeting + working Wednesday night youth. Chilling = time spent with my fiance'. Obviously there are other differences, but you get the idea. It's really good to think through what's important in my life and how I'm using the time I'm given to glorify (or not glorify :/) the Father.

Wednesday's Pie Chart: This is my personal pie chart and there's also a link at the bottom of that page where you can build your own. Let me know what you think!