Preventative maintenance

Make time to unplug in the middle of your busiest seasons. Don't wait until you burn out; by then it's too late. Mark Beeson reminded us today in a strategy meeting:

"Who you are is more important than what you do."

That statement is profound. It causes us pause to address the state of our soul and relationships in the pace of life.

• Find ways to get closer to God. Some things I'm trying right now.
  
• Evaluate your task list. Do your tasks directly connect to your priority commitments? When I looked at mine, I discovered I had scheduled a recurring family night but no date night. That was a miss. The date night should come first.
  
• Identify areas you will spend less time DOING and more time BEING. I know, it's a hard habit to break. Are you allowing time in your day to listen and watch with no agenda? Or, are you in a perpetual state of git-r-done? Admit it. You can't get it all done anyway so quit trying.
  
• Take a break. You think you can't afford to take the time off? I say you can't afford not to. In his article No-Vacation Nation, John DeGraaf points out:
  • While the United States may be materially richer than almost anyone else, we have the poorest health in the industrial world.
  • In 1980, we ranked 11^th in the world in longevity; now we’re 42^nd. We are twice as likely as Europeans to suffer from anxiety and depression.

Couldn't be a better time to take some of my own advice! Mark and I leave early Friday AM for a long weekend. He's taking me on my first trip to Las Vegas for a quick break in the middle of one of our busiest seasons. We're just going to hang out, focus on each other and enjoy some downtime. We're even leaving the laptops at home!

Comments

[Paul Kuzma]

Good stuff Kem! Along the lines of Emotionally Healthy Spirituality. Great read if you haven't yet.

[Josh Harwell]

Great post! Thanks for sharing.

[kim]

Thanks Kem for this - not sure what God is doing with me right now, but your post was a balm today.

[Jennifer]

Amen sister! Enjoy that time off!