It feels like cycle. I want to productive but there are so many barriers. Take my morning for example. I want to wake up early, pray, read my Bible and exercise. The problem is, that show I was watching last night was so good so I went to bed too late. When I manage to wake up early regardless of the time I went to bed, I am faced with another problem: mindless browsing. I open every social media platform known to men. I try to stop myself. Then I open Facebook and it presents cute memories from my past. How can I resist? My kids were so cute a little! Still, I'm wasting precious time.
It is a cycle and someone designed on purpose. Their goal is for me to give my attention to whatever digital network they choose. Eyeballs make money. The more mine are glued to the phone, the better it is for the App creators.
Here are the good news: I'm smart enough to break this cycle. I believe you are too.
I'm not proposing we all rebel against the people designing this digital system and go somewhere else with our eyeballs. I am saying that we can make our own decisions. We can create cycles that benefit us and the people who matter the most to us.
What if, to the best of our abilities, we start the week focused on what's important? Instead of cringing because we are busy, we look at our week with the word "purpose" in mind. You and I have a purpose. We need to focus on what that purpose is and go after it.
Let's make it super practical.
I still want a productive week. I still face many barriers. What I do instead, is to keep my purpose in front of me. My purpose will drive my bed time routine.
I'm a young wife and mother of three. I choose to cook most nights so, we have dishes. Part of my night routine is washing dishes. I know I will feel better if the dishes are ready when I wake up so I invest time in doing dishes.
I still glance at a show before I go to sleep. I don't watch it for too long. I don't want to harm the amount of rest I need in order to fulfill my purpose for the next day. So I go to sleep and I wake up refreshed. I pray. I read a few verses of Scripture and meditate on them. This morning, I spent time thinking about Proverbs 16:32 which says "Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city." I kept thinking about what "ruling my spirit" means. I had great food for thought.
My workout clothes and shoes were ready so I went to the gym. I put on a good 45-minute strength training workout. It felt good to get my body stronger.
When I came back, it was time to get the kids ready, cook breakfast and get myself ready for work. It wasn't magic, it took resolve and purpose but I had the morning I wanted to have.
It is wise to keep my purpose in front of me. My purpose helps me rule my day, not random alerts from every app on my phone. Technology is a great employee but a terrible boss. I will not allow it to boss me around.
Friend, the only way we can rule our day is if we keep our purpose in front of us. There will be barriers stopping you from achieving your goal. You don't have to be discouraged by them. You can outsmart your barriers and proceed towards your goal.
The more you do this, the more your daily cycle will change. Soon, you will be able to say: "It feels like a cycle. I want to be productive, and despite all barriers, I am."
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