Most of us are so busy doing stuff that we rarely take time to stop and evaluate if the stuff we are doing is worth the time and energy. How about you? Are you busy doing the right things?
Not sure?
It may be time to reevaluate the tasks that fill your schedule and look for activities and chores you can let go of to make room for more important ones. The questions that follow will help you reevaluate what keeps you busy so you can find ways to spend more of your time doing what really matters.
Finding bandwidth so we have time to do what really matters
What activities can only be done by me?
Obviously, tasks that only I can do cannot be delegated, omitted, or ignored. So what are those tasks? Self-care and growth in all areas of life, including: physical, emotional, intellectual, professional, and spiritual. Self-care is the foundation for everything else. When we neglect the well-being of our whole person we hinder our ability to operate at full capacity in any other arena of life. Are you a good steward of those things only you can do? Where can you do better?
What are my primary responsibilities for the roles God has entrusted to me?
We have primary responsibilities for the key roles we fill, and the work associated with them should be our top priorities. But sometimes we lose sight of what God has entrusted specifically to us, versus what we have taken on ourselves (or been guilted into by others). Therefore, it’s worth reevaluating—what roles and resources do we know God has entrusted to us in this phase of our lives? For example: I am a mother, but my children are grown, so tending to their needs is no longer a primary responsibility. My role as a wife is still primary, however.
What key roles do you currently fill? Are you being good stewards of the responsibilities that go with those roles? If you are like me, some areas fare well while others tend to get neglected. Maybe we need to revisit our primary roles now and then to be reminded why the tasks related to them matter to us and our loved ones. It might spur us on to do the work with a better heart.
What am I doing that others could do?
Once we determine which things we can’t (or shouldn’t) off-load, we can consider the rest of the stuff that fills our days. We all have tasks that someone else could do. Maybe they won’t do it quite as well as we can. Maybe they won’t do it exactly the way we want it to be done.
But maybe we should let them do it anyway, because it will allow us time to do something that is more important—something we can do that others can’t.
If we want more bandwidth to do what really matters, we have to let go of something, so look for tasks that can be offloaded to others. Ask yourself:
- What tasks can I let someone else do? (a child, coworker, assistant, fellow volunteer…)
- What chores does it pay to hire out? (Lawn maintenance, car maintenance, housework?)
- If hiring isn’t an option, are there ways to swap/barter to get the services I need?
- What tasks can I swap with others to better utilize both our talents? It may be the “normal” division of labor is not the most effective. Where can some outside-the-box thinking give you a chance to spend more time doing what you do best?
What am I doing that isn’t adding value?
When industrial engineers want to make a company more streamlined and cost-efficient, they analyze tasks that are value-added versus those that are not. You and I can do the same.
Take a look at the chores filling your days and ask how they add value to you or your loved ones. For example: Is alphabetizing the bookcase adding real value to your life, or is it just something you are doing to keep busy so you feel like you are accomplishing something?
I’m willing to bet you will discover plenty of dumb little tasks that don’t impact your family’s well-being in any significant way. Cutting out non-value-added activities is a great way to find more bandwidth in your life for the stuff that really matters.
I hope these questions are helpful in finding bandwidth so you have more time and energy for what matters most.
