Why You Should Stop Managing Your Time
Time management is more of a symptom than it is a solution to modern overwhelm. Fix the root cause, solve the problem, and become a saint in the process.
The problem most of us have in making the most of the time we’re given is not “time management”. The problem is prioritization. And it’s easy to see why.
There are many, many bad consequences to what the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche called the “death of God”—by which he meant the mass rejection of a belief in God—and not having our priorities straight is a big one.
A 2023 poll by The Wall Street Journal found that the importance Americans place on traditional values such as religion, having children, community involvement, and patriotism has decreased dramatically since 1998, while our view of the importance of money has steadily increased.
There was a time in my life when my priorities were all wrong, too.
Being raised in a modern secular milieu, where everything was “relative”, I sometimes struggled to make sense of what was important and what wasn’t. Becoming Catholic put things into clearer focus and has given me the direction that had been lacking.
“To know, love, and serve God”, it turns out, really is the best reason to peel yourself out of bed in the morning.
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Here’s a brief exercise that you can do anytime you need to “get your priorities” straight.
Pour some tea, coffee, or some scotch and draw a line down the center of a blank page. On one side of the line, write “Priorities”. On the other side write “Preferences”.
Set a timer for five minutes per side.
On the preferences side, answer the question, “What are my preferences in life right now? In work? In family life? With friends? What do I like to do? What do I prefer?”
On the priorities side, answer, “What are my priorities? What would have the most positive impact on my life and vocation? What am I avoiding that is very important for me to do?”
It's important to distinguish between these two things. Be careful when you are scheduling your tasks for each day so that you are not spending too much time on preferences.
If you are a Saintmaker user, you can try picking the top items from your priorities list as your Daily Crosses this week. In general, when ranking your task list for each day, rank your true priorities as “1”, and everything else as 2 or 3. Then be sure to actually complete them, starting with your Daily Cross.
Finally, I encourage you to pray for the grace to be able to accomplish your priorities well. If you have been avoiding priority items, take them to God in prayer and be honest with Him about why. Finally, ask Him on a daily basis for the grace to be able to do those things, even—and especially—if it’s hard for you.
The Saintmaker Catholic Life Planner includes powerful goal-setting and discernment tools incorporated into a quarterly personal planner to help you deepen your faith, become happier and more organized, and achieve more in your vocation. Click here to learn more…
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