Budgeting our time

As a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I learned many habits and skills that, if continued, would help me to be wildly successful in life. As a missionary I lived on a rigid schedule. Every morning I woke up at 6:30 AM, I exercised for 30 minutes, prepared for the day, studied the scriptures on my own for an hour, studied the scriptures and prepared lessons with my companion for an hour, and studied Spanish (the language I was called to serve in) for an hour. Then, after we had invited the spirit to teach us over that span of time, my companion and I would go out to serve, teach, and preach the word of God. We would go to appointments, knock on doors, and talk to strangers that we met at the grocery store, in parking lots, and wherever we would go. In this service, however, we would not walk around aimlessly. Every half hour was scheduled. Who would we visit? Where would we go? If our first plan did not work out, we had a back-up plan written down as well. With such planning, we rarely found ourselves wasting time. We sometimes had to go through 3rd and 4th back up plans, but since we clearly knew what our mission and purpose was, we could use our time effectively. After a work-filled day, we would return home at 9 pm, plan for the next day, and get ready for bed. This schedule allowed for more study and productivity than I had ever had before in my life. If I had continued it after coming home from my mission, I can be sure that I would have accomplished much.

But I did not.

I continued to study the scriptures, but not as much.

I studied for my classes, but not with the veracity that I had studied Spanish.

I went to my classes, enjoyed time with friends, and found opportunities to serve, but I also wasted away hours and hours watching television, taking naps, and doing things that did not make me feel accomplished, worthwhile, or help to move me toward the vision and goals that I had murkily formed in my head.

After I graduated, got my first teaching job, and got married, I found myself growing further away from the sense of urgency that I had had as a missionary. Especially lately, I have spent countless hours watching television shows and playing games on my phone that do not serve my values and goals.

Finally, I have decided that it is once again time to adopt that all important skill and habit that I developed as a missionary- that of planning my days and budgeting my time.

I have relayed how important this one small thing is. After just one day I feel that I have been able to accomplish so much more than I would have had I not planned my day. Not everything went exactly to plan, but having the plan and referring back to it frequently helped me to see what I had not yet done that I needed to. It was more helpful that a to-do list because it added a sense of urgency to the tasks to be completed. Additionally, since I recently identified goals, I could tell how each of the things I chose to do was moving me towards my goals, and how they aligned with the vision I have for my life and the values that I feel are important.

What a blessing it is to me to have recognized this need to budget not only my money, but my time as well. Dave Ramsey and the Church both advocate a zero-based budget where every dollar has an assignment. Similarly, I have found that it is important for every minute to have an assignment as well. Not everything will go as planned, just as hiccups come with out financial budget, hiccups will come with our budgeted time as well, but with the budget, we can accomplish so much more and truly do more to live the life we envision for ourselves rather than letting distraction steal it away from us.