Time Passing

“A great problem of modern Christianity is that we no longer think of the future or God: the present moment of this world seems sufficient. ... In this way we close the doors to the true greatness of our existence. .... We truly believe that God exists, ... that we can found our lives on Christ and on the life to come” Pope Benedict XVI

I have decided to tackle Time Management this summer, so recently I've been reading that kind of book. I started reading a book called Focal Point by Brian Tracy and it was interesting enough so that I might go back to it, but it was mostly about career management and advancement, and it was taking too much mental trouble to "translate" everything into terms that made sense in my own (non-career-focused) life.

I found another book called "How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life" and it's working better for me. For one thing, it includes examples from different walks of life -- homemaker as well as business type lifestyle -- and for another thing, I think it must be the daddy of all the productivity books, which means that a lot of the current books base their ideas and strategies on this one. Plus I like to get back to the source when I can because it gives you a bigger-picture idea of the genre. The style is sort of breezy (reminds me of Don Aslett) which could be pleasant or irritating depending on your own style. I'm OK with it because I do find a lot of the advice practical and do-able. So I'm going to be blogging through it.

Also, a couple of years back I was blogging on Counsels of Perfection for Christian Mothers, and I dropped it, but would like to get back to it, because it is partly about time management. And finally, I intend to reread A Mother's Rule of Life, but I can't right now, because my daughter is reading it : ). Finally, I THINK I have Seven Habits of Highly Effective People in my closet somewhere. The first time I read it, I thought it was interesting, but it didn't seem to speak to me the way it does to some people. I think my problem is a middle-level one -- getting from aspirations down to "what I do in this moment given my aspirations". But I want to revisit it.

With all those in hand maybe I can get some principles in hand that will help me. As one of the books said -- Time, in a way, is Life, at least how we experience it. That ongoing, finite, allotted trickle of moments -- there is no way to hoard them or change their pace, really, but there is such a diversity of ways that they are used. It has always seemed so mysterious to me, and I don't think I make the best use of the treasure. Probably most people don't, for various reasons.

St Martha, pray for me!