Counteracting the Demands of Productivity by Seeing the Gift of Time
“The human heart plans the way, but the Lord directs the steps” (Proverbs 16:9).
When our lives start feeling too busy, we often turn to books on time management. Rather than identifying something in our life that needs to change, we focus on productivity and efficiency. Thinking about productivity can be helpful when it helps us live a good life—to flourish and see our priorities and goals in the right way.
For instance, I clean my house just enough to keep it healthy and sanitary, but I don’t want cleaning tasks to absorb the time I devote to prayer or leisure. Cleaning efficiently can be a good thing, but rushing through prayer, forgoing leisure, or neglecting my health for the sake of efficiency and maximizing results can become problematic. One way to harness the benefits of productivity without letting it become the driving force of our life is by seeing time as a gift.
Time as a Gift
I want to challenge us to think about time differently, because no matter how many new tips and habits we learn, there is something fundamentally amiss when we pursue productivity as our goal. This reality is most clearly evident for me when I privilege my work over my vocation. Our vocation tells us which work we are meant to prioritize, and I try to keep that understanding in my mind when I think about time, work, and productivity.
The language of time management reminds me of the language of consumerism: We qualify and negotiate our time based on how it’s been “spent,” “wasted,” and “used”—words that signify control. Seeing time as a gift, however, helps us to become less fearful that we will not spend our time well.
As a gift, time is generative. When I spend time in Adoration or remain present while playing with my children, I always discover that there is enough time. Seeing the gift of time means understanding that there is always enough time—not too much or too little—to act in accordance with God’s will.
Cultivating New Rhythms
In certain areas of life, time management tips can help us do so much more with our day. But, it is also helpful to consider our relationship to time, our habits, and the meaning of our work. Establishing a Rule of Life is helpful.
St. Benedict created a Rule of Life to help his monastic community grow in virtue and root their work in the Gospel. It reflects a communal life founded on contemplation, prayer, and manual work, summed up in the Benedictine motto “ora et labora” (prayer and work). A Rule of Life can help us order our life toward God through how we devote our time in the rhythms of our day.
Much of the Benedictine Rule focuses on prayer and Scripture, especially the Psalms. These 150 prayers hold a special place in Benedictine spirituality and reflect the richness of our human experience. Praying the Psalms keeps us in conversation with God and helps us practice praise and thanksgiving throughout our day. I invite you to devote time to praying the Psalms slowly at particular times of the day, such as morning, afternoon, and evening. I like to start by praying Psalm 139, which helps us to recall how beloved and known we are by God.
Receiving Time
Whether it’s workism or mindless scrolling, our culture has a dysfunctional relationship with time. Sometimes, we need to stop doing in order to just be in God’s presence.
In “Time for God: A Guide to Mental Prayer,” Father Jacques Philippe writes:
If we do not learn how to stop completely from time to time, how to make a space in which we do nothing except think about God, we will find it very difficult to remain in God’s presence while working. To do that, we need a thorough re-education of our heart, and fidelity to mental prayer is the surest way to achieve it.
Even when we think we have a good relationship with time, it can still feel like a struggle to experience time that seems to pass too quickly or slowly. There never seems to be enough when we are in a flow state, and there seems to be too much when we are waiting at the doctor’s office. Our productivity and the results of our work are always calculated by time.
But, the work we do for God can’t be measured, weighed, or calculated. It has no tie to success or status. It is simply about receiving time as a gift, and it welcomes us to slow down and stay a while.
Jody C. Benson is a freelance writer and editor and an instructor in Thy Olive Tree’s Fiat Self-Publishing Academy. She is the author of Behold: A Reflection Journal Where Wonder, Creation, and Stewardship Meet. She also writes a newsletter on cultivating the creative life. Learn more about her at jodycbenson.com.