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5 Practical Steps You Can Take This Week to Make the Best Use of Your Time

Are you having a hard time managing your time? Do you wish you could be more productive with the things that matter most? This post is for you!

5 practical steps you can take this week to make the best use of your time #productivity #timemanagement

Life happens. We all know that. The clock ticks, and we rush through our day trying to beat the tock.

Ephesians 5:15-16 says,

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

Are you making the best use of the time God has given you?

Are you seeking to live intentionally, or are you watching the days go by wishing you had done this or that?

What are you doing every day to make it impossible to not think about God? (<-tweet this)

Today, I want to share with you 5 practical steps you can take this week to make the best use of your time.

Manage your time better and be more productive with these 5 practical steps!

5 Practical Steps You Can Take This Week to Make the Best Use of Your Time

1. Strengthen your relationship with the Lord. Taking time to strengthen your relationship with the Lord is not part of your to-do list, it is what everything on your to-do list revolves around. Therefore, what is one step you can take this week to strengthen your relationship with Lord?

Some examples:

  • Worship Him through song. Check out my 10 of my favorite worship songs.
  • Read a Proverb a day.
  • Meditate on one verse.
  • Get up 15 minutes earlier – Check out my post on how to make mornings easier.
  • Start a prayer journal. Check out how I set up my prayer notebook here.

2. Bless your husband. If you’re a mom of little ones, this one can be tricky. It’s so easy to meet the urgent needs of your children while failing to intentionally pursue your husband. You are your husband’s ‘ezer (strong helper). How can you bless your husband this week?

Some examples:

  • Pray for him every day.
  • Buy him a special treat at the store.
  • Plan a date night. Check out my post for 42 Date Night Ideas or 5 Board Games to Play as a Couple.
  • Tell him why you respect him.
  • Ask him how you can help him this week.

3. Love your children. In her book Beyond Bath Time, Erin Davis writes:

What you’re doing might seem small. Little mouths to feed. Little squabbles to referee. Little house to clean. But God multiplies your efforts. Your small tasks point to a very big God if you are determined to do it all for His glory … your children are an unreached people group. They don’t come into the world with a knowledge and heart for God. It’s your job to teach them, and it’s a big job (page 108).

Mom your job matters. Winning your children’s hearts starts now no matter where you hang on the pendulum. What one way can you love your children this week?

Some examples:

  • Help them make their bed.
  • Allow them into the kitchen with you.
  • Read them their favorite story. Check out our favorite children’s books for ideas.
  • Hug them every chance you get.

4. Serve others, express thankfulness and/or encouragement. Throughout the ink blotted pages of the Word of God runs a theme that cannot be missed. Gratitude. We are called to express gratitude to God and to one another. What is one thing you can do this week to express your thankfulness or just simply encourage someone else?

Some examples:

  • Write a thank you note to the neighbor.
  • Bake cookies for the librarian who does story time with your kids.
  • Send a “just because” card to an out of town friend.
  • Make a meal for a fellow mom. Here are some freezer meals that you can keep on hand for this reason.
5 practical steps you can take this week to make the best use of your time!

5. Simplify in order to provide more peace in your home. We all want peaceful homes in order to reflect the peace that comes from knowing Christ. What is one thing we can do this week to simplify in order to provide peace for our homes?

Some examples:

  • Clean out one drawer a day.
  • File the mounds of papers on the kitchen counter.
  • Meal plan. My book 20 Minute Meals does the meal planning for Styou! Or try my tried and true method of Seasonal Meal Planning.
  • Introduce hard stops to your day. Don’t know what a hard stop is, then check out this intentional conversation.

We want to be intentional with our time so that we can make the best use of our time. We don’t follow these steps to gain a better seat before God, but we do follow these steps so that we can draw from the well-spring of God’s grace and bring Him glory.

Tullian Tchividjian says, “Long-term, gospel-motivated obedience can only come from the grace of what Jesus has already done, not the guilt of what we must do.”

Let’s implement these 5 practical steps each week out of gospel-motivated obedience so that we can be a blessing to others and shine the light of Christ!

To help you, here is a free printable for you to use during your weekly planning session!

Click here to download the free printable.

Which step do you most need to implement this week?

Made to Give Life Seasonal Goal Planner

Do you want to make changes in your life but you aren’t quite sure where to start?

Are you overwhelmed by the magnitude of what actually needs to be done and unsure about what needs to be a priority right now?

Are you tired of drowning in your to-do lists but not feeling like you’re doing anything that really matters?

Then check out the Made to Give Life Seasonal Goal Planner here. I want to help you get from where you are now to where you want to be!

This post contains affiliate links. See my full disclosure policy here.

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Filed Under: Intentional Living, Productivity

About Leigh Ann Dutton

Leigh Ann Dutton is the wife to the man of her prayers, Mark, and mama to four loveable little cherubs. She takes joy in spending her days creating memorable moments with her family, studying God's Word, reading good books, and enjoying God's creation. She does it all by the grace of God.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Shannon Wallace

    June 12, 2012 at 8:25 pm

    I loved this so very much and truly NEEDED to read this. šŸ™‚ Thank you for sharing your heart for God!

    • Leigh Ann

      June 13, 2012 at 3:43 pm

      I’m glad you were blessed by it. Thank you for your kind words. They are a true encouragement.

  2. Denise Oldham

    June 12, 2012 at 9:23 pm

    I like this so much, thanks.

    • Leigh Ann

      June 13, 2012 at 3:42 pm

      Excellent! I’m glad you found it helpful.

  3. Nouvonight

    June 13, 2012 at 12:26 am

    this is really good…

    • Leigh Ann

      June 13, 2012 at 3:42 pm

      Great! I’m glad you like it. It’s a weekly challenge for me. I don’t always do it perfectly, but this helps keep me moving forward.

  4. Michele-Lyn

    June 13, 2012 at 7:09 am

    You did such an amazing job formatting and all the creative design, and it is also packed full of amazing truth and wisdom. Awesome! Convicting! Compelling!

    • Leigh Ann

      June 13, 2012 at 3:42 pm

      Thanks, Michele-Lyn! Those are kind words of encouragement.

  5. Virginia

    May 4, 2013 at 7:58 pm

    I am blessed by your blog & videos. They point me to Christ.
    I would love to use your “weekly evaluations” printable – is it available? I am not finding the one you spoke of on your video??
    Thank you so much for this blog.
    virginia

  6. Heather

    May 26, 2014 at 1:21 pm

    I can’t wait to start using this printable. I need to work on my relationships and I’m excited to give this a try. Thank you for creating a tool to help us do just that.

    • Leigh Ann Dutton

      May 26, 2014 at 6:47 pm

      You are so welcome! I’d love to hear if it helps. šŸ™‚

  7. Lisa

    January 26, 2015 at 5:44 pm

    I really enjoyed reading this and was pleased to know that I’m doing some of your suggestions already. One thing I started doing more intentional last year was making sure my husband had lunch. He leaves way before the sun is up so doing it while cleaning up dinner dishes is a must. There are times I forget or there’s nothing left over, but he’s gracious about it.

    One thing I don’t do that I will take away from this list is listening to a worship song or two before I begin my prayer time and bible study. I have to say, bible study is a little easier than prayer time but I hope this new habit will make a positive difference in my prayer time.

    AND, one more thing. Your book. I’ve been meal planing for a while but I still like new ideas. After following the link, I thought, “I wonder if I already have this?” I was pleasantly surprised to find that I do. I’m thinking it came in one of the bundles that have become so popular these day. I look forward to reading it. Thanks for sharing on your website. I’m enjoying perusing and enlightened by what I’m reading.

    In Christ,
    Lisa

  8. bekkah

    June 1, 2015 at 11:58 pm

    this website is exactly what i needed at this point in my life! thankyou…i am really enjoying reading your stuff and have already started some things. thankyou again!

    • Leigh Ann Dutton

      June 2, 2015 at 9:07 pm

      Wonderful to hear!

  9. Karen

    January 25, 2016 at 6:43 pm

    Literally, “look carefully then how you walk.” I looked across a parking lot to the car instead of looking down, and caught my heel on a curb. Almost all OK now, but on limited duty from doctor’s orders.

    After many years of getting DH off to work at 6:15 AM, I still get up by 5:30 AM. This is my planning and communication time; I read out of my hands once the sun gets up into the living room skylights.

Trackbacks

  1. Getting Organized with a Homemaking Binder - Intentional By Grace says:
    January 11, 2013 at 7:19 am

    […] blank weekly evaluations […]

  2. 3 Simple Ways You Can Keep Your House Clean - Intentional By Grace says:
    July 22, 2013 at 2:41 pm

    […] a simple schedule and routineĀ helps me to simplify in order to provide more peace in my home. I’ve carved out time in my day after our family devotions for daily chores. My daily chores […]

  3. {Planning 101} How to Do Weekly Planning to Be More Intentional - Intentional By Grace says:
    April 19, 2015 at 9:09 pm

    […] In my eBook, Live for Him: A Grace-Filled Look at Planning, I walk you through this process and go a little more in depth. I also give you a printable with questions to ask yourself each week. A free version of this printable can be found here. […]

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