I have simultaneously been looking forward to and dreading the season of Lent. Looking forward to for all the reasons listed in my previous post regarding the magic of Lent. Dreading because I once again want to challenge myself with the feat of publishing a new post every day, and that, my friends, takes a great deal of time. As a working mother time is not something I have excessive amounts of, so I have been stressing a great deal about the logistics of this goal. Will I keep my kids at day care an extra hour while I write or walk around with earbuds in 24/7 while I scan Catholic audiobooks for inspiration?
I should have used the “off season” to create a stockpile of posts I could just copy and paste onto my website each night, but the procrastinator in me obviously didn’t go for that idea. So, here I am once again at the eleventh-hour stress-eating and reminding myself I produce my best work under pressure.
Do me a favor and take a moment to think about your goals for Lent. Now predict what your biggest obstacles might be in meeting those goals. I would be shocked if time was not on that list. “Not enough hours in the day.” It’s our biggest copout. I mean, we’re not wrong. It is a valid reason. It also means that during Lent we just need to work that much harder to not waste time.
Practice what you preach you say? Would you like to know my plans for decreasing wasted time this Lenten season? Well, along with avoiding the vortex that is social media, I also plan to sacrifice other things that I enjoy to create more time for writing and research. For myself that means cutting back on tv, entertainment, and social outings. It involves planning on how I can make my workday more efficient so I can leave school in a timelier manner. I’m sorry bestie but it also means there will be more Halo app playing through my car speakers than our morning phone conversations. All in all, if you see or hear from me in the next 40 days, I must really love you! On the flipside, if not, don’t feel too bad because other than my children I’m probably not seeing much of anyone.
Now don’t worry I am not lost on the irony of what I am saying. Give up everything non-essential during Lent, such as reading the superfluous writings of a wannabe best-seller like me. Fortunately for all of us, my years of teaching have ingrained in me a strong desire to “get to the point” and eliminate busy work so I promise to keep it concise and meaningful.
Therefore, if you would so give me the honor of a few minutes of your time each day for a quick read, I promise in return to inspire, educate, and hopefully entertain you in the process this Lenten season. So, let’s get together shall we, and see what we can accomplish when we make every minute count.