A ton of people have written tons of books about how to be more effective at getting things done. One such popular book is titled Getting Things Done. I have not read any of these books. I don’t know if what I’m about to say is consistent with the best recommendations out there, or if it flies in the face of all the “experts.” However, here’s my take on one way to keep from falling behind with the “little things” that tend to accumulate.
Don’t put off the “little things” until you have time to do them all at once. Just do them a little at a time while on the way to do something else.
The “trick” to this is two-fold: one, you have to be observant so that the “little things” don’t go unnoticed. Secondly, you have to learn to accurately assess what qualifies as a “little thing.”
Take household upkeep, for example. When you’re walking through the house, pay attention to the state of things. Notice a dusty shelf in the hallway? Instead of adding “dust the house” to your to-do list, just grab a dust rag or feather duster and dust that one shelf. Don’t worry about the rest of the house right now. You can dust the TV later when you happen to be in the living room. The key here is that you take care of one “little thing” right when you notice it, without allowing yourself to get distracted and coming off of one task to start a different task. Stay focused on the task at hand, but just allow yourself some leeway to do a little something extra on the way. Don’t stop what you’re doing in order to do something else, but when you’re on the move, take notice of things that need to be done, and just go ahead and do one of them, provided it won’t interfere with something more important.
Apparently, people have done studies and determined that multitasking can actually make you less productive than if you just stay focused on getting one thing done at a time. I’m not advocating that you jump from task to task or try to do two tasks at the same time. I’m talking about utilizing “transitional time” to squeeze in one or two little things. If you’re supposed to be writing a paper, don’t get distracted by organizing your desk. However, when you get up from your desk to get a drink, take some of those old papers to the recycling bin while you’re at it. When you have to take a bathroom break, go ahead and wipe down the toilet, or do a quick scrub of the toilet bowl, or clean the mirror while you’re in there.
I’m not saying that you always need to be doing something either. If you want to sit on the couch watching TV, that’s fine. But when you go to the kitchen to get a snack, grab a few of those dishes on the counter and put them in the dishwasher.
Use your “walking through the house” time to look around and see what you can put away, clean, or fix in a minute or two. If you do this regularly, it doesn’t mean you won’t ever have to schedule an extended time to do some thorough cleaning or organizing, but you can manage to do a lot of your regular upkeep without needing to set aside specific time for it.
In the same way, fallen humans are morally incapable of submitting their life to God. Adam’s sin was to put himself in the place of God; evaluating for himself what is good and what is evil. Every human ever since has done the same thing. Fallen man has no inclination whatsoever for giving up his assumed role of arbiter of right and wrong. He retains control of his human faculties of thought, emotion, speech and action, and can direct these faculties according to his will. He retains the ability to decide who he will obey, and he retains the ability to act in accordance with his decision. But his dead spirit leaves him no motivation to exercise his will in submission to God; or even if he thought that submission to God might be a good idea, his desire for autonomy would immediately overrule such a notion. His human nature retains the freedom to choose in accordance with his will. However, his will is corrupt and lacks the moral freedom to choose God.
The rightful place of authority in a local church rests in a plurality of elders who satisfy the requirements given in Scripture. If a church gives all the authority to one man, do not be surprised when he misuses funds, engages in nepotism, and sleeps with someone he is supposed to be counseling. If a church gives the authority to a board selected for their business acumen and popularity, do not be surprised when they bicker and divide the church into factions. If a church hands over authority to the civil government, do not be surprised when the government says the church can no longer follow the mandates of Scripture.
