(Wisdom Wednesday) Why Do I Never Have Time To Get Everything Done?

Steve Jobs said, “It’s only by saying ‘no’ that you can concentrate on the things that are really important.” This is a man that by all worldly standards was incredibly successful. He knew that it was important to commit oneself to quality over quantity. Unfortunately we live in a high paced society that encourages the opposite. I have spent several years working with high school and college students, and I’ve seen this more times than I can count. There is always a student or multiple students who is taking all AP classes, playing on a sports team, involved in a musical ensemble, a leader in two or three clubs, and a multitude of other things. Many of these students are smart and very capable, so a lot is asked of them. The unfortunate result is that they end up doing many things halfway and burning themselves out.

To a certain extent, I had to learn this lesson in my own life. I wasn’t as busy as some students I’ve seen, but I often took on more than I had time to do well.  In college, I always took between 15-20 hours of classes per semester, was involved in Cru and church, performed in multiple ensembles, and was regularly stressed and tired. This was a hard lifestyle to keep up and it wasn’t healthy for me. I wanted to do too many things, and simply didn’t know how to say no.

Many of us just don’t know how to say no. When asked to do something, we fear letting people down. We are people pleasers and we’re willing to add stress to our lives in order to please others. I used to fit this mold, and sometimes still have the tendency. Others have a different motivation. Some students want to go to prestigious colleges or get prestigious jobs, so they pack their resumes with as many extras as possible so they can stand out above other applicants. The result is that they have a resume that looks good, but they don’t have the abilities to back it up because they did everything halfway.

My encouragement for you today is to learn your limits. If you don’t have time for the important things in life (God, family, friends, hobbies, rest, etc…), you are probably doing too much. Prioritize your schedule and drop some of the things that are less important or delegate them to someone else. Also, carefully consider each commitment you make. This is a hard thing for some people to do, but it will drastically improve your life! For those who are seeking to build their resumes, ask yourself, “Do I want to be really good at a few things, or just mediocre at a multitude of things?”  When you get that job or get into that school, life will be much better if you know how to do the important things well.