Goals for 2010: Making My Time Count

Like many people I made goals for the upcoming year. I can’t recall ever making goals for the year before, at least as a believer. But I find myself saying “I want to work on that” a lot, so it seemed only right to make a list of said things, if only to have something to pray about and reflect on next year at this time. As I prayed and thought through the list, I found a recurring theme—time management. Most of my aspirations for my growth this year stem from my own lack of time management and self-control. And namely, my lack of control in how much time I spend online. I used to justify my excessive Facebook use with “it helps me keep up with people.” But did it really? No, it didn’t. Checking status updates and profiles does not amount to a relationship, no matter how I look at it. If I really wanted to be consistent I would actually send a message to the people I wanted to keep up with. And how interesting that one of my goals for the year is to keep up with existing friends and cultivate new ones.

Another goal for the year is to read more. I used to read a lot more than I do now. I love reading, but I find myself immersed in time-wasting browsing on the internet. Now I find myself easily bored with things that are more than “140 characters.” I have gotten used to bite-sized pieces of information, rather than large chunks of truth. No matter how I try and justify it, bite-sized information will never fill me up spiritually—even if it is amazing.

As I start the year, I want to spend more time investing in things that matter; things that are of eternal significance. This doesn’t mean I won’t be on the internet. It just means I will limit my time, so I can use the time I do have for things that last. And it means I won’t blindly use the internet, either. If I see an old (or new) friend on a social networking site, I will ask her how she is doing instead of lurking around her profile. Internet and social networking are not needs. They are gifts that can be used for good and bad. I really pray that this year I use the gifts for more good than bad.