Spring Cleaning: 3 Ways to Tidy Up Your Time and Cultivate a Fruitful Life
Gardens beckon us near this time of year as dormant ground from winter ripens into fertile soil for new life. Color adorns the landscape once again. It’s a miracle not to be missed.
Photo Cred: Overflow Creative Studios
Equally joyous for me is spring cleaning indoors: sorting closets, dusting corners, and changing pillows. I find great joy in finally throwing away orphaned socks, cleaning the winter haze off windows, and tackling that drawer of accumulation.
My heart and family flourish after our space is tidy, allowing beauty and simplicity to shine in calming measure. But have you ever thought of tidying up your time?
You may think:
How can I simplify my time this season?
How can I continue to make progress if I allow rest to hold prominence?
How can I remain faithful to goals set at the beginning of the year?
How do I know what areas of my life need to be addressed this season?
I’m glad you asked.
Similar to a garden or walls of your home, ask yourself: What spaces of my day are not producing good fruit?
If fruit is defined as a product from a seed that is planted, then in regards to our time, we must analyze whether the result of our time commitments is causing our homes to flourish.
What bears good fruit? A healthy life. We see this concept in the New Testament book of Matthew.
Matthew 7:16-19ESV
“So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.”
How can we apply these words to help identify good fruit in our lives and with regard to our time?
Good fruit in respect to our time is that which directs our affections toward essentials in light of eternity. (Matthew 22:36-37)
Good fruit results from living out what you value most as a family. If you haven’t walked through this exercise of defining your family values, check out my Mom Mission Statement and video to help guide you.
Good fruit is also and primarily a result of the Holy Spirit’s work in your life. Fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control will grow in our lives when we walk in step with God. (Galatians 5:16- 25) (ESV)
In light of this, here are three ways to tidy up your time and cultivate life this spring:
“Prune” the non-essentials.
While the essentials for you may not match my list in full, as a person of faith, scripture describes the nonnegotiable essentials for each of us as loving God and loving others.
If I schedule my days in such a way that leaves little to no margin to spend time with God, to be available to fellowship in the context of community, or to meet a need that arises outside of my “plans”, then it’s time to weed out non-essentials.
Remember: True growth happens when we are faithful with our time, not just productive. When we live as faithful stewards of our time, we allow margin to invest in the essentials each and every day.
Reflect: What are some non-essentials in your life that prevent you from loving God and loving others more faithfully?
“Weed” out lifeless tasks.
Perhaps yours are similar to mine:
Screen time - For our family, we easily fall prey to falling asleep too late after that ‘one last show’, or saying yes to another video game or movie for the kids because of frigid temps outside.
Remember: While screen time is restful in moderation, over time screen time is less restorative and leads to a fruit-less life.
Reflect: How much time are you spending in front of a screen?
Mindless activities - What activities are mindless? Mindless activities are those we perform by habit, familiarity, or a desire that depletes our resources and deprives us of essentials. For me, this includes mindless spending at Target, Amazon, or eating out. Maybe it’s mindless scrolling through social media feeds for minutes that add up to hours.
Good news: there is a way to participate in these activities mindfully and self-controlled. But all too often we spend time and money without intentionally asking is this what is best in this season for me and my family. Is this what is best for our bank account?
Remember: HERE are three action items if you are wanting to focus on finances intentionally in this season.
Reflect: Take a moment and write down the activities that you consistently engage in that may not be healthy for you right now.
“Plant” new seeds.
This season is a time to reassess healthy rhythms, commitments, and activities.
Staying Rooted in the Word - With New Years fading away in our rear view mirror, it can be easy to wane on those disciplines initiated months ago. Are you still making time to spend in the Word of God? Sometimes we substitute our reading for entertaining reads, and while that’s wonderful, nothing will restore you and keep you rooted like the bible.
Saying No More Often- Spring is a time when commitments ramp up resulting in a loss of control over our time. But what if you retain more control than you think?
When it comes to sports, we limit our kids to one activity each. We only choose sports that include more than one child or that accomplish another family value: time in community. We go to as many practices and games together as a family, and ensure we still have dinner together at least 3 evenings a week.
Remember: Many times, these time commitments are not always bad, they may be good things that are just not for right now. ‘No’ for now is does not mean a ‘no’ forever.
Reflect: Is there something you can say no to so that you can say yes to more time together as a family?
Remaining Mindful - The best way I know to stay mindful is to have a plan and order to your days. Plan for ways to rest. Plan for ways to read. Plan for ways to create. Plan for ways to connect. Plan for ways to play.
Remember: There is no guilt or shame when you have ordered your time in such a way that honors the essentials and makes time for what you value most.
Reflect: How can you remain intentional around the stewardship of your days?
As you begin your spring cleaning rituals and rhythms this season, don’t forget to reassess your time commitments. When you are careful with your time, your time will produce life-giving fruit in your heart and home.
