deadline

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This Deadline Didn’t Phase Me One Bit

This year I was ready well in advance of the deadline and it made my day seamless.

this deadline didn't phase me one bit

Maybe you are in the habit of having your work done well in advance. Maybe when you have a project or task assigned to you, you get right on it and beat the deadline by days or weeks.

I’m on a committee right now where we have to recruit people to participate in a number of review committees. 

At our first meeting one of my colleagues had already recruited 75 percent of his total and was just waiting to hear back from the last 25 percent. I, on the other hand, had recruited one person and only one other as a potential recruit. 

I guess what I’m saying is I am not normally the guy who gets right on things and ties them all up well before they need to be done. I’m usually the guy who knows the date when something needs to be done and will be working until that date on the calendar comes. 

I’m not really sure why that is. 

I do know that I don’t feel motivated when there is so much time between now and the deadline. Maybe I need a little pressure to get moving on things. 

I remember a TV show that was kind of based on that principle. The show was called, “Name That Tune”. Contestants would bid against each other to see how few notes they could hear before naming the tune. When it got down to two or three notes, well, the pressure was on and the contestant had to perform.

Last fall I did something that set me up to not be pressured this weekend. What I did back then meant I didn’t have to lift a finger at the deadline. What I did was not change the time on the clock on my bedside table.

From the end of October until now I’ve been looking at that clock every morning and it has always been one hour ahead. 

Now there were a few times I woke up, looked at my clock and got a little startled. … When your head is still thick from sleep, the mental processing takes a second to kick in. 

But the thought that I was an hour late getting up was only momentary. Then I would smile and close my eyes for a moment longer … much like when you wake up on Saturday morning thinking it’s another work day. When you realize it’s your day off, you just chuckle to yourself and calm right down.

Well, on Saturday night I didn’t have to do a thing. I was ready for Daylight Savings Time. 

And you know what? I really like the feeling of not having to change my clock. 

I think we should just stop the time change all together. We should stay on the same time all year long. Then no one would show up late for church because they didn’t make the time change deadline. 

Ya … it happens every year.

Here’s the thing: This world will one day come to a quick end. We can see the signs in natural disasters, super power tensions, wars and rumours of wars. The Bible says this will all come before the end. But you know what? We can prepare ourselves well in advance by having a relationship with Jesus Christ. Place your faith in Christ and you won’t miss that deadline.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you kept putting off because you don’t feel the pressure yet? Leave your comments and questions below.

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I’m All Prepared For Christmas

This time of year is all about being prepared. Christmas has a deadline that seems to sneak up on most of us every year.

There have been years, like this one, where I have been prepared for Christmas. Coming down to the last few days, I’m not panicked about still finding that one main gift for Lily.

But this year may be more of an exception for me. I don’t remember feeling this ready for Christmas very often.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not one of those people who has my shopping done by mid-September. But this year, I bought Lily’s main gift in early November.

That might not be early for some people, but for me that’s like buying Christmas presents in July – it was a very early purchase.

And I wrapped things up a full five days before the big day. For me that’s so liberating because other things are also pressing on me.

One thing I was not prepared for this week was my board meeting. I had all the reports and data ready for the meeting but it was the presentation, the flow of the meeting that I was not prepared for.

I thought I had scheduled enough time to put some thought into how long to spend on each section and item, and how to present one new thing I wanted to start with the board.

But I ran into a few unexpected and unplanned encounters and I was late. I was only prepared on paper and not completely prepared to lead that meeting.

As for how the meeting went, let’s just say I didn’t sleep very well that night and I was still kicking myself the next day.

The funny thing about being prepared for Christmas is that we know when it is every year. It comes as no surprise.

The stores advertise well and offer bargains before Christmas to get you to come in and buy your presents.

We’re also becoming programmed by the US to start thinking about Christmas shopping at the end of November. Canadian stores even offer Black Friday sales the same weekend they do in the States … and we don’t even have a holiday then!

There really is no reason not to be prepared for Christmas every year. Yet if we procrastinate, and finish just at the deadline, we probably won’t change. It will become our pattern and we’ll run the risk of not being prepared for Christmas year after year.

Here’s the thing:  Christmas is when we celebrate the birth of Christ, His coming into the world. It may feel like a deadline, but it’s really a beginning – a beginning that leads to a deadline. Christ came into the world so that we could be prepared for the end of our time here. He did all the work for us by dying on the cross for our sin and rising to bring us a relationship with His Father. Our deadline is what we need to be prepared for and to not put off; we never know what tomorrow will bring. It’s the most important deadline there is for each of us. Be prepared; be prepared well in advance.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What’s the deadline that has you stressed right now? Leave your comments below.