Taking time “Toward” vs. Taking Time Off

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How you spend your time “off” from work needs attention.

How do you spend your time off from work?  When you get time off from work – a week or weekend – what do you choose to do?  Most of us hopefully choose to complete a few unfinished jobs around the house, exercise, and sleep a bit more.

But what about the rest of the time off from work?  Spend it with family?  Great.  Time out with friends? Fantastic.

Our “working for the weekend” culture tells us to spend our time off by shutting down, escaping (through partying, watching movies), shutting down, and doing as little as possible. Be “off.”  The goal is simply to not be working.

That’s not much of a goal.

I am not sure this is a healthy strategy for leaders and youth workers.  What if instead of spending time away from work “off,” we spend it “toward?”  What if instead of just shutting down, we take steps toward some things that will help us grow in our ability to live and lead gracefully and effectively?

As I reflected on my goals for the summer, I came up with a few steps “toward” that I think are important. I’d love to hear what you would add – and do in your own life.

Take a step toward Jesus Christ. More than “having devotions,” going to church, or renewing our spiritual life, developing an intimate relationship with Jesus is the healthiest step we can take with our time away from work. Spend an intentional hour in prayer, reading and reflecting on various sections of the Bible, and intentional silence/solitude. For those of us in Christian ministry, we can become so busy “working for God” that we lose perspective on the intimate calling we experienced to begin this journey.
Take a step toward family.  What steps toward would be meaningful to your spouse (if you have one)?  What about your kids?  To your parents (even if you’re an adult)? Sometimes we in America see time off as only our own – and that’s an inaccurate and unhealthy perspective.
Take a step toward wisdom. What the world values isn’t skill sets and practical “how-to” mechanics (though we seem to want our colleges to only teach that any more), but it’s wisdom.  How does one increase in wisdom?  We hang around and watch wise people and we read.  You will be shaped largely by the people you spend time with and the books you read.  Okay, and maybe by the blogs too. What books are in your stack to be read over the coming 3 months? Disciplined reading of books has to remain a value for us if we want to take wise steps toward. 
Take a step toward better communication.  If you invested in one skill, I would suggest the ability to build meaningful relationships with others.  If I suggested a second, it would be to grow in your ability to communicate well.  Take a step toward being a better writer, speaker, or counselor.  Watch video of you speaking, get some feedback from others on your communication, read something new on communication, or attend a communication workshop.  For most of us, this isn’t a natural strength and we have to keep honing our abilities.
Take a step toward creativity.  The more we age, the more established our patterns of how we do things become.  We lose the childlike wonder of doing something new and different. We don’t tend to learn new musical instruments after the age of 25 nor do we just sit and doodle as much.  What if we did?  What if we regained our joy of LIFE?  It’s why we’re fascinated by Bob Goff and Seth Godin, because they remind us of that very human necessity – to be creative and to think differently. It won’t happen by being “off” or shut down. It has to be nurtured.

What do you step toward in your time away from work?  What have you noticed about how people (even those who lead) spend their time off?

 

 

 

 

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